Kristján Gíslason

Kristján Gíslason (born April 16. 1956) is an Icelandic System Analyst and Adventurer who has journeyed around the globe and throughout Africa on a motorcycle – alone. He was the first Icelander to do a solo-ride around the world. His nickname for the journeys is Hringfarinn (The Compass) and Sliding Through for his travel video-logs. He has operated a website ( www.slidingthrough.com ), published 2 books (Sliding Through, Around the World on a motorbike – alone (Icelandic and English versