After the Iceland Challenge film premiere at Eurobike in August 2013 and the US premiere at Interbike in October, we are happy to announce the short film’s Asia premiere which will take place at Taipei Cycle Show in Taiwan in March 2014. Read more →
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours,
Susanne, Ondra, Uwe and Andy
Iceland Challenge Short Film is Online
Six months ago, on June 20th, we arrived in Iceland and started our unique adventure – riding eflow bikes through the amazing northern landscapes shaped by fire and ice. For the longest day of the year we could have hardly chosen a more spectacular scenery than the glacier lagoon of Jökulsarlón, were blue icebergs drift towards the ocean. Our midsummer night ride at the lagoon has revealed some of our favorite film sequences and pictures from the tour.
Now, we have almost reached winter solstice, the peak of the dark season that blesses Iceland with northern lights and sparkling moonlight on ice and snow. Christmas decoration lits up the long evenings in Iceland and all over the world.
With the online publication of our tour short film, we hope to make your Christmas evenings even brighter!!
The Pedelec Adventures team wishes all our readers and fans, partners and sponsors a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Japanese LOHAS learn about Iceland Challenge
Cover story
Iceland Challenge in Japanese! The title of the recent Green Mobility Magazine Vol.26 features a photos of the snow-covered mountains of Landmannalaugar in the highlands of Iceland and two riders with eflow electric bikes – Susanne and Ondra – in Iceland’s most brilliant sunshine. The 8-page report in Japanese language comes with a nicely designed selection of our favorite pictures from this summer’s Pedelec Adventure through the nordic beauty.
Film Screening in Honor of LEVA President Sidney Kuropchak
Sidney Kuropchak (LEVA)
The short version of our film Iceland Challenge – eflow through ice and fire – had its premiere at the LEVA networking dinner at Eurobike in Friedrichshafen. As every year, this event gathered the light electric vehicle industry and was a great platform to meet friends and business partners and make new contacts from this worldwide community. The LEVA dinner was held at the Zeppelin Hanger Restaurant on September 29, 2013.
We dedicated our film screening to Sidney Kuropchak who was the President of the LEVA and had passed away from cancer just a few days before Eurobike.
Film Premiere at Eurobike – the Audience loved Iceland Challenge
The premiere of our tour film Iceland Challenge – eflow through ice and fire – at the world’s leading bicycle trade show was more than a success. We were overwhelmed with great feedback from all sides – the industry, the media and the consumers alike.
Pedelec Adventures and their sponsors celebrate the premiere of the Iceland tour film (Patrick Knappick)
We presented our tour documentary, a 23 minute film which we introduced by a short slide show performance, at the Eurobike fashion show stage in the East Foyer. What a great venue to reach over 300 people who could sit in the foyer comfortably and everyone who passed the foyer on their way from one section of halls to the other or who headed for the open air grounds.
4000 Kilometers Hardness Test
In June and July 2013, we went on our third pioneer trip to show what’s possible on electric bikes. Traveling between Iceland’s glaciers, hot springs and volcanos, we – the founders of Pedelec Adventures, Susanne Brüsch and Ondra Veltrusky and our team members Uwe Schlemender and Andreas Gutmann – faced the Nordic elements on speed-pedelecs provided by our main tour sponsor, eflow.
Midsummer night ride at the glacier lagoon of Jökulsárlón (SB)
In urban Reykjavík, on remote gravel roads in the West Fjords and in the rough terrain of the highlands, we challenged the all-round talent of the eflow bikes. Riding through Iceland’s amazing countryside with wind and rain hitting our faces in 24 hours of daylight and temperatures between 0 and 15 degrees Celsius, we put to test the rear hub motor and the latest battery pack technology from co-sponsor HiTech Energy using high-performance Lithium battery cells from Samsung SDI.
Tour Film Premiere at Eurobike
Iceland Challenge at LEVA & ETRA Dinner at Eurobike
» REPORT: Film Screening in Honor of LEVA President Sidney Kuropchak
LEVA & ETRA Dinner at Eurobike 2012 (SB)
Rafhjól means Electric Bike
Cycling is getting more and more popular in Iceland. Not only as a fashion or to serve practical needs, but also in the eyes of the government, with the local authorities in Reykjavík recently investing in cycling infrastructure. Although electric bikes are still a novelty to most Icelanders, the ones we met were very positive and open towards this new way of cycling. The people who took a test ride, always came back with a bright smile.
