Viking Biking: Motorbiking beyond The Wall

I'm day dreaming about another exotic ride:  Iceland!

On the left is Isafjordur!

Below is what it's all about, vikings, mountains, ocean, wilderness!

How about a two week motorbike drive around Iceland, much of it off road on mountainous trails around fjords and past volcanoes?  Hot springs, aurora borealis, and some of the most remote, beautiful riding you can imagine.

Iceland has a ring road, but the smaller coastal roads offer an even more remote riding opportunity.  2300kms in 15 days.  Time to stop, take diversions and find the road less travelled.

Iceland!  2300kms around the island!

A bit of research uncovered Viking Biking in Reykjavik.  So we fly in to Keflavik International Airport and cab it to Reykjavik.  There at Viking Biking we get outfitted in true Long Way Round fashion on BMWs and hit the fjords.

Viking Biking suggests a 7 day circumnavigation, but I think I'd go for 15 days on a BMW F800GS, though going whole hog on Charlie and Ewan's R1200GS would be a blast too.

Fjord roads!

Most parts of this trip look beyond epic, but with whole sections that trace fjords around rugged coast, this would be some truly unforgettable riding.  That's without considering the stops at hot springs, volcanoes and the stunning wildlife in these remote locations.

Budget & Planning

17 day trip (one day coming in, one day coming out, 15 days on the road)
Depart:  August 20, arrive Aug 21

FLIGHT DETAILS
Tue. Aug. 20 (Arriving Aug. 21) Toronto, ON to Reykjavik, Iceland
Toronto (YYZ) to Boston (BOS)
Depart 4:25pm  Arrive 6:00pm
Layover: Boston (Logan Intl.) 3h 0m
Boston (BOS) to Reykjavik (KEF)
Depart 9:00pm  Arrive 6:00am +1 day
Duration: 5h 0m

Total trip time: 9h 35m | 4,608 km

• 1 day in Reykjavik, check in at Viking Biking, prepare for early departure on the 22nd
• Aug 22 early to Sept 5th (15 days) return bikes Sept 5th afternoon
• Sept 5-6th morning: R&R in Reykjavik and fly home

Return: Sept 6th

FLIGHT DETAILS 

Fri. Sep. 6 Reykjavik, Iceland to Toronto, ON
Reykjavik (KEF) to Boston (BOS)
Depart 10:30am  Arrive 12:05pm
Duration: 5h 35m
Layover: Boston (Logan Intl.) 2h 15m
Boston (BOS) to Toronto (YYZ)
Depart 2:20pm  Arrive 4:03pm
Duration: 1h 43m
Total trip time: 9h 33m | 4,608 km

Bike Rental for 15 days: $2400

Airfare Toronto to Reykjavik: $1000 return

Hotels: $150/night for 16 nights, $2400

Sundry: $1400

TOTAL:  ~ $6900 solo (cheaper per person if travelling in a group with shared accommodation)

I think I'd have to do at least a bit of this dressed for Game of Thrones!

Going Places

The first real cross country trip

I've been going out on local jaunts, no more than an hour out and back again.  Last weekend I did my first cross country trip, actually going somewhere.  A Saturday trip from Elora to Ancaster for an education conference.  75 kms each way and well out of my right around the house roads.

The ride down was a bit awkward.  It was cool, but I went light knowing that it was getting hotter later in the day.  After about half an hour on the bike I realized that I was tense all over, not the best approach to riding.  I made a point of unclenching and trying to go for alert and relaxed.

I got there early, elated, and a bit cold,
the Starbucks on tap helped

The ride had a lot of firsts: my first passing of another vehicle, my first time on a divided, multi-lane highway and my first time on non-local, unfamiliar roads.  I stopped a couple of times to make adjustments and to stretch.  That unclenching thing is perhaps the best thing I learned.  Rather than gripping the handlebars, I started holding them more loosely, which stopped the fingers from stiffening up.  I also made a point to move around a lot on the bike, sometimes getting down behind the windshield and out of the blast, other times sitting up into it.

The ride ended uneventfully with me pulling in to the school parking lot early and parking next to another teacher I'd been talking bikes with the week before.  I was able to drop my gear in an office in the school and enjoyed the gathering.  Showing up to something like this after a bike ride has you full of oxygen and feeling energized, it's a nice way to start the day.

Sulfur Springs Road out of Ancaster

I left from downtown Ancaster in late afternoon.  The temperature was about fifteen degrees warmer than it had been, but the nicest surprise was stumbling across Sulfur Springs Road as I was mapping my way out.  This was five kilometers of decidedly un-Ontario curvy road.  I got my gearing wrong on almost all of it, but it was nice to wind my way through.  If you're down Hamilton way, I'd highly recommend it.  There are some really nice, old pubs on Ancaster's main street as well, which was the only time I regretted riding the bike (no Guinness for me).

