There is this famous Icelandic saying that when you get lost in Iceland, you just have to stand up and you’ll find the way. When we prepared for our big Iceland divide adventure and heard about this, we laughed about it, but also wondered: Are all trees really that small over there? What will the scenery look like?
And also: How hard can this ride possibly be? Little did we know back then….
Disclaimer: The rivet on top of the ATLAS’ fork is NOT intended for mounting a front rack. The rivet is designed for mounting a light and is not meant to withstand higher loads as with a front rack. Please don’t use it for that purpose.
Watch the pictures and read the story:
https://www.focus-bikes.com/int/ride-beyond-crew-gravel-iceland
49 Comments
Totally in awe of what you achieved. Very inspiring!
Wow!, I knew it would be pretty epic, but the first half is like "The Martian", but then with bad weather 😉
what an amazing job from you guys . my favorite part is when you first time saw tarmac road , i felt how happy you were
Man, that bit in the middle, looks brutal. I hope someone knew where you were just in case you got caught out there. Glad you made it out of there. That kind of shit really takes the fun out of bikepacking. Although, it does make for an awesome adventure.
very extrem situations, imagine you would ride alone with all this strugles – woaaauu – i think you survived as a team – and you are a team ! thanks for sharing this experience
Amazing video guys! Extra respect for Jasmijn, who seems never complaint and always keeping up with you guys.
What an epic adventure. Awesome video, nice guys and girl.
Awesome trip and video…but 21:49 was really scary 😮
Congratulazioni! Credo ve ne ricorderete a lungo! Bravi ancora!!!
What was that rear rack Jelmer was using on his bike?
What a journey and what a challenge! Really enjoyed this video. Well done"
Great video, and what an amazing journey. That looked really hard, was nice to see everyones spirits lift when you made it back to the roads again, Hope you all enjoyed it and well done. Thankyou for sharing it with us
What an amazing trip, you will all have fantastic memories for the rest of your lives. I'm too old to contemplate such an adventure, but I do appreciate you taking the time to video the trip and share it with us. Thank you.
That looked like a brutal suffer fest, particularly in the lava fields. Huge congratulations for surviving and completing the mission. What size tires were you guys riding Martijn?
Boring as hell.
It's like Cancellara says; Pain is temporary, the memories are forever…. What a ride! Great effort and congrats to you all…
haha, strong and nice film!!!! :))
Watched Lael Wilcox this morning traversing 900miles across Alaska in 3 days ,then I was treated to watching Ed Prat on his tandem touring the south west coast of England doing 1000kms.
And a masterpiece from ride beyond crew bikepacking the length of Iceland in a blizzard of rain,rough terrain and amazing landscape..
Cycling is such a powerful tool that keeps us spinning until the end is in sight..Huge respect to all amazing cyclists ..
RBC should make new merch with quotes from this trip
#I lava you ❤️
My respect for this crew has gone up a notch after the Badlands adventure and now this..You made my day…🤙🏼❤️🥰
I enjoyed the Vlog, even your low points. Plus, this group is always positive. Can’t wait for y’all’s next adventure. USA?
Great video!!
How come we didn't see Nature Mike as much in this video as we normally would?
It probably went down like this “oh yeah let’s do the gravel path going through the centre of Iceland…”. Little did they know that Iceland is the MOST extreme landscape on the planet. This is not suburbia, you can die in this place!!
Great going tho!
Awesome ride in beautiful (and difficult) conditions! I felt the chill in my bones just watching. I really appreciate the great video. Ride on!
My wish list the focus bike ♥️
Great video thanks for letting us ride along that was an adventure
Hi there, hoped you had fun on my little island. Most who ride that route would be on wide tyres, think 2,0 or wider. Some even do that on fatbikes. Which would make the rough stuff a bit easier to endure but will sacrifice some speed on the nicer roads. Also, I think you kind of pushed it in terms of clothing. The highlands are no joke, especially this close to the glaciers. They cool everything down in their vicinity and if it is raining and windy then it can get bone chillingly cold very fast, even during peak summer. If you get wet in cold windy weather in Iceland, then its going to take some real effort to get warm again.