It’s so fast! (SB)
It was a great experience for us to be invited to the one and only specialized electric bike shop in Reykjavík called Rafhjól, meaning electric bike. Sölvi Oddson has completely dedicated his business to electric bikes and propulsion systems. And it all started as a personal hobby when he equipped a regular bike with a motor and made it so much faster and so much more fun to ride.
A Day in Reykjavík
Go faster! (SB)
Riding around Iceland’s capital city on the eflow bikes was a really enjoyable experience. While withstanding a chilly wind thanks to warm clothes, we admired the Icelanders walking around in shorts and tank tops in 12 degrees C. Oh well, at least we still had some time to get used to the expected June temperatures of around 7 to 12 degrees in Reykjavík.
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Midsummer Night Ride – following the Traces of 007
Ever changing ice sculptures (SB)
We spent the longest night of the year in Jökulsárlón – one of the most stunning landscapes of Iceland. Here, Europe’s largest glacier, the Vatnajökull, “flows” into the ocean, setting adrift ghost-blue icebergs in an ethereal lagoon. What a scenery for our midsummer night ride while following the traces of 007. This unique spot served as the film set of James Bond “Die Another Day” and Lara Croft “Tomb Raider”.
Finding our Pace
A ride through Höfn (AG)
The weather is much better than we expected. Sunshine and fairly warm temperatures make this first camp a wonderful place to get ourselves organized, let the Icelanders meet eflow and take a ride ourselves in the small town of Höfn.
Welcome to Iceland
In the early morning hours while on the ferry from Denmark, we could spot the the first peaks of Iceland still covered in snow!
Well – welcome to Iceland!
When we arrived at the harbor of Seyðisfjörður, we noticed a sincere concern of the Icelandic people that we help to preserve their nature and stay on the marked tracks. Which of course, is also in our interest.
Crossing the Ocean
Nordic views (SB)
On the afternoon of June 17th, we had finally loaded the last pieces of luggage into the truck and left Berlin, heading towards Hirtshals in North Denmark. It took us 12 hours to drive the 800 kilometers to Hirtshals harbor where we arrived in the early morning – early enough to sleep for a few hours on the beach right next to the ferry pier with the truck serving as the perfect on-the-spot-hotel.
Berlin loves eflow – Farewell at RedsDeli
On June 16th, the day before we started our journey from Berlin to Iceland, we invited our friends to take a look at the bikes and the truck at a small farewell event in Berlin. It was a great night with lovely focaccia and champagne provided by RedsDeli and everyone joining in on our excitement about the trip. See below some pictures from the event and stay tuned to find out what’s going to happen!
The Iceland Challenge Team departing from Berlin (AG)
Thank you to the RedsDeli team for hosting the event.
Ready for the Highlands?
We are ready! Now that we have bought this 4×4 Iveco Magirus to escort us through the highlands and to assist us crossing rivers and a lava desert, nothing can stop us from traveling Iceland off the beaten tracks.
Iveco Magirus 4×4 Truck
This 160 PS truck used to serve the public technical aid (THW) in Germany before an outdoor fan bought it to tour Africa with. Thank you Paul, for all your good advice and for having the truck completely serviced before our take-off.
eflow through Ice and Fire — new Adventure begins
On June 17 2013, we – the founders of Pedelec Adventures – are taking off on our next expedition. It is our third adventure on speed-pedelecs (pedal electric cycles) after having crossed Morocco’s Atlas mountains and Sahara desert in 2011 and self-sufficiently traveling Mongolia’s wide steppe in 2012. For this year’s trip we have chosen the Nordic beauty of Iceland to show what’s possible on the electric bikes.
Jökulsárlón: midsummer night (AG)
Iceland – a country that has been shaped by ice and fire, wind and water, long nights in summer and short days in winter. Traveling in between glaciers and hot springs, we are going to face the elements on speed-pedelecs of the eflow brand. In a variety of surroundings including urban Reykjavík, remote gravel roads in the North-West Fjords and the rough terrain of the highlands, the sporty design bikes will prove their all-round talent.