The ride back was beautiful.  Warm but not hot, sunny, but I wasn't riding into it, mostly empty roads, and the ride down had shown me a couple of ways not to get too tense while in the saddle for a long time.  If you can stay loose, you'll be more aware of what's going on around you and be better able to respond to it.  If that's a 150 kilometer trip then I think I could squeeze out 100km bursts four or five times in a day with breaks between quite comfortably.  On a more comfortable bike (the Ninja is a little high strung), I'd do a couple of tanks (about 160 miles to a tank on the Ninja) a day and feel like I'm covering miles well without pushing hard.  That puts me well over 500kms a day on two tanks (about thirty bucks worth of premium gas).

Back over the 401 on my way back I came upon a multi-vehicle accident with ambulances tearing away with lights and sirens and several police and fire/emergency units on hand.  The wrecked vehicles were both SUVs... those things just aren't safe, especially when one runs a four way stop and broadsides another one.  Many people were very anxious about my riding down to this thing.  I wonder how many worried about making the trip in SUVs.

I'm suspicious of anyone in a car when I'm on the bike, but I find that bleeding over into when I'm in a car too.  I'm beginning to think anyone who wants to drive a car should have to do a year on a bike first, it'd give them some much needed humility, and an opportunity to appreciate the physics of driving without being isolated in a metal box.

Gitchigoomie Go-Around

another tour, this one a bit more plausible...

Circumnavigating Lake Superior (and Huron)

Google Map

Stage 1: Southern Ontario to Michigan: 135 Miles / 217kms

Stage 2: Southern Michigan: 288 Miles / 463 kms

Stage 3: Northern Michigan: 603 Miles / 907 kms

Stage 4: Ontario North: 502 Miles / 808 kms

Stage 5: Bruce Peninsula: 140 Miles / 225 kms

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Mileage: 1668 Miles / 2685 kms

At 400 kms/day, about a week (just under 7 days) of riding.  If we pushed one day, we could have a light day the next.  The green pins indicate population areas at around 400 kilometre intervals where a stop would be possible.

Ideal travel time would be late summer, as the nights are getting cooler and the bugs are dying down.  One of the last two weeks of August would be good.  September would be spectacular, though cooler, especially if the colours were starting to turn.

Superior Foliage Report

Lake Superior Motorbike Touring

Ride Lake Superior

Gear Upgrades & Bike Tribes

After a couple of weeks on a bike, I'm starting to get a feel for what I like in kit.  I think having a real set of boots and pants really paid off at the course (near freezing and windy).  Windproof clothes are worth their weight in gold.  The other day I did my longest ride wearing the jeans I wore to work and it wasn't very comfortable.  I'm a big fan of wearing kit that suits the activity, jeans are a poor second choice.

The other piece that I'm not feeling are my gloves.  They're sufficient (they are Joe Rocket biking specific gloves) and they are comfortable, but plain black and not particularly warm.  I was aiming for a white/grey vibe when I started, the Alpinestars SP-1 gloves shown are a nice, gauntletted glove that look like they offer a much wider range of comfortable temperature options (they close up or vent as needed).  They also cost four times what the beginner gloves I got cost.  I imagine they are whole levels of awesomeness beyond the basic gloves I started with.

I did the same thing with boots, I picked up the cheapest pair of bike-specific boots that were available.  They are warm, dry and quite tall.  I've always wanted an ankle boot, for cooling and the Alpinestars S-MX1 boots on the right give me the monochromatic look I've been looking for in a boot that isn't huge.  I purchased pretty low-rent gear to begin, mainly because what was available in the shop in the budget I was looking for.  It was all purchased without any time in the saddle, so I didn't really know what I needed, other than it should be motorbike specific.

The pants I got (I hadn't planned on buying pants), happened to be on sale.  They've been great, and as early/late season pant they're wind resistant, have a liner that would let you ride in a snow storm and have a zipper, so you could get some air going through them.  They are too long and way (WAY) too hot for summer driving.  Looking for well ventilated pants I could wear over shorts, these Rev'It Airwave pants fit the bill, and continue the monochromatic theme I'm looking for.  A light coloured pant would also help keep the heat out.

The one piece of kit I wouldn't want to change is the jacket I got.  The Joe Rocket Atomic 11.0 textile jacket is fantastic.  Great wind resistance, a removable liner, vent openings, it fits me perfectly and feels fantastic... this is a jacket for all seasons, I have no regrets with it at all.  I imagine the more expensive jackets might offer lighter weight, but this particular jacket is my favorite purchase.  It's padded in all the right places and I even like the break with my monochromatic vibe.  I've yet to find a situation where the jacket hasn't been just what I wanted it to be.

The other purchase I've been really happy with is my Zox Helmet.  The funny part was I was treating it like a

full face helmet until one day I wondered what the red button on the chin did, and suddenly it was a modular helmet that flipped up!  It's comfortable, but the wind noise isn't ideal.  I'm guessing more expensive helmets offer a tighter fit and finish meaning less wind noise.  It has nice venting, and when I treat the visor with a bit of soap, it's fog free.   As a cheap first helmet, I've no regrets. It does more than I hoped it would and didn't break the bank to do it.  It also lets me live my inner Stig, which is never a bad thing.  The built in sun visor is a nice touch too.  It really is a full featured helmet.  The double adjustable top and bottom vents work very well and the storm trooper vibe is cool.

If I had any advice for buying kit your first time it would be: don't rush it, try on lots of stuff, and then walk away and think about it.  Waiting a couple of weeks saved me a couple of hundred bucks as things went on sale for spring time.  Trying on a number of different styles also lets you decide what fits you better, and what feels right.  I need to adjust the pants (too long in the leg) but I can probably pin them up.  After a bit of looking, I've found pants that offer the same size with a shorter inseam.  My next purchase will be more pinpoint accurate in terms of sizing.

In riding I've noticed that there are tribes.  I definitely fall into the sport bike/standard bike crowd with my textile gear and full face helmet.  The 'I'm too cool' leather cruiser crowd are so busy putting out a vibe they don't have time to wave.  I've found everyone who isn't a Harley knob makes a point of giving me a wave. As a new rider, that's a nice feeling.  To all the ZZ Top chopper types, I say, "whatever dude."

Finessing the Ride

I've been on the bike every chance I've been able to get the past few days.  My longest ride was an hour and ten minute look over to where I used to live and back again.  Yesterday, making use of our last warm, rain free day before the temperature drops and frozen mud returns, I was out and about north of town.  I've been trying to get my shifts smoother.  When I'm gearing up I'm finding the bike plunging going up gears because the revs are so high and the engine drops off revs so quickly.  You need to give it a touch of throttle between bringing the clutch in and engaging it again to match engine revs to road speed.  It's tricky.

I've gotten out of the habit of dropping the clutch in the middle of a corner, making those much smoother, and I'm remembering to turn off the signals much more.  Only once or twice did I forget and have to do it after the fact (usually after tearing up a road after a good turn).  The roads are cleaner and less sand covered, so I'm less worried about washing out in corners.  I'm still startled by how much power the bike has.  You have to hang on tight if you wind it out.

On my way back home the gas light finally came on.  162 miles on that tank (261kms?).  It took $16 to fill it with the highest grade gas I could find.  After I've done the plugs and cleaned the fuel system, I think I can get that over 300kms to a tank.

The real excitement came when I pulled into the gas station for my first fill up.  The premium pump was empty so I went to pull in.  Just then a woman in an old Taurus started backing into the same lane, so I stopped quickly.  So far so good, except her angle is all wrong and she's driving right for the curb the gas pump is on.  She starts to pull forward so I assume (wrongly) that she is doing a 3 point turn and leaving.  Instead, she starts backing up again.  I haul on the brakes hard.  This time I can't get my legs down in time and drop the bike, still running, my hand locked on the front brake and clutch.  Rather than hit the kill switch (and because I'm in embarrassed shock), I try to dead lift a 400lb Ninja back onto its feet.  I didn't do it the first time, the adrenaline did it for me the second time (I'm a big guy).  I got her back on her wheels, still with the front brake and clutch in.  The woman in the Taurus has since backed up again because she went up on the curb and is trying to back into the slot again, except she goes over the curb a third time, then a forth time.  She finally backs it up into the slot back from the one I was trying to pull into.

The guy filling his truck makes eye contact with me and shakes his head.

I walk the bike up to the pump only to discover it doesn't work.  Excellent.  I end up walking it over to the next lane and the other premium pump and finally get to fill up my new bike for the first time.  The ride home had me second guessing everything I was doing.  After a nice ride I was shaky.  Later that night my right arm feels tight, I think I pulled something deadlifting a 400lb Ninja out of the way of the most incompetent driver I encountered on that ride.  On the upside, at least she didn't kill me driving down the road, and I can now say I've dropped my bike, picked it up and gone on.  Thank goodness the guy before me put frame sliders on it, no damage done (other than to my pride).