Iceland - peaceonabike

June 11, 2024June 25, 2024

Cykelnerven – Summary

Note: On June 4-9, I participated in Cykelnerven, a cycling event that benefits the Multiple Sclerosis International Foundation (MSIF). We took on some of the toughest climbs to be used in this year’s Tour de France.

FRANCE

For those who prefer a simple summary.

SATURDAY, JUNE 1

I flew from Washington-Dulles at 11:30 p.m. to Rejkevick, Iceland arriving at 9:00 a.m. Sunday with my connecting flight to Milan, Italy at 8:00 a.m. on Monday. I had 23 hours to kill. Or explore. I chose to explore.

SUNDAY, JUNE 2

I really needed to rest. Instead, I did some driving in Iceland but I was very tired. My wake-up call was at 4:00 a.m. to get back to the airport and on to Milan, Italy. I didn’t see much and would have been better served to stay at a hotel at the airport and make plans to see Iceland another time.

MONDAY, JUNE 3

I flew from Iceland to Italy. When I gathered my luggage I found the hotel shuttle (with the help of the Terravision Bus guys) and went to the Doubletree Hotel. I had a sandwich in my carry-on from the hotel in Iceland that became my dinner. I did not try to sightsee in Milan. I was here 10 years ago.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

On Tuesday, June 4, I stayed at the hotel until 2:00 p.m. and then went back to the airport which was the meeting point for our transport to Briançon, France.

At the hotel, we had staff introductions, a brief team meeting, dinner, and built bikes (for those who brought bikes and didn’t rent).

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

We awoke to a chilly but beautiful morning. All of us would ride from Briançon to the Col du Galibier. This was the last of my “bike-it” (bucket) list climbs; one I never thought I would do after being turned back by snow on July 19, 2011.

Our second climb of the day was the HC Col de Vars to the hotel. I was last. It was a tough day.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6

We began the day with a climb of the Col de Vars. After a 15-mile descent, we had an 11-mile climb up the Cime de la Bonette, the toughest climb of the week. It will be used in Stage 19 of this year’s Tour de France. I thought I was done for the day after that as mu teammates arranged a shuttle pickup to the hotel at the bottom of the climb. I rode ahead, uphill, to the hotel, in the rain.

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

We had a 20-mile descent followed by a 10-mile climb of the Col de la Cpuillole, which will be the finishing climb on Stage 20 of this year’s Tour de France. That was followed by a 20-mile descent and a bus transfer to Menton.

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Our route changed from the plan to an out-and-back on the Col de Turini due to a road rally being held. I went a bit short and went swimming in the Mediterranean.

Conor and Barry before skipping out on the check

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

We took a bus to the airport in Nice. Sat 10 minutes at a toll booth when the driver refused to pay the toll, got pulled over and searched by the police, and the bus broke down. What a great trip to the airport. Flew from Nice to Hamburg to connect to Zurich.

MONDAY, JUNE 10

At check-in last night at the Zurich Airport Hilton I was upgraded to a relaxation room. I could have stayed in this hotel 36 straight hours. But I went for a 35-mile ride halfway around Lake Zurich and took the ferry across.

TUESDAY, JUNE 11

I returned two weeks earlier than planned on American Airlines Zurich to Philadelphia then Philadelphia to D.C. The flight time (aloft) from Phila. to D.C. was 29 minutes. The wait for luggage: 45 minutes.

June 3, 2024June 13, 2024

Cykelnerven Day -1 – Italy

MILAN, ITALY

I have the iPhone 15 and since I got it the alarm volume seems to be hit and miss. I set the hotel alarm clock for 3:55 a.m. as well. I needed to be sure to catch my 8:00 flight.

The alarms went off and I didn’t even hit snooze. I got up, grabbed my stuff, and checked out of the Hilton hotel. As I was checking out the clerk told me since I couldn’t grab breakfast at 4:00 a.m. to take something from their cooler. I grabbed a chicken and bacon sandwich which would become my dinner in Italy.

I headed for the airport. It was cold and raining. I was pretty confident I could find the airport but I had some angst about refueling. I stopped one mile short of the airport at a gas station. I pulled in and tried both credit cards and the pump did not like them. I continued on.

At the car rental was a gas station which could be part of the same business. I tried to insert the chip card and that did not work. I tried the tap or wave and it worked. I refilled the car.

It was windy although not as windy as yesterday. Sleet and some snow was coming down. There supposedly was a shuttle but I chose to walk the 10 minutes to the terminal rather than wait 10 minutes in the cold and sleet for a shuttle that may or may not come by.

Getting to and through security was a relatively quick affair. Once clear I saw a sign for the Saga Lounge. I hadn’t been thinking of lounge access and may not have thought of it on my own. I’m glad I saw the sign. I checked in and was able to have a nice Icelandic breakfast. And relax.

In the main terminal, the flight was on the board when I checked at 5:30. It was listed as 8:00 a.m. and “Gate Posted at 7:10 a.m.’ In the Saga lounge, the gate (C28) was posted. And when I went to the gate at 7:05 it was still stating that it would be posted at 7:10. Just a guess but the gate areas are smaller than most U.S. airports and they don’t want everyone showing up two hours earlier and milling around.

I monitored the status of my bike and could see that it was out at the plane when I boarded. The flight was nice. I sat in 1F and was able to connect to inflight Wifi the entire flight.

