LOGICAL

R1Liz travelled from England to Iceland and back on her pink BMW S1000RR. We wanted to know why and how

‘Iceland seemed like a logical next step after completing my long-term goal of riding my BMW S1000RR to Nordkapp last autumn,’ says Liz Salisbury, better known as R1Liz on social media channels. ‘I’d been focused on getting to Nordkapp for so long that when I got home I didn’t know what to do with my life. I had just quit my full-time job to see if I could make it as a self-employed social media/artist/YouTube person and needed something in my future to fill the void. Iceland seemed suitably ridiculous for me and the RR. The mixture of freezing and volcanic landscapes fascinated me. I’d be surrounded by the cold atmosphere that I love and I’d also get to see volcanos.’

Riding from England to Iceland, on a one-litre superbike, solo. Logical? It’s how 30-year-old Liz’s mind works, and no one was going to discourage her, no matter how hard they tried. She’d already ridden from England to the most northern point of mainland Europe (accessible by road), so any doubters – and there were plenty – were easily dismissed.

Liz discovered there was just one ferry to Iceland. It departs from the north of Denmark, calls at the Faroe Isles, then docks on Iceland’s east coast. To reach it meant a ferry from Newhaven, on England’s south coast, to Dieppe, France, then a two-day, 900-mile ride through France, the Netherlands and Germany to the port of Hirtshals, Denmark. ‘The journey is long and boring but the good news is the ferry to Iceland takes three days which is plenty of time to get over it and arrive in Iceland feeling refreshed,’ says Liz.

Liz had a definitive view on planning a three-week trip of this size… ‘Planning creates room for problems, so I do as little as possible. I looked up temperatures and road conditions and eventually decided May was the best month because the ferries were the cheapest and the internet said the snow would “probably” be mostly melted by then.’

Iceland’s weather is unpredictable all year round, so Liz prepared for the worst and crossed her fingers.

‘I paid for the ferry in January and then tried not to think about it or look at the weather until about a week before setting sail. Nothing in Iceland was booked, but I knew there was enough variety on AirBnB that I wouldn’t need to organise anything until the day before. And I took my tent, for absolute emergencies.’

She admits a lot of her fears of solo riding were dealt with on her previous trip to Nordkapp, so all that was left was a feeling of happiness.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt excitement like when I arrived at the check-in queue for the ferry, which surprised me. When the ship arrived in Iceland the first thing I saw was snow-covered mountains and the sky was clear and blue. I was extremely lucky and the weather meant I could head north and cover the whole island, which I’d previously assumed wouldn’t be possible due to winter conditions.’

Liz spent the next eight days riding around the island. ‘I’d received a fair bit of backlash when I announced my plans. A lot of people telling me Iceland wasn’t possible on my bike, and that going in May would also make my journey impossible, so I was feeling very smug because neither of these things were true.’ 

Still, it wasn’t like riding along the Cote d’Azur in July.

‘What surprised me the most was how safe the roads were at the time that I went. I could be surrounded by snow as far as the eye can see, but the road beneath me is clear and dry. There’s some wizardry happening over there. My favourite part was the northern route. I was completely alone to enjoy my favourite scenery, most of it untouched. Once I reached the south part it started to get busier with tourists and buses, but this was only in the obvious spots. The most challenging part was one long stretch of road across the south that is very flat and exposed to wind coming from the ocean. Locals warned me that even experienced drivers struggle on this road, which makes me wonder if I can consider myself experienced yet,’ Liz says, with a heap of self-deprecation.

‘It wasn’t the worst condition I’ve battled through on the RR but it’s in my top five. For a few hours I had to tuck in, grit my teeth and fight through the strong crosswinds, rain and slow drivers until the road became sheltered and eventually the wind dropped. I stopped in a small car park to get a close look at what makes up this part of the Island. The flat land is covered in old lava flow coated in a strange squishy moss.’

There are two obvious questions. The first, why do you travel alone and what is the experience like for you? ‘I’ve always admired solo travellers but never considered it a possibility for me, so I’d tag along with group trips,’ says Liz. ‘I wanted to go to Nordkapp for three years before I finally went on my own. I found my ideas got dismantled when I tried to involve other people: fitting in with their holiday allowances, preferences for accommodation, mileage, weather… If I was going to go I’d just have to bite the bullet and go by myself. It took a lot of courage, and buying my first solo ferry crossing was a huge step for me, but now, after all of that, I don’t even think about it, I just book it and go. When I decided to go to Iceland it didn’t occur to me to go with anyone. There’s no point trying to make it into a group trip and risk compromising what I want to do to fit in with someone else’s limits.

‘There are some problems with solo travel,’ she adds, ‘particularly for women. I love meeting people when I travel and I spent a day in Iceland riding with local motorcyclists and meeting their community, but sometimes I attract unwanted attention, which I’m confident I wouldn’t have if I was with a group. So far, my solo-ness hasn’t limited me and I’ve been able to ride or push my bike out of any problem I’ve encountered – sometimes while crying – but I’ve done it. There are times when I do think company would be nice to lighten the atmosphere when things aren’t going right. Occasionally some reassurance would be nice.’

The other question is, why a BMW S1000RR? ‘I bought the RR knowing I was going to do these trips on it. I know, compared to a proper touring spec bike, there aren’t many positives to a sports bike on a long adventure, but I love them! They’re the coolest looking genre of bike, the most rewarding to own and ride and I love seeing them in strange environments. I’m still blessed with a good back, neck and wrists, so I don’t suffer after a long day in a sporty riding position. The RR loves going fast, but it’s happy to be sensible. I do worry that my bike is a bigger target for theft. I’m not sure thieves look at touring bikes with the same enthusiasm.’

Liz says her S1000RR currently has 23,000 miles (37,000km) on it, and she’d love to make it to 100,000 miles. She has a future trip in mind: back to Nordkapp, then over to Finland, and down to Romania. If there’s one thing to take from this interview it is, don’t let the keyboard warriors tell you what is and isn’t possible. And be more R1Liz.

Liz travelled to Iceland with our US Drypack Combo 50, US-5 Drypack and Tank Convertor; OS Bottle and a Trail9 Adventure backpack with Trail Pockets.

Liz takes commissions to draw cartoons of riders and bikes (like her self-portrait above) starting from just £30. She sells stickers of a popular bikes too. Visit r1liz.com and follow her on Instagram at @R1Liz or visit the R1Liz YouTube Channel.

Photos: R1Liz