Good Preparation
A number of folks here and outside IC have asked about doing the Iceland trip. I'm also looking at ways some folks could meet up with us in Iceland. After the highlands. Perhaps at Þingvellir, a site of historical, cultural, and geological significance or Snæfellsnes, which is often referred to as the "Jules Verne Peninsula" because the volcano Snæfellsjökull, located there, is featured in Verne's novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth.
It's now clear that the education/student piece will be a significant piece that I, with my colleagues, will enfold. We are figuring out the route and the student piece. Inserting a student piece means recasting my thinking about the route and timeline. And of course those going have ideas for the route.
What I'm thinking about the expedition through the Central Highlands, around 430 miles of the 700 plus miles of the route. I've mentioned to a couple of folks who have asked me in the past week about going that this will not be a trip for someone new to extreme bikepacking (the western part of the route is just fine, though).
The interior is very challenging and a trip that includes the highlands requires a good bit of experience. Not necessarily the kind of experience that comes right to mind. No one wants to get out into the wilderness and discover that it is more than they are actually up for. And how someone responds within a group when they discover they might not be prepared or capable is something I always consider, for the sake of the group. Capable includes bike repair, first aid, self-extraction, wilderness skills, navigation (GPS, and compass and map). A person can fall into one of 50+ glacial steams or rivers while crossing (I have), and knowing that that person has experience and insight into how to both stay warm without shelter (in the highlands the temperature will drop into the upper 30s) and be mindfully present is basic to the success of the team. In 2022, there was a record storm while we were in the highlands and the roads had yet to be opened. In 80 plus mph winds, and a mechanical, 10 hours to go 15 miles to an emergency hut. A portion of the route in 2026 is classified by Bikepacking as a 9 (and maybe it's their most difficult route). When you throw in weather like Iceland's in the Central Highlands the difference between a 7 and a 9 can in the moment feel like an exponential scale.
When things are difficult, folks with knowledge and experience are practiced in pivoting from thinking to being an effective team member. In 2022, when we crossed Iceland from North to South and encountered extreme weather, we had an exceptional team up for the challenge. 2023 there really was nothing major, beyond some long days.
And we need to be relatively small in number due to space in emergency huts and water crossings.
We will meet up with a support vehicle only twice in the first 16 days.
Good preparation, for me anyway, has been ultra events like Tuscobia, Arrowhead, Fat Pursuit and ITI. 200-mile unpaved events are also good for learning nutrition, discovering how your body works and practicing habits of mind.
This time I would love to ride through the lava fields on 6.25" tires and use Morning After the Revolution. But that may be too slow, and I instead use the 4.8" tires on the same frame.