As I disembarked I went to the baggage claim area. One final check and I saw my bike was nearby. I exhaled.

Bike, Strolle, Bear, Cello, and Ski area – Milan-Malpensa Airport

Terminal 1 at Milan-Malpenso Airport is huge. I don’t know how far I walked but it was far.

I realized I did not know how to contact the shuttle for the hotel. Two guys from the bus company made the call for me.

Lodging is at the Doubletree by Hilton Milan Malpensa Solbiate Olona. When the driver picked me up he told me he would wait a couple of minutes for another passenger, Mr. Sherry. I told him that was me. He said I thought you were Mr. Barry. I assured him that somehow we got two reservations in there but just one passenger.

Recovery this morning was 8% on my Whoop band. I am very tired.

June 2, 2024June 18, 2024

Cykelnerven Day -2 – Iceland

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

I can see this may be impossible to keep up with in real-time.

Quick Thoughts:

I did not go to the airport from Aiden’s baseball but went home instead and avoided a six-hour wait at the airport
IcelandAir had a relationship with AirFrance for their lounge but AirFrance in Terminal A was closed by 8:30 p.m. American Airlines (I have a pass) did not have a lounge.
The flight was smooth. They served dinner after midnight (did not eat) but no breakfast for a 9:00 a.m. arrival.
It was VERY windy on arrival.
If I had my bike to ride I wouldn’t have ridden in this wind. Very brutal.
Make a reservation to rent a car. Three hours waiting in lines.
The good stuff in Iceland was too far to drive to. Not in a literal sense but I was very tired and operating on 40 minutes of sleep.
It looks like a barren moonscape until you get to Reykjavik which itself is a pretty city.
The North Atlantic Ocean was very angry today.
Plan B Burger was perfect.
Hilton upgraded me to a King Suite on the 9th floor.
I’m tired. Very tired.
Sunset is at 11:34 pm
Sunrise is 3:17 am
Don’t try to see Iceland in half a day. If you have half a day stay at the airport. Rent a car then come back. Icelandair lets you extend your stay which makes sense if you want to see Iceland.
I can’t tell you what to do in Iceland but I can tell you what not to do.

A Boeing 737. We parked far from the terminal and at least two buses carried passengers to the terminal. Passport control was quick and easy. No line. The agent asked where I was going and how long I was staying. And quickly through.

Getting a rental car was difficult without a reservation. In the terminal, there was nothing. A woman at Europcar told me I could walk 10 minutes offsite and try over there. I sat down, made a reservation with Enterprise, and then looked for the lot. I saw Europcar and went in. No lines. The guy couldn’t find my reservation and I realized my mistake. Europcar and Enterprise are not the same company but they are both green. Nice guy and when I asked one thing to see he said, “Blue Lagoon.”

I went to Enterprise and waited. Long lines. Once I got a car I had no clue where I was going. My phone and Bluetooth weren’t syncing at first and I had a difficult time locating addresses. Apple Maps, Waze, and Google Maps all gave different directions to Blue Lagoon.

I just decided to drive a little and then go to the hotel. This section of Iceland is the volcanic Reykjanes Peninsula. It is a barren moonscape with black sand and rocks and not much else. It was my impression of Iceland and I was so wrong.

The Blue Lagoon is a major tourist attraction. I never found it as I was uncertain if the road I was on was open or closed at a construction point. I turned around and was content to find any roadside pull-offs I could.

I stopped at Brimketill lava rock pool on the North Atlantic Ocean. The ocean was very angry and crashing on the rocks. Every 60 seconds or so a large wave would crash and the spray would cover the walkway. I went for a photo op and got gobsmacked by one of them. It required holding onto my phone/camera with both hands.

I found a bridge between two continents. The western part of Iceland is in North America while the rest is in Europe. A divide runs through here where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet or separate. This one is more symbolic as the actual plates can be seen in Þingvellir National Park.

The wind here was very strong and there was grit in the air from the black sand. People were unsteady walking on the sidewalk as the winds were so strong.

And I found a geothermal spring. It appeared to be like Yellowstone but without buffalo. There was a boardwalk and steam was coming out of the ground. There was also a geothermal plant here. I don’t know enough without researching whether they produce electricity from the steam or capture hot water.

I was driving to Rejkavik and was getting very tired. On the plane, I watched a video about driving in Iceland and it warned that because of the nearly 24-hour daylight, one may be getting tired while it’s still light out. Or perhaps you just arrived and had 40 minutes of sleep. That was me. I pulled off at a picnic table. I didn’t nap but closed my eyes for 60 seconds. It helped.

I arrived at the hotel and went through the parking lot. I saw a sign next door in a plaza for Plab B Burger. I went and got a burger meal (fries and drink – free refills!). It cost 3000 ISK or about $21.

Lodging was at the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica. It was a very nice hotel with excellent staff. At check-in I was upgraded to a King Suite on the top (9th floor) with access to the executive suite. It was nice sitting in the suite and drinking Pepsi Max which is an acceptable alternative to Coke Zero.

Reykjavik is a pretty city with lots of green and buildings. It looks much like many European cities. I didn’t have time to explore.

My impression of Iceland and its terrain was formed by driving on the volcanic peninsula getting from the airport to Reykjavik. But the rest of the country it out there to be explored. I probably won’t be back but I would love to – maybe for Northern Lights.