a rendezvuos w/ Tom Cruise [Myvatn > Skjoldolfsstadir - 79mi]

After saying goodbye to my little group of friends, I climbed over the hill heading east from Myvatn. One last stop in the area to check out the Hverir geothermal fields- lots of steamy vents and bubbling mud pots similar to Yellowstone Natl Park in Wyoming.

Hverir geothermal area

Had a very pleasant (and well deserved) cross/tailwind today, which would make easier work of crossing this arid desert region. Back near the lake, I'd seen multiple signs pointing the way to "Base Camp" although the teenage cashiers at the market had no idea what they were for; there was also a flurry of cargo trucks passing by which seemed out of place. After about 25mi I discovered all the hoolaboo- the set of a Tom Cruise movie being filmed here! It was a mile off Highway 1 along a dirt road; the area was restricted to vehicle traffic but I parked the bike and wandered over on foot. It was a substantial temporary outcropping of large tents, trucks, tractors, props and stage hands. And a fancy helicopter, presumably to whisk Mr. Cruise in from his Reykjavik penthouse suite. They said he was actually there, but must've been too busy to come say hello. I was eventually told "no photos" and it was politely suggested that I leave, so I did. As I got back to my bike, a van zoomed up and a cute sassy security girl demanded that I delete all the photos I'd taken. Attempts to placate her failed, and she resorted to physically taking my camera and deleting the photos herself! My career as a paparazzi went down in flames like the villain in this movie surely will.

But I snuck one from long range upon my departure:

film set of Oblivion, the newest Tom Cruise dud-to-be

There's a short article from the Grapevine (Reykjavik's english language bi-monthly culture/arts rag) here. Who'da guessed I'd have my brush with fame (or Scientological infamy?) in the middle of the Icelandic desert??

After recovering from my starstruck giddiness, I crossed the Jokulsafjollum River and ran into some Icelandic cycle tourers. I'd yet to see a single Icelander cycling other than on beater bikes around town, so it was perhaps more surprising to find locals on tour than Tom Cruise on a volcano. [I suppose if I lived where it's dark half the year, and cold and windy the other half... I may not have gotten into cycling either.]

in fact there are two Icelandic cyclists on this island (the 3rd guy is Belgian)

At their suggestion I opted for a diversion from HW1 and took a gravel road through Modrudalur and the desolate moonscape of Modrudalsfjallgardar. Though 18km shorter than taking the paved highway, it turned into a lengthy shortcut with several brutally steep climbs on dirt. But the vast surroundings were impressive:

It was getting late and cold, but I pressed on towards a mysterious sounding guesthouse in the middle of nowhere with a free hot tub that 2 other cyclists, separately, had told me of. They had not lead me astray and around 11:30pm I came up the warmth of an inviting soak. To make things sweeter yet, the other folks there were some locals and perhaps the most stunningly gorgeous girl I've seen on this trip- a Swiss who'd quit her job to come work on a rural sheep farm for the summer. Delightful. She was quite enchanted with my trek, and was pretty darn enchanting herself. Sadly she had early morning farm chores to tend to, but I lingered with two other locals- one of whom worked at the guesthouse and eagerly apprised me of Lobster Fest this coming weekend in Hofn on the southeast coast.

My core temperature returned to a healthy warmth, I pedaled a few more miles down the road and set up a free camp right along the empty highway, between a waterfall cascading down the hillside and the Jokulsa A Dal river. Soft grass and moss made for a cozy night listening to the water rush by:

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A note on "SuperJeeps":
Quite common in Iceland are the "SuperJeeps" (although I've yet to see an actual Jeep-brand vehicle used in this application.) They're typically Japanese SUVs or pickups retrofitted with huge balloon tires, wide fenders and usually some offroad accessories. Many are used by tourguide services to take customers into the highlands and glaciers, but often they appear to be driven by normal folks who need a serious 4x4 to get around the remote and difficult interior roads. Those roads are often steep, gnarly, snowy, muddy and require hairy river crossings; these are the right tool for the job apparently. And a little showoff-y taboot.

one of the more beastly "SuperJeeps"