Iceland Ring Road: Myvatn to Borgarnes

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Mývatn

   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.

   Read the complete Myvatn write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Mývatn is where the day begins. Next is Akureyri.

2. 2. Akureyri

   Akureyri calls itself the capital of the north, and with a bit under eighteen thousand people it is the second city of Iceland by some margin. It lies at the head of Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in the country, with steep snow-streaked mountains rising straight from the water on both sides. The air is sharper than in Reykjavik and the winters are colder and drier, and in summer the town has a gentler, greener feel than most of the island. The church, a tall concrete building designed by the architect Guðjón Samúelsson and completed in 1940, stands above the town at the top of a flight of steps, and its stained glass includes a window rescued from a church in Coventry after the war.

   Read the complete Akureyri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Akureyri comes up about 77 km into the recorded legs. Next is Blonduos.

3. 3. Blonduos

   Blonduos is a small town of about a thousand people on the north coast of Iceland, where the glacial river Blanda runs into Hunafloi Bay. It sits right on the Ring Road, Route 1, and is one of the few places of any size in the long, empty stretch between Borgarnes and Akureyri. The river is milky grey-green with silt from the Highlands, and it divides the town into an old and a new part.

   Read the complete Blonduos write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 221 km into the recorded legs you reach Blonduos. Next is Borgarnes.

4. 4. Borgarnes

   Borgarnes sits on a narrow peninsula pushing out into a wide, shallow fjord, and when the tide is out, the water turns into a shining flat of sand and mud with birds feeding in it. The town is small, about 1,800 people, and it is the main settlement of the Borgarfjordur district in west Iceland. It is a natural stopping point on the way north from Reykjavik, and most people use it for a quick coffee or fuel before heading on, which is a pity, because there is a good story here.

   Read the complete Borgarnes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Borgarnes closes the day.