From the moment we arrived in Seydisfjordur aboard the Danish ferry Norrona it was clear that things were not going to be easy. The bright sunshine that had been with us on our journey across the North Atlantic was beginning to fade and there was already a hint of rain in the air. After almost three days of ferry travel from Aberdeen via the Shetland Islands and Faeroes the team was eager to get going. A delay in disembarking and unhelpful customs officials made landfall a stressful operation – forget drugs and guns, just don’t try taking pasta into Iceland!

The interior of Iceland is regarded as the last true wilderness in Europe, so desolate that it was used by NASA to train for the lunar landing. A harsh landscape of black sand and rock interrupted by fast flowing rivers, this was an environment that was going to test bikes and riders. It was for this reason that we had chosen to take lightweight trail bikes that would be simple to maintain, easy to repair and light enough to manhandle if required. We were also out to prove a point – you do not need expensive machines, unlimited sponsorship and a huge backup team to have a ‘real’ adventure.

With all preparations completed, the team set forth. The first few kilometres of hard gravel surface were fine but as we moved farther west the road surface declined into a mixture of hard corrugations or soft sand. To make best progress it was necessary to travel at some speed and an accident was inevitable. It came mid-afternoon as we were beginning to tire. Pat, on the lead bike hit a rock in the sand. His rear wheel lifted and bounced several times before the whole bike slid over into the sand. More spectacular than damaging (apart from his pride) the deep soft sand broke his fall and only minor damage was sustained to the bike.

Of far greater concern than the track surfaces were the river crossings. The rivers would be deep, wide, fast flowing and very cold. We had already been told tales of people who had been drowned trying to cross them and of a biker who, the year before, had had his machine washed away. As it transpired we coped pretty well. The first few crossings were shallow and easy to ride. Success at this level bred more confidence and slightly more difficult rivers were tackled successfully. However, safety was always of paramount importance and at some of the deeper crossings we were not ashamed to dismount and push the bikes across – flooded boots more preferable than a flooded engine!

The next part of the journey would take us to the ice and snow of the glacier region in the south-east of the island. Roads were a mixture of hard gravel and wet clay. The conditions resulted in a much reduced speed and it seemed to take forever to make any progress. Iceland may seem small in the atlas but it is the same size as England and distances were deceptive. Vehicles of any type were scarce on the tracks we were travelling but those we met all travelled at phenomenal speed causing small stones to ricochet off our bikes and helmets like machine gun bullets.

Particularly scary were the approaches to single track bridges. The Icelandic Highway Code gives priority to the vehicle closest to the bridge. A sound idea until you realise that the average local will speed up on approaching a bridge to ensure they get priority! Add to that the fact that the decks of many of the bridges were made of wood which became highly slippery in wet conditions, making crossing bridges a challenge worthy of the bravest of riders.

By now the weather had taken a turn for the worse and we decided to head south-west for a day’s R&R in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. A day spent recovering, repairing and re-supplying meant we were in a good state to complete the final part of the expedition – a second crossing of the interior, culminating at the most northern point of Iceland just 2km outside the Arctic Circle.

During the next three days we endured some very difficult track and weather conditions. The corrugated track surfaces caused constant vibrations and we had to stop many times to carry out minor repairs. At one point the exhaust heat shield on one of the bikes vibrated loose and detached. This caused the soft panniers to catch fire – quite disconcerting given that the pannier contained spare fuel!

Ultimately we got the bikes to within 50m of the northern tip of Iceland and we walked the remaining distance with immense satisfaction. We had completed a double crossing of Europe’s last great wilderness on simple 125cc motorcycles. We had crossed deep rivers, ridden among glaciers and seen some spectacular sights. In addition we had raised over £2000 for charity.
Would we do it again? Of course – the next adventure is already being planned.

Richard P Jeynes BA Hons MA FRGS

Archaeologist and adventurer Richard Jeynes established TRAILQUEST to run vehicle based expeditions around the world. The organisation also runs off road motorcycle training and other associated training courses. Most recently they provided training support for the UK-CAN 2 Round the World motorcycle expedition. Full details on their website www.trailquest.org.uk

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