Nature and Travel | Iceland Monitor | Mon 24 Aug 2020 | 12.17 GMT | Modified 25 Aug 2020 11.36

Burkard, Followed by Millions, Bikes Across Iceland

Chris Burkard. mbl.is/Hari/Archive photo

Vala Hafstað
vala@mbl.is

Cyclist and Iceland enthusiast Chris Burkard, 34, is riding his bike across the country these days, from east to west, totally unsupported, mbl.is reports. He embarked on the adventure Wednesday, last week, and has already shared spectacular landscape photos, taken during the trip, on Instagram where his followers number 3.6 million.

Click here to view some of the photos.

View this post on Instagram

I knew it would be surreal and maybe a bit foolish, but I had no clue it would be this beautiful & empty. We are 300KM into our 900KM+ journey through Iceland’s interior East-West. Today was the slowest I have ever moved on a bike & I’m grateful because it allowed us to appreciate this landscape on a granular level. We rode and pushed our bikes at a snails pace through ancient sand dunes, snow, glacial rivers and sharp volcanic rock. We moved through Iceland’s most recent eruption. Avoiding freshly formed lava rock with our tires. So far a few broken bits and pieces, some sore muscles and huge smiles. @ericbatty @emilybatty1 @adammorka @jordanrosenphotography

A post shared by ChrisBurkard (@chrisburkard) on Aug 21, 2020 at 1:27pm PDT

A picture he shared Friday shows his group of cyclists crossing sand dunes at a snail’s pace. “So far a few broken bits and pieces, some sore muscles and huge smiles,” he writes.

The cyclists plan to cover a distance of 900 km (559 mi)– a route no one has attempted to bike before, Burkard asserts.

The trip took a year to plan and prepare for, he states on his Instagram account.

“From the very moment we reached out to the cartographer to build the route we know it may not be possible. With the amount of deep river crossings (our route runs across every major one) , soft sand and heinous weather that stands in our way, success is unlikely.... but possible,” he states.

View this post on Instagram

Tomorrow we culminate a year of planning, route building, training & stress as we attempt to cross 900KM+ of Iceland’s interior unsupported from the farthest Eastern shore to West. From the very moment we reached out to the cartographer to build the route we know it may not be possible. With the amount of deep river crossings (our route runs across every major one) , soft sand and heinous weather that stands in our way, success is unlikely.... but possible. I’m hopeful but realistic as this route has not been done by bike and is near impossible unsupported. The silver lining is that the process of preparing has taught me a lot & I am grateful for that and the people it’s drawn me close to. I’ve decided to forego fundraising in order to focus on survival and documentation of the experience for y’all. Thanks to all who have sent words of encouragement. We are gonna need it! The day before I left @chrisorwig stopped by and captured this moment before I packed up. The only things that’s missing is the 25lbs of food we are carrying! Total bike weight ~ 70lbs Track our GPS in my bio link @ericbatty @emilybatty1 @adammorka @sonyalpha @lululemonmen @srammtb @zippspeed @wahoofitnessofficial @iamspecialized @sonyxperia @schwalbetires @nangausa @icelandair @ridefarr @tailfincycling @revelatedesigns

A post shared by ChrisBurkard (@chrisburkard) on Aug 18, 2020 at 6:28am PDT

The picture above was taken the day before he packed up for the trip.

Burkard is an American photographer and artist, based in California. He has gained a great deal of popularity as a landscape, surf, lifestyle and travel photographer.

Cycling in Iceland is not new to him. Last summer, he set a new solo record in the WOW Cyclothon, completing the 1,358-km (844-mi) distance in 52 hours, 36 minutes and 19 seconds.