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Crossing Iceland: Emily Batty and Chris Burkard share stories from nine days off the grid

On hitting a perfect weather window and re-discovering you're a badass in the middle of a bikepacking adventure

Emily Batty A Line in the Sand Photo by: Chris Burkard, Jordan Rosen

When the world came to a standstill, Emily Batty quickly had to adapt her plans. World Cup’s were rescheduled to fall and, faced with a long offseason, the Canadian refocused on a new objective: bikepacking across Iceland, ocean to ocean. Batty joined her brother Eric Batty, husband Adam Morka and internationally renowned adventure photographer Chris Burkard on a nine-day expedition in August.

Of course, you don’t just jump into bikepacking across an entire country without learning a few lessons. As Batty shares in the interview below, she rediscovered she’s a total “badass” while in the middle of nowhere. Then returned to Europe where she carried that mental strength to thoroughly enjoy the return of World Cup racing.

For Burkard, being on the other side of the lens as an athlete came with its own shift in perspective. Renowned for storytelling, Burkard found himself in the story, and chasing World Cup and elite mountain bikers.

A Line in the Sand Iceland
Chris Burkard enjoys a more relaxed moment mid-adventure. Photo: Chris Burkard, Jordan Rosen

Chris Burkard

Canadian Cycling Magazine: You’ve very experienced as an adventurer, and at working in wild and remote places. But the other three are all very fit (world-class) mountain bikers. How was trying to keep pace with them for big days of riding? Or did you’re “out there” experience balance that out vs. the Batty’s extreme fitness?

Chris Burkard: That’s a great question and something I was pretty worried about going into the trip. Although given my previous experience bikepacking and managing a super heavy bike, as well as understanding of the “long game” format of this trip I came to realize that we were pretty evenly matched. In fact my focus in riding has always been in the ultra-endurance space.. riding 2-3-400 + mile days for long ultra-distance events. Which I think made me feel really competent when it came to managing my speed, effort and fitness over the 8+ days. I was however so impressed by how Emily and Eric just seemed to float over the terrain almost effortlessly !!

CCM: As a professional photographer, you’re usually on the other side of the lens for this sort of project. What did you learn, or what did you enjoy about being on the other side of the camera as an athlete?

CB: It’s so true, my place is usually that of the camera operator and not as the athlete. With this project, I felt like I could still in some capacity help with the film – the story as well as produce the trip, while still experiencing it myself. Cycling is something I am so passionate about that I felt like I need to really be “in it” to have something worth saying at the end. It felt crucial for my own personal growth to ride alongside Em, Eric and Adam to really feel the impact of the journey. I was stoked that my inclusion in the film didn’t feel like it took away anything from the story but rather added to it.

Even with perfect weather, crossing Iceland involved serious challenges. Photo: Chris Burkard, Jordan Rosen
CCM: Years of planning goes into a project like this, and so many things could go wrong along the way. Is there a sense of relief that comes with not just making it across Iceland, but making it across in good enough weather to also make a film?

CB: Absolutely, you can never fully plan for something like this. We got what many locals are calling, the best weather window in Iceland, maybe ever. It was dry and near windless for 10 days. I still can’t believe it happened and that we managed to pull off what we did. Not just riding, but as you said, making a film in beautiful weather during this perfect window. It felt like a gift in many ways.. and I’m so stoked the crew rallied and took advantage of it. There was a definite sense of relief, but a small part of me, the storyteller inside of me, really wanted something to go wrong hahahah .. just to add some drama.

CCM: What’s your next project after Iceland? More bikes, or something totally different?

A: I actually have 3-4 films releasing within a month. INAKA a film about snowboarding in rural Hokkaido, and Arc Of Aleutia– about surfing the Aleutian Islands in remote Alaksa. I also just launched a film with Specialized’s Soil Searching initiative that discusses MTB trail advocacy and the importance of stewardship. So it’s been a busy month and I’m so grateful to be able to share so much good stuff.

Emily Batty
Emily Batty celebrating the successful crossing of Iceland in A Line in the Sand. Photographers: Chris Burkard, Jordan Rosen

Emily Batty

Canadian Cycling Magazine: Bikepacking is very different than World Cup racing. What was your biggest challenge in adjusting to that type of riding?

Emily Batty: For me, it was mostly just time on the bike. There wasn’t too much I changed regarding training except for adding 1-2 longer riders per week that were 160-200 km. Not to gain more fitness, but to get my body and joints used to being on the bike for 8+ hours at a time. It was a little counterproductive to my World Cup training, but with such an unknown race schedule in 2020, I took a more casual approach anyway and decided I would save that motivation and excitement in training for 2021.

CCM: This was your first major backpacking trip. While your brother has a wealth of experience, and I’m sure he shared advice with you, gear is very personal. How do you prepare equipment for the unknown and such a wide range of riding conditions?

EB: Well, as you might have seen in my Iceland Vlog, we were still determining equipment at midnight the night before we began the ride across Iceland. The gear was tough. You start with a long list of options, and as you get closer and closer to the actual ride, you narrow down to the necessities. If it were the bad weather we had initially planned for, It would have been a completely different trip and probably much longer, and maybe not possible. We got lucky with the consistent weather we had.

Packing for nine days in the most remote parts of Iceland. Photo: Chris Burkard, Jordan Rosen
CCM: Nine days of bike packing is a massive undertaking and a lot to pack into a 20-minute film. Are there any moments from the trip that stand out from the rest for you, personally?

