Iceland and beyond – a new plan

Iceland in September is really not a safe, sensible or enjoyable place to be riding a bike across the remote, windswept Sub-Arctic wilderness. I have learned that this week; but at least I gave it a fair try. It was a battle and the Icelandic wind won!

It now falls to me to take a few days out, soak in some of Iceland’s many geothermal pools, and consider alternative ways from here to complete what I set out to do. There are, of course (and always were), many plausible routes from Boring to Dull. Here are a couple that were placed “on the table” this week for consideration:

1. Jenni offered to drive me and the bike across to the far eastern corner of Iceland, to connect with the weekly ferry to the Faroes and pick up my original plan. That would leave me kicking around with not much to do out there for five days until the ferry departs on Wednesday night, while she drove another 700km alone, all the way back to Reykjavik for her flight early on Sunday morning. A kind offer but a non-starter.
2. I could take an internal flight from Reykjavik to Egilsstadir, in the far east of Iceland and pick up my original plan (as above). Again, I would have spare time but at least I could spend it somewhere like Reykjavik.

These two options got me thinking why I chose that route in the first place. I had wanted to reach the Arctic Circle, which is at the top centre of Iceland, and it seemed sensible to keep going east from there. The opportunity to ride a ferry is always attractive to me and the weekly connection fit well with my schedule. I have never been to The Faroes, so I was curious to visit. But that was where it fell down, because I still had to take a flight to get from The Faroes to Scotland and the options were limited to Edinburgh twice weekly (which took me past Dull without stopping). Plus, it would mean more days to kill in uncertain weather and I would have to depart in the same place in The Faroes as I arrived. It never felt quite right.

I concluded that all of this was unimportant if I could find a better route. Since the only other way off Iceland would be on a plane, I found a list of everywhere you can fly to from Keflavik international airport, ideally the same date (1st October) and time as Jenni. She is flying to Manchester. Half an hour earlier is a flight to Dublin, in Ireland, the only landmass in Europe south west of Scotland. Interesting…

If you draw a straight line across the Atlantic on a map from New York City to Dull, it passes just above the coast of Northern Ireland and hits the west coast of Scotland around the beautiful island of Islay, famous for its peaty whiskies. A little research revealed to my surprise that a passenger ferry – the Kintyre Express – sails four times a week from Ballycastle on Northern Ireland’s Antrim coast to Port Ellen in Islay. Well, it does in the summer, at least. The last sailing date of the year is 2nd October. Coincidence? I think not.

Now it was a case of joining together the dots and working through the logistics. I am happy to say that this journey is possible – just – in the time available to me, and I have made all the necessary bookings. All being well, I will pick up my straight line to Dull in exactly the right place and arrive from the Atlantic, by boat, heading in from the south west. I may be a tad delayed by Islay’s enticing distilleries; but I now have a route from here to Dull that is both interesting, varied, meaningful and true to the spirit of my quest. It feels right. After slowly crossing Islay there will be three more cycling days, reaching Dull around lunchtime on the 6th October, a little earlier than originally planned. But that is a good thing, too, because my son is flying to Japan for five weeks early on 10th October, and I would like to see him before he goes.

So everything is back on track and it feels like a perfect way to end this adventure properly. Bring it on.