Lucy Mallows

The author skidding along, totally alone in Central Iceland

Lucy Mallows discovers a great way to appreciate Iceland’s magical capital – from the saddle of a guided bike tour

Published in Atlantica magazine, Jan-Feb 2011

‘Wriggle your toes to keep your feet warm and follow me!’ shouted gentle giant Stefan, as he set off, pedaling along the middle of the road straight towards an oncoming car, which, with Icelandic good manners, slowed down and gave way. Our group of novice cyclists followed in slightly less cavalier fashion, through the streets of Reykjavik, Iceland’s cycle-friendly capital.
In winter months, the dark, cold weather can make even the healthiest person feel lethargic and keen to snuggle up with a hot chocolate in the corner of a cozy café, however getting out and about in the open air and making the most of the brief daylight hours is a real energy booster.
In late November, I fulfilled a life-long ambition, visiting Reykjavik for the first time and on day one, I set out to explore Iceland’s arty, friendly capital in a new style: on a guided bicycle ride.
When the winter streets are slippery, cycling on sturdy rubber tires is, surprisingly, a more assured way of getting about than skidding on the glacial sidewalks.
The tour, led by Stefan Valsson, a native of Reykjavik and trained tour guide, really helps visitors connect with the environment as there are many stops at places of interest, where Stefan provides fascinating, often humorous, anecdotes and brief history lessons.



An icy light

We set off from the Old Harbour and the ride took in some of the classic Reykjavik tourist sights, but often Stefan suddenly stuck out his arm to signal and veered off down a back road or secret alleyway that only locals know.
The bicycles are not uncomfortable, spine-nagging mountain bikes, but more of the ‘sit up and beg’ city bike variety; a good choice for visitors who are maybe not as experienced on two wheels as they think.
We set off, breathing in deeply Reykjavik’s crisp, fresh air. We crossed a main road, cutting in front of motorists, who kindly slowed down for us, and rode up a little hill and into a tiny park, more of a back garden, by Tungata, where we had our first taste of superstitious Reykjavik: an enormous rock where the ‘hidden people’ are said to live.
Hidden People are called huldufólk in Icelandic, which is often mistakenly translated as ‘elves’. These creatures live in rocks all over Iceland and are invisible although they are supposed to look like attractive humans!
Author J. R. R. Tolkien wrote a thesis on Old Icelandic, and the country’s rich folklore with its hidden people, trolls and elves, had a great influence on his ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
Moving or defacing a rock upsets the hidden people who then take revenge. ‘It’s important to respect these rocks,’ said Stefan, ‘there are many examples of a drunken student peeing against rock then two seconds later falling over and twisting his ankle.’
Local resident Stefan knows this people-friendly city inside and out and clearly loves his hometown.
From the rock, we pedaled a short way to Adalstraeti, or Main Street, the oldest street in town with the oldest house at number 10, built in 1762. We stopped to admire the statue of Skúli Magnusson, a tax collector and the ‘Father of Reykjavik’ who is buried nearby on Videy Island.



Seltjarnarnes peninsula, where cyclists can discover a nature reserve, abundant wildlife and this dinky lighthouse

From here, it was another short ride to the see the statue of Ingólfur Arnarson, who named the area Reykjavik or smoky bay. ‘It should have been called ‘steamy bay’ from the geothermic activity, which Arnarson took as a good omen from the gods,’ said Stefan.
On sighting an icy land, Arnarson threw his two ‘high-seat pillars’ into the sea, swearing to the Norse gods that he would settle wherever they came to rest.
He landed at Ingólfshöfdi in southeast Iceland and ordered his two slaves, Vifill and Karli to walk west along the coast of Iceland until they found the pillars. Three years later they found them, washed ashore in a small bay. We came across a stark monument, representing the steaming pillars, after whizzing around the corner.
The dark grey dolerite stone Parliament House (Althingishúsid) adorns one of Reykjavik’s prettiest squares, the Austurvöllur or ‘east field’, located by Kirkjustraeti and Posthusstraeti, streets named after the church and post office respectively. On our late November morning, we were blessed with glorious sunshine, but the square was bare and watched over by a statue of national hero, Jon Siggurdson, created by sculptor Einar Jonsson in 1931. ‘In summer, this is Reykjavik’s greenest square and everyone sits out here enjoying the sunshine with a beer or an ice cream,’ said Stefan.
The dinky Domkirkjan, Iceland’s national church is known locally as the ‘cathedral’, despite its modest size and the famous Hotel Borg can be seen at right angles to the church.
We stopped for our next break at Reykjavik’s famous hot dog stand opposite the Kolaportid (flea market) building and Stefan told the story of how Bill Clinton accompanied his wife Hillary when she visited Reykjavik on diplomatic business. Clinton was at a loose end and wandered along the street to the Baejarins bestu (Town’s Best) hot dog stand and bought one. ‘However, he didn’t order it in the traditional way ‘with everything on it’, but only chose mustard. He couldn’t add raw onions because he had to meet people, and no fried onions, ketchup or remoulade because of his diet,’ said Stefan.
After the snack, we continued to the Radhúsid (City Hall) and went in to warm up. Some of the cyclists from more crime-afflicted cities were shocked that Stefan left the bikes unlocked outside. ‘Crime is almost unknown here and until recently there were no crime novels in all Iceland,’ said Edda, who runs the Eric the Red guesthouse up by the Hallgrimskirkja.
We then cycled along the bank of the Tjörnin lake, which looks so pretty in the evening with the lights twinkling and little children wrapped up warmly in brightly colored jumpers skating over the thick ice.
We whizzed across Reykjavik university campus and noticed that many pedestrians seemed wary of cyclists. There are many well-marked bicycle lanes and it’s legal to cycle on the pavements. Because motorists are so considerate, cyclists don’t have to concentrate on being run over and can look around and admire the view.
We continued to Aegissida, Reykjavik’s south-facing beach, where singer Björk has a house, and stopped to admire the stunning view across the water and also to sip reviving hot chocolate, thoughtfully provided by our host. We gathered by some ancient fishing huts and noticed how our bodies and bikes made long shadows in the midday sun.
After the gentle, seven-kilometer, two and a half hour ride, I felt as if I really had a sense of the city and could explore with confidence on foot at a later date. It was the highlight of my first visit to Reykjavik.

Information:
Reykjavik Bike Tours
Old Harbour (behind Elding Whale Watching)
Aegisgardur 7
Mobile (+354) 694 8956
Email: Bike@IcelandBike.com
Tours include: Classic Reykjavik, Coast at Midnight.
A 15km countryside ride (along part of the Golden Circle route) will start June 2011.

Labels: bicycle, coast, cycling, EU, Europe, ice, Iceland, North sea, Reykjavik, travel photography