EB: Yeah, so many moments, honestly. Just the sheer amount of laughing and how we self-entertained ourselves during the 10-11 hour days on the bike. The setting was gorgeous. It felt like the landscape changed every 20 mins and combined with the laughing and storytelling amongst each other, we were well entertained throughout the nine days. Time went by so fast.

CCM: So, this happened in the context of the global pandemic. For the film, you had to get a special exemption from the Icelandic government to travel there and to make the film. What was it like getting to Iceland? Personally, even just at home, I’ve relied on the one-hour or two-hour break from reality that escaping into the woods provides. What was it like disappearing from our current reality for 10 days, to somewhere where that could be back of mind, and then coming back to into society? The expanse of wilderness and the tightened awareness of every other person around you must be two very contrasting experiences.

EB: That’s a great question. It was enlightening, to be honest. Travelling was strange and felt wrong in a way, and then carrying onto Europe solo afterward after spending so much time with the guys was pretty depressing. It was a shocking contrast. I think everyone is just trying to do their best at the moment. Patience, calm, mindfulness, empathy, perspective – these are all things that are now more important than ever.

Emily Batty A Line in the Sand
Fording freezing-cold rivers is very badass! Photographers: Chris Burkard, Jordan Rosen
CCM: This trip was planned before COVID derailed everyone’s year. Did the trip’s importance to you, personally or professionally, change when Tokyo was postponed?

EB: Not really, actually, because initially, the trip was to happen three days after Tokyo and end the week before Lenzerheide. It was the only time it worked into the schedule. It was nice having it on the horizon, and it gave me a renewed sense of purpose and excitement within my training despite no racing. Iceland taught me to view my bike as so much more than this tool I use for training and racing – it became an activity I do with friends and family, explore unknown roads, transportation from point A to B, and so much more. It’s surreal how my bike became so much more to me through this experience.

CCM: The Games are still scheduled for 2021. Is there any connection between Iceland and Tokyo? Anything you learned over the trip or discovered about yourself that you can take back into Olympic-level racing?

EB: Definitely. I mean, there was no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t complete the trip, but we sometimes become numb to our surroundings. At one point on the trip, Adam reminded me how badass I am. And I had to stop and think about it, but he’s right. I am a badass. I rode across Iceland with three dudes and carried my fair share of the weight while not slowing the team down. I’m proud of that, and that’s certainly a level of confidence that will help continue to propel my career and goals forward in the sport, whether on the racing side of things or the business side. There is no limit to what we can do as people when you remove the framework or the box or the lane you think you are supposed to stay within.

CCM: After Iceland, you were right back into World Cup racing with Nove Mesto and then world championships. What was it like actually getting to race in 2020?

EB: It was so much fun. I was genuinely into it. Like I wasn’t there just to try and get a result, I showed up to enjoy the moment from training on course, dialing in the lines, prepping my equipment, the recovery process, and everything else that coincided with being back at the races. I was fair to myself too, I knew I trained all year, but it’s not as though I trained as if any races were going to happen. So I took a very casual approach while making the most of the fitness and speed I had. I was happy to capture some top 30’s and collect some UCI points.

I feel like it was just me maturing as an athlete, but I’ve been consistently on the podium in the past, I know what it takes, and if I had taken that level of focus and applied it to 2020, it would have been a big mistake. 2020 has just been such an unknown, so I completely recalibrated my approach based on what I thought the outcome of the racing would be, and despite the pandemic, there is still a lot of behind the scenes strategy and planning goes into what I do. I feel like we got it right. Some athletes continued training as though the races were just around the corner, and I believe some burned themselves out. I’m motivated and hungry for 2021 and the races to come and ready to turn it up for the Olympic games.

Emily Batty Nove Mesto XCC #2
From epic adventure to all-out sprints. After Iceland, Emily Batty headed to the Czech Republic for the UCI World Cup XCC and XCO season at Nove Mesto. Photo: Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
CCM: You had a strong finish in the first XCC – a short 20-minute event which is basically the opposite of bike packing – and then solid results at all the remaining races. Is there anything you did this year – Iceland or otherwise – that you think helped you perform well even with such an abnormal race year?

EB: Nothing, probably just more rest than ever if I was fully honest with you. And the couple of strong XCC events was all mental. I wanted to prove to myself that I could get to the front in the short track, and I could do that in the second event. Aside from that and using those races as an opportunity to try some new things, I had a lot of fun in the cross country events. I really just embraced racing with the people around me at the moment and enjoyed it and fought for it.

CCM: The Olympics require quite a single-minded focus. After the opportunity to deviate from that routine for Iceland, are you looking to plan more adventures like this after Tokyo?

EB: For sure. This year coming, I’ll be very performance-minded and have some big goals to accomplish, but we’ve flagged one big bikepacking trip annually as a goal. Life’s short, and the pursuit of better life balance is an ongoing mission but necessary, and bikepacking for me will play an important role in that. I mean, for the rest of my life, I get to say I rode across Iceland on a bike with my husband and brother. It’s just such a cool and proud accomplishment for me. I want to see what other countries we can ride across and document.

Emily Batty A Line in the Sand
Adam Morka, Emily Batty, Chris Burkard and Eric Batty on the edge of Iceland in A Line in the Sand. Photo: Jordan Rosen