One of my more amazing recent backcountry experiences was biking through the mountains of southern Iceland with my best pals Scott Olson and JP LaMere.
On this occasion
, we attended an event hosted by our friends at Lauf Forks. After a few days with our pals at Lauf getting to know the area and identifying our favorite local foods, we were off on our own.
We spent several days in the backcountry of Thorsmork National Forest—Thor’s Forest—exploring on the ultra-lightweight LaMere machines. Wow! One of the best areas to ride. We could ride anywhere on these bikes. The terrain was friendly to the large tires, the Lauf fork further smoothed any rough edges, a
nd the endless rolling mountains became our playground.
The most amazing aspect of this backcountry terrain was the fact that the tops of the ranges were flat Italian piazza “like” terraces as if individual stones were hand placed to make a smooth comfortable surface for the guests.
With no bugs, no charismatic megafauna, no sheer cliffs, and 23.5 hours of daylight, we could go all night, rest when we wanted, and explore at will. We explored tons of terrain, rested outdoors on the moss beds, 
and enjoyed the outdoors more in a week then I had in a long time.
For me, this was one of the more incredible backcountry experiences I have ever had.
I know Iceland is currently a “hot” popular tourist spot, so be sure to get to the backcountry if you visit—the pubs, hot pools, waterfalls, etc. are awesome but the backcountry is the real gem of Iceland—and to find it you must travel to the end of the rainbow.