Cycling
Payson McElveen’s Iceland trip highlights the wonder of the human spirit
Endurance cyclist Payson McElveen's new short film highlights his incredible achievement of setting a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) for riding across Iceland in less than 24 hours.
Payson McElveen's pursuit of adventure has taken him around the world, with some travels wonderful and others a test of the human spirit. The best ones are both, which was certainly the case for his trip across Iceland last September, where he covered 413km (257 miles) of the most rugged roads on earth in a single push.
His ride, which lasted 19h and 45m, included temperatures so cold that McElveen lost the use of his hands and roads that would "jackhammer your teeth out." It was the first known single day push across the whole island, from Akureyri to Vic, and an unforgettable day on bike for McElveen.
Watch Crossing Iceland on Cycling Around the World above to see McElveen's Icelandic adventure firsthand.
Payson McElveen
© Evan Ruderman
Fans of Game of Thrones will be familiar with Iceland's landscape, where otherworldly volcanic terrain seems just as magical as the dragons and fantastic creatures that the show projects onto it. Iceland is the only place on Earth where you can see tectonic plates meeting on the surface. The majority of the land is unpopulated and is characterised by desolate plateaus, mountain peaks and ice fields.
01
The preparation
FACT
McElveen prepped for this FKT ride across Iceland when he, his partner and friends, which included adventure photographer Chris Burkard, took on a 1,125km tour of the Westfjords that finished just 48 hours before the Iceland crossing attempt. Although the journey was fatiguing, McElveen gained critical insight into the terrain on his route across Iceland.
"The tour the week before was honestly so helpful in terms of getting in touch with the environment," he said. "I knew what to pack and was super happy with my bike setup."
McElveen preps for the adventure of a lifetime in Iceland
© Evan Ruderman
Having seen how brutal Iceland's volcanic rock can be, he made the choice to swap to the most robust 50cc Maxxis Rambler tyres he had: "I thought it might be overkill, but I was so glad I did – the rocks were much bigger and sharper than I expected."
Even though this ride was "extremely uncomfortable" McElveen believes that this bike setup was essential and that he would replicate it if he did the ride again.
Hear more about McElveen's Westfjords trip in the podcast below:
02
A route change
McElveen takes on rugged Iceland terrain
© Evan Ruderman
McElveen's ride would begin with a last minute route change: "A thermal vent opened up and melted a ton of glacial ice, creating a huge flood which blew out the entire eastern route. The night before, I remapped the whole thing to go west, which involved more pavement and was faster, but it was just another reminder that Iceland doesn’t really give a f*** about you and you have to be prepared to roll with the punches."
With the new route programmed into his head unit, McElveen set off at 4am on his cross-county attempt. A long, steep climb out of Akureyri would be his first challenge on this ride and also give him an idea of the sort of emotions that he'd be feeling in the next 15 hours.
03
The plateau
It was only once McElveen reached the highland plateau in the middle of the country that he realised just why nobody else had done this ride before him. In theory, the flat terrain on the highlands should have been faster, but the roads were "the washboardiest, roughest, jackhammer your teeth out roads you can imagine."
McElveen dropped the pressure in his 50mm tires to 21psi and hoped things would smooth out as he set off across one of the most unique landscapes on the planet, straight into a headwind. Things didn't smooth out and as temperatures dropped and rain set in, he knuckled down for what he thought would be seven to eight hours on the plateau.
The roads were unforgiving during Payson's trek across Iceland
© Evan Ruderman
The roads were the washboardiest, roughest roads you can imagine
While on the plateau, he also had to cross two rivers. With temperatures hovering around freezing, wet socks were not an enticing option, so he pulled off his shoes and limped across the rocky riverbed in neoprene booties.
At the deepest crossing, much to his amazement, McElveen unexpectedly ran into another cyclist – Marc from Barcelona. But there was no time to chat at any length for both and they departed onwards on their separate journeys.
Payson McElveen weathers icy temperatures to reach his ultimate goal
© Evan Ruderman
As you'd expect, McElveen got cold, even with having performance clothing specifically picked for riding in Iceland and these temperatures. His hands in particular were an issue, even with specialist Sealskinz gloves.
"I was breaking with all my fingers, shifting with my knuckles. I couldn't get in and out of my pockets or open any food," he recalled.
Without eating, McElveen would be in big trouble, but the only option for warming up was knuckling down: "I kind of knew that just dropping off the plateau the temperature would come up a lot. I mentally made that my finish line."
04
The final push
The end of the plateau was still over 160km from the actual finish of the route. Once he'd hit a tarmac descent from the plateau, McElveen spent nearly 30 minutes fumbling with food wrappers and frozen fingers. It was painfully "frustrating and slow", he admitted.
McElveen tests his limits and gets closer to reaching his milestone
© Evan Ruderman
As he hit the coast road, McElveen set off on a 65km detour from the route he'd initially planned, because a thermal vent had opened up. Despite this and everything Iceland had thrown at him, he started feeling better: "The calories kicked in, the temp picked up and the rain was sporadic. I was just on fire. I felt like a rock star."
The calories kicked in, the temp picked up and the rain was sporadic. I was just on fire. I felt like a rock star
As he rolled up to the black sand beach of Vik, McElveen was smiling and no longer shivering. Not every 20-hour ride finishes that well and perhaps that's why he felt a special connection to Iceland after his trip. Even though it wasn't the longest or the hardest ride he's ever done, McElveen felt a connection to the history of the landscape he'd been riding through.
"The thing that struck me was that this is something you'll remember for the rest of your life," he said. "The Vikings have been crossing the highlands by human power for thousands of years, so making my own mark on Icelandic history was pretty meaningful."
The look that tells you the end of the ride is near
© Evan Ruderman
As soon as they got home, McElveen and his partner began pouring over maps, planning which country and route to take on next.
"I really want to do one a year if I can," he says.
