Short day

Looks like the day is only about 6 hours ‘light’ in Stadur, Iceland where I presently stayed the virtuual night last night along the Ring Road Challenge. I am 110 miles along the road; at 13% of the journey.

-2°C (28°F)

Northeast 14 (m/s)

Wed Jan 27th, 12:00pm

Sunrise: 10:34:19 AM Sunset: 4:50:17 PM

Stadur, was once a church and parso­nage, with a wooden church that was built 1864. one of the first churches­ in Iceland to be painted, not tarred, it is decorated with wooden carvings. The land surrounding Stadur is fertile, and the area is home to colonies of eider ducks.

Eider ducks are the largest duck, live in rocky areas along cold water oceans and are known for the warmth of their down. The practice of killing the ducks for their down has largely reformed to eider duck farming, where the down can be collected without killing the ducks.

My real ride was partly on Round Mountain gravel roads, and then quick loop at DuPont, where I wish I would have snapped a photo of the beautiful sunset. Learn! And a meme craze featuring Bernie, with his now famous Vermont-made mittens is rocking online, so I put him at a trail head at Dupont. One problem: he forgot his bike!!!

Borganes, Ring Road Challenge

To the beautiful Borganes area of Iceland. I earned my first “post card’ which is a virtual postcard from me, and tells about the region. Rather than copy this put or research the info into my own words, these photos depict that postcard and the information included (credit goes to the Conqueror app).

Peace Tower, this is the best!

My virtual ride across Iceland brings me tonight to the gift of finding The Imagine Peace tower. Wow. Talk about ending up in the right place at the right time. I find myself another 7 miles along the Ring Road in Grundarhferfi, just across from the island of Viðey Island, Iceland, still on the outskirts of Reykjavík. Yoko Ono dedicated this tower of imagining peace in 2007, on John Lennon’s birthday. As we face a president who refuses to bow gracefully (or otherwise) to defeat, and instead is riling up violence and racism in the US, I am so happy to be (virtually) somewhere else right now.

Today, my virtual ride would have been ridden in 0 degrees F., whereas my real ride was at Pleasant Ridge County Park, at 55 degrees.
Tonight I will stay in a 100 year old cottage by the sea, which the photo of which would not let me copy, but this will be the view:

Good night, cheers and Peace. Above all, Peace.

Iceland

I just joined the Ring Road 828 mile virtual challenge, starting out from Reykjvik. DAY 1. 10 miles in, made it to Mosfellsbaer.
Imagine my surprise, as an everyday knitter, I find out that Mosfellsbær was once one of the main production centers of Iceland’s wool industry.  A wool factory, founded in 1896, is still in operation today. Today some of the old buildings around the factory are used for other commercial ventures. Icelndic wool is a knitter’s dream! Here is the link to the factory: https://alafoss.is/pages/about-alafoss

Alafos
Here’s where I spend the (virtual) nignt

Real ride was Cove Creek at Pisgah.it has been wet, and today was the first day we ventured off just gravel. 49 degrees at ride time, sunny.