Iceland Adventure 2016

Not if I want to stay married!


Sent from my iPad using some of the hippy skills I learned off Andres.

Just arranging to buy my first trail bike, I have a year to prep for next years trip. Of course the big decision will be 'do I take the 1150 or the TTR250?'

mr_magicfingers said:

Just arranging to buy my first trail bike, I have a year to prep for next years trip. Of course the big decision will be 'do I take the 1150 or the TTR250?'

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I was thinking along the same lines, big KTM or ickle CCM. I reckon the big bike is the better option in terms of load carrying capacity, (all important) fuel range and general versatility. The smaller option would no doubt be more fun and easier to manage, but as there'll be a group, there should be enough help on hand for the deeper river crossings. Or at least that's my hope!


Sent from my iPad using some of the hippy skills I learned off Andres.

MilkMaid said:

I was thinking along the same lines, big KTM or ickle CCM. I reckon the big bike is the better option in terms of load carrying capacity, (all important) fuel range and general versatility. The smaller option would no doubt be more fun and easier to manage, but as there'll be a group, there should be enough help on hand for the deeper river crossings. Or at least that's my hope!


Sent from my iPad using some of the hippy skills I learned off Andres.

Click to expand...

Of course, a new bike around the 690cc mark would be the best compromise, but I doubt I'd get that idea approved by 'er indoors.


Sent from my iPad using some of the hippy skills I learned off Andres.

Home safely, the dust has settled and the mayhem of being back at work is in full swing - I guess now is a good time to reflect on our fantastic trip to Iceland

As Tim is posting the mother of all ride reports (complete with fabulous photos) I shall just stick to a few random thoughts and comments about one of the best two wheeled holidays I have had, together with a few snappy snaps

The Country:

Probably the most wild, rugged and beautiful place I have ever been – it should be on everyone’s list of places to visit. Some great photos have already been posted by better photographers than me, but even these can only give you a taste of the landscape vistas you will experience.

Over the span of a day or two you can get 10,000 acres of sky, volcano’s (extinct and active), the smell of sulphur, the thunder of massive waterfalls, bleak and barren lava fields, geisers spouting massive plumes of water every 6 minutes, a glacier the size of Luxembourg, lush green valleys, fault lines where tectonic plates meet, huge rivers bursting with glacial meltwater, black sand, giddy drops into the valley below, huge lakes and the occasional artic fox wandering across yer path (allegedly)

You are left with a feeling the landscape is still being created around you

The Trails

How far do you want to go?
There’s thousands of miles of them and you can ride all day and not see tarmac.
Also a fantastic variety, you get wide open packed mud, gravel, deep volcanic sand (feck that was slippy), muddy ruts, trails that are flat as feck for miles, then steep as a bastard and badly corregated by big 4 wheel drives struggling for grip, downhill off camber haripins,

The River Crossings

Have to say they scared the crap out of me at first, but with some gentle tuition from Tim and the need to cross 15 plus of them in one day, by the end I was getting a water splash over the top of my helmet and laughing my head off as I blasted through!

The Awesome Steeds

We had everything from Spud’s lovely little DR350, the super fast middleweight KTMs and the big old GSAs ……and of course my own CCM (which I love more than ever now!)

Weight is your enemy off road, however if you’re an experienced rider then even the big old fully loaded GSA could be hussled down everything we did as proven by Tim (Off piste of this parrish) who disappeared off into the distance at every opportunity. For the less experienced though a lighter bike will always be easier to ride, and pick up should you happen to lay it gently on its side

The Camping

For those that like their creature comforts the thought of spending 10 days in a tent may not be the most palatable, but this is definitely the best way to travel. Not only do you feel so much more part of the landscape, you get access to a huge number of campsites and you don’t have to rely on finding hotels which are not always where you want them and can be horrifically expensive (£14 for two bottles of beer anyone?)

Just make sure you pitch your tent away from the snoring tossers!

The Bikermates

A special mention for the trip organizer Mark (Merlings1200), the bloke we followed the whole way round (the one and only Timolgra) and the Mad bunch of feckers who made up our little group of adventurers!

Get ready for Iceland 2017