Introduction

I was googling 'Iron distance triathlons around the world' in December 2014 and came across the 'Snaefellsnes Jankarl' triathlon that was happening in Iceland in June 2015. I clicked on the link and knew that I had to get involved - it was described as 'combining tough long distance triathlon with the most spectacular nature on earth'. It said to expect 'an unofficial almost 100% self-supportive event', and 'the organisation is one person and the aim is to show and share this extreme place with some other triathlon people'. It was completely free of charge and the tagline was 'it's all about swimming, cycling, running and having a day we will always remember. I was sold. I had been wanting to go to Iceland for the last 2 years before this trip but hadn't done anything about it. The triathlon finally gave me a date to commit to. I booked my flights to Reykjavik in March and would be spending 10 days in the country. The triathlon was on Day 3, so the plan for the remaining 7 days was to do as much cycling as possible around the ringroad, do some hiking, go to the hot springs, see the erupting Geysirs, go diving at Silfra Fissure at Thingvellir National Park (Highly recommended by my friend Gabi who had done this recently), see the big waterfalls and at the end of the week celebrate with a night out in Reykjavik. I wasn't particularly well prepared in the build up to the trip for the following reasons: - Awaiting a replacement part for my bike for at least a month that finally arrived 3 days before my flight, so lack of relevant bike training - Fatigued from a 12 hour Ultra Duathlon 2 weeks earlier - No real plan/itinerary of what to do after the triathlon - No proper test for my new seat posted pannier rack/pannier bags/tent bike touring setup before the trip. So armed with little more than a map and hoping that I hadn't forgotten anything whilst squeezing everything into the bike box a matter of hours before the flight I made my way to the airport early Thursday morning. This trip was always going to be a case of 'going with the flow', completely different to my previous cycle trips that involved a daily mileage and overall destination/deadline to get there. I knew that the combination of hostile weather, fatigue levels, and prioritising hiking, taking photos and seeing the sights would have a big effect on the number of miles I would ultimately be able to pedal. I was extremely excited to try this different approach and to see what Iceland had to throw at me...