It is still cold and sunny next morning when I pack my gear. The first kilometres along the lake are great; the sun is shining and the little wind there is comes from behind, at least for now. To the East there is the impressive cone of the Hverfell volcano that I would like to take a picture of. So I stop along the road and immediately a huge cloud of mosquitoes surrounds me; they don’t appear to sting but still are a nuisance as they fly and creep into my eyes, nose and mouth. I look around and everywhere I see the mosquitoes in clouds over the bushes; something I haven’t seen the past two days.
I continue my way along the East side of the lake where sometimes-spooky black lava structures emerge from the water. After a few kilometres the road turns West and now I do have head winds though the wind is still very mild. I pass the tiny settlement of Skútustaðir when I see grey clouds passing over the road. My first idea is it is smoke from some small fire because lava dust is generally brown and there is also not enough wind to blow it up. When I approach the nature of the clouds becomes clear: they’re mosquitoes. I have no alternative then to continue through the clouds consisting of millions of mosquitoes. For hundred fifty meters or so they crawl over and into anywhere and when I’ve finally passed the cloud I’m covered with thousands of them. I try to shake the off me but in order to do so I have to stop and at this moment stopping means attracting more mosquitoes. When pedaling I try to get the bloody animals at least out of my hair.  | Goðafoss | At the far southwest corner of the lake road 848 joins road 1 and immediately the road starts to climb to a small plateau. This is also the point where the road becomes a gravel road again. The climb is short but rather steep and as soon as my speed goes down the mosquitoes swarm around my head again. It lasts until the summit before I can actually stop without being annoyed by them.
The plateau is only a kilometre before the road descends in a first stage to Másvatn lake. At the other side of the lake the second part of the long and gentle descents starts. It is during this descent that I meet a Belgium cyclist heading up to me. In spite of the temperature (only 8 degrees) he is dressed in shorts and a single long sleeve shirt so I warn him about the mosquitoes that he’ll be facing on the other side of the plateau. He doesn’t seem to take that very seriously and during our conversation I find out that is not the only thing. For instance, he wants to stay overnight in Krafla, what is not allowed since it is a nature reserve, but he doesn’t mind. He plans to sleep in the disabled toilet because that will save him both the money for a camping site and the effort of pitching a tent. Who said that the Dutch are greedy? Furthermore he seems to lack any responsibility because he tells me he plans to cross the Sprengisandur route all by himself; confident that if something happens to him someone will pass within the next day or so to help him. I don’t feel like arguing with him and so our conversation is rather short.
Down in the valley the road is sealed again. For some reason there is a lot of wind here and in the wrong direction too. I make only very slow progress and by the time I reach Laugar I feel like needing a cup of coffee. The village is scattered along the valley, but the petrol station and the bar are along the main road, which is very convenient. The guy behind the bar is rather sunburnt, more than one can expect around here. He tells me he just returned from a two weeks holiday in southern Spain. I smile and ask him what he thinks about the temperatures over there. His answer is clear and short: “way too hot”.
After Laugar the road crosses another plateau, but this one is a serious climb. The first part is not so bad with back winds but after the hairpin it goes up at nearly 10% with head winds. Eventually the road turns to the southwest again in a very long bend of about a kilometre. For several kilometres the road climbs more and more gentle over the plateau before plunging down into the valley of the river Skjálfandafljot. It is here that the road passes a beautiful waterfall; Goðafoss. I decide for a longer stop to have something to eat as well as taking a picture of the waterfall. The temperature is still very low and together with the icy wind it takes less than 10 minutes to get cold feet and hands.
At the other side of the river is Fosshóll, a petrol station, youth hostel and campsite. The campsite is empty and according to the activity so is the youth hostel. My original plan was to stay here for the night but since it is only 3 o’clock and there is not much to do around here I might as well continue to Akureyri. So I move on, again with head winds.
The first kilometres are terrible against the wind but at the point where road 85 from Husavík joins the traffic does not only increase significantly but the road also gets some shelter from the mountain at the north side of the road. The next couple of kilometres along the lake and the Edda hotel are not to bad. After the hotel the road gently descends (the plain around the hotel is actually an official mountain pass - the Ljósavatnsskarð) all the way to the bridge over the river Fnjóska. Here the road turns to the north again for the final climb that will bring me to the fjord of Akureyri.
The climb is steep and 4-5 kms long, a bit too long for me after over 80 kilometres so far. First I have head winds, which is annoying, and I’m glad when the road turns more to the west. Problem now is that I have side winds, which allows me to climb slightly faster (or should I say less slowly) but due the gusts of wind that blow me towards the middle of the road dangerous situation occur as the traffic is rather dense here; at least for Icelandic standards it is. Nevertheless, after 40 minutes struggle I finally reach the top where the road after a flat part of less than a kilometre goes down steeply towards the fjord.  | Akureyri | The descent is a great reward for the tough climb and what is even better is that I have back winds all the way to Akureyri now. The road is undulating along the fjord with nice views over the town and the snow covered mountains behind it. Not far before reaching the dam over the southern end of the fjord there is a camping site at Húsabrekka that I would strongly recommend over the camping site in Akureyri. However, not knowing then what I know now I headed for the camping site in the Akureyri town centre.
The dam is the last obstacle so to say before reaching the town. It is here that the wind blows in full force over the road making it extremely difficult to stay on my bike. On the other side I have to follow the main road into the town centre where I turn left. The road climbs very steep onto the ridge where most of the town is situated. The camping site is located in the central park area.
When I arrive everything is rather quiet and so it stays for most of the evening. The problems start not long before midnight when a large group of young Icelandics arrive with noisy cars and stereos. For a while I hope it’ll pass, but it doesn’t and it actually only gets worse. During the night several groups with loud stereos come and go over the camping site; most of them drunk and occasional fights between the groups occur. I hear the sound of braking glass and I’m not really happy in my tent. It is already early in the morning (after getting hardly any sleep during the night) that some people start to panic. I dress and peek out of my tent just to see that the police have arrived with four cars, about 15 policemen in total. Everyone on the camping site has to proof he or she actually has a tent or caravan there while the rest is taken away in a small van. This is the moment for me to get out of bed and leave the camping site a.s.a.p. |
