There’s a well-known Icelandic saying that if you get lost here, all you have to do is stand up, because then you’ll see the way. When we were preparing for this Icelandic adventure, this made us laugh. We wondered if the trees were really that small. Or are there no trees? What does the landscape look like? Also, how difficult is this ride? Well, we answered all these questions and if you’re curious, stick around.

This Collection is a five-day bikepacking trip with the Ride Beyond Crew through the volcanic landscape of Iceland, with Jasmijn, Jelmer, Mike, Roel and myself. In total, the route from Akureyri to Reykjavik is 600 kilometres (373 mi) and the trip was inspired by the Iceland Divide route, with a little detour here and there. On the expedition, we cycled through desolate and blackened lunar landscapes. There’s hardly any vegetation on the mountainous volcanic landscape. From the saddle, you can stare for miles into the void. In the distance, bright green lakes and glaciers gleam; cycling in Iceland really has something magical.

But the emptiness also brings challenges, especially when the weather is bad. There’s hardly any civilisation, accommodation or even simple shelter along the way. For this reason, you can find wooden huts standing in the middle of the desolate landscape. Fairly primitive, the huts are connected by a network of unpaved paths and are used as shelters for cyclists and walkers who travel around the island.

This adventure leads you from hut to hut, with an overnight stay in a tent halfway. I cycled on my Focus Atlas, fitted with 47 mm gravel tyres. If you decide to do this trip, I recommend you come with similar specs; wide tyres are not a luxury. There’s a lot of gravel, but sometimes the paths consist of loose volcanic sand. Pack as light as possible, because in some parts you have to lift your bike over rocks.

As we rode across this desolate landscape, we had the famous Icelandic saying in the back of our minds and came up with a little extra challenge: the one who finds the first tree, wins!

Watch the video of our adventure here:
And the tips and tricks on how we planned this route with komoot: