Riding Iceland July/August 2018

Put Together a Ride, Find Riding Partners, Ask Ride Advice

Riding Iceland July/August 2018

Postby ERC Scott » Thu Aug 10, 2017 12:41 pm

Assessing interest in a small-group adventure ride in Iceland during summer 2018. I'll be at the club mtg at Battery's this Saturday to discuss specifics.
Iceland is far and away my favorite tour of the last 20 years. Bikes would be rented in Reykjavik. Overnights in hotels/guesthouses. Must be comfortable riding gravel, hardpan. No whiners ;) it can get wet windy and darn cool.
2016 R1200RS
2005 R1200 GS
2015 1290 SuperDuke-R

You don't choose your life, you live it.
User avatar
ERC Scott
Board Wizard
 
Posts: 2727
Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Catoctin Mountain

Re: Riding Iceland July/August 2018

Postby jskene » Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:54 am

I've heard only great things about riding in Iceland.

I'm interested. Are the roads/bikes suitable for 2-up riding?
User avatar
jskene
Board Guru
 
Posts: 865
Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:35 am
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: Riding Iceland July/August 2018

Postby ERC Scott » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:08 pm

Jerry - Four years ago on our tour we had one couple 2-up on a 12GS, so "yes". The rider (a Canadian!) was quite good. However his partner did opt to ride in the SUV for a couple of the hairier sections (maybe 2 hours total) - this was on the F-roads, which can be avoided as needed.

Here's the general scoop on roads:
- City/town roads are well-maintained asphalt.
- Most roads out of town consist of sections of asphalt interrupted by decent gravel sections (50-50%).
- "F-roads" are minimally improved tracks used almost exclusively by utility vehicles. Normal cars are prohibited, but 4-wheel SUV & bikes are allowed. Large rock base overlain with dirt, also sand or volcano ash in some sections, occasional water crossings. Not conducive to 2-up but can be entirely avoided unless one is hell-bent to reach a remote spot.
-There is no traffic once away from Reykjavik. Might see 2-3 cars per hour. However will see hundreds of sheep and dozens of horses per day.
-Grading of gravel roads occurs on occasion - just slow down in the work zone.
-Rental bikes are BMW GS of various displacement.

Here's a link to the Iceland Highway system - good depiction of their infrastructure. Also, I have a great road atlas which we can look at to get a sense of the terrain. http://vegasja.vegagerdin.is/eng/
2016 R1200RS
2005 R1200 GS
2015 1290 SuperDuke-R

You don't choose your life, you live it.
User avatar
ERC Scott
Board Wizard
 
Posts: 2727
Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Catoctin Mountain

Re: Riding Iceland July/August 2018

Postby jskene » Sun Aug 20, 2017 9:44 am

Thanks, that helps a lot.
User avatar
jskene
Board Guru
 
Posts: 865
Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2003 11:35 am
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: Riding Iceland July/August 2018

Postby ERC Scott » Sun Aug 20, 2017 12:14 pm

Jerry - Play with the "layers" on the base map. Webcams and traffic give a great sense of surfaces we will be riding. I wish this map was operational 4 years ago.
2016 R1200RS
2005 R1200 GS
2015 1290 SuperDuke-R

You don't choose your life, you live it.
User avatar
ERC Scott
Board Wizard
 
Posts: 2727
Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Catoctin Mountain


Return to Organize a Ride!

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests

cron