Mývatn means midge lake, and the name is honest, because in early summer clouds of small, harmless flies hang above the water and rise from the shore in a shimmering haze. They are the foundation of an ecosystem that feeds one of the richest populations of breeding ducks in Europe, and in June the lake is crowded with them. Bring a face cover in still weather, and keep your visor closed.
The landscape is the real reason to come. Mývatn sits on the volcanic rift that splits Iceland, and everything around it is the result of fire: the Skútustaðagígar pseudocraters, rings of grassy cones formed when lava flowed over wet ground and blasted steam through it; the labyrinth of black lava pillars and arches at Dimmuborgir; the perfect tuff crater Hverfjall, a kilometre across and easy to climb. East of the lake, the Ring Road climbs the Námaskarð pass through Hverir, a rust-coloured geothermal field where mud pots plop and steam hisses out of vents, and the whole place smells strongly of sulphur. The nearby Krafla volcano erupted repeatedly between 1975 and 1984, and a walk across its blackened lava field is a humbling experience.
Riding here is easy but not entirely relaxed. The Ring Road, Route 1, is paved and well maintained, with long straights and gentle curves across open lava plains and moorland. The risks are wind, which can turn violent and push a bike sideways, sudden rain and fog, and gravel on the verges and at junctions. Traffic is moderate in summer. The best time is June to August, with the midnight sun in June giving light all night, and by September snow can arrive. Fuel is available in Reykjahlíð, the village on the lake's northeast shore, and the next bigger service stops are at Akureyri in one direction and Egilsstaðir in the other. Laugar, about twenty kilometres away, is the nearest settlement of any size to the west.
Locals bake rye bread in the hot ground near the lake and serve it with smoked trout, which is worth trying, and the Mývatn Nature Baths, a geothermal lagoon of milky blue water, are an ideal place to soak after a cold, windy day. Dress warmly, even in summer, because temperatures at the lake can drop sharply.