Would recommend the westfjords on your next visit. Spectacular scenery, epic mountains and a mix of roads the ride on. Also very little traffic but short distances between towns so resupply is usually less than a day's ride away.
hey amazing trip guys , you can really have a taste of reality well done!!
Just one small question , for a long time i have been searching on internet
and i can't found an answer so after seeing your video i tough , perfect moment to ask : ho much weight where you able to carry in your carbon fork , i realised at list 2 of you are caring fork cages and waterproof bags in a carbon fork and the question is how much weight do you carry there (:P) thanks a lot , i hope you're able to answer this question because I've been searching a lot , and i can't found no where , how much load carbon forks can handle …
Really enjoyed that
Watching this, you appear to very lucky and it comes across that you were underprepared for the bad weather? Cycling waterproofs rather than outdoor waterproofs with hoods and waterproof trousers etc.
From hypercool to hypothermia, it was chilling yet cool to warch from my chair!! True adventure with a true group of friends. It was a gripping video. Had me worried you were not prepared for that extreme cold and wet, making mental adjustments to my own extreme kit. Hypothermia emerg shelter? Check. Strong tent? Check. More whiskey? Check!! And I am from Canada. Brrr.
Cheers for another fun ride-along and epic!!
You guys rock! Or should I say "you lava rock"! Chapeau and respect! I know you suffered a lot, but I enjoyed the video so much that I would not want this (adventure) to end! Shout out to the Crew!
need a hot coffee after watching this 🙂
@Martijn, do you still have your 1by on the Focus? Or did you switch back to 2x, for this trip or in general?
I have seen a lot of bikepacking videos lately, but never saw one which was at some point a little bit scary. And that gray landscape doesn't help at all. Hats off to you guys. Especially for lady.
You should drink hungarian pálinka! It definitely warms up! 😀
Omg! This route on those bikes!! Iceland has alot of super nice gravel riding! This is one of the worst! ; )
Really cool trip guys. I watched video with pleasure. Iceland 🇮🇸 is my next target Bikepacking trip and I want to ask about all of those houses in the middle of nowhere where you had accommodation. How to find them and booking overnatning there? Can I do it on some website or some special application? Please give me some knowledge here 🙏 🙏 🙏
What a fantastic video. Not only the awsome views of bike riding but either the uncertainty as you were trying to find a route through the water. I like your videos anyway but this here is awsome.
Watched that with a worried frown. Chapeau!!!
Why so unprepared?
The Hipsters survived Iceland. Congratulation. 🙂
How's the water situation in the Highlands? Did you just pack fresh water for 3 days or do these huts have water? Impressive trip and might have to dabble into a few of these bits myself when I get there 🙂 was a joy to watch with all the ups and downs!
Great video. I'd really love to buy a Focus 6.7 EQP but here in the UK they seem to be unavailable. Can they be bought direct and shipped to UK or even be collected from your base?
Awesome and epic ride and journey folks! A question, out of interest, during which time of the year did you ride the tour? July or August?
Two portions of epic and 9 out of 10 savage terrain
Ohhh..I Was in Iceland in 2004 for 11 days but riding in a 4×4 and in Knew hoy fucking is this land and this weather… I felt in love whith this country but… I've done 3340 km finales doing the ring road and i see a lot of infernal days ( cold, wind, show….. ) You are my New heroes… What a Hard, Hard trip. I admire you. I'm seeing videos from Atlas 6.8 because i want to buy it and i found this ESPECTACULAR VIDEO and amazing history…. I Will buy the Atlas for sure… Great bicycle and great people…
Excuse me for my english ….
I Will seen you another time..I sure…
I would love to here more about the bike setups with the bags, exspecially from Jelmer with his cool drybags… how he attached them to the bike at thhe back, if someone knows pls let me know
Awesome video and super well done!
Haha, Focus tried to promote its gravel bikes, but the video clearly shows that gravel bikes suck while a classic MTB is a clear choice for this route.
F*** those scales (from the video)!! amazing job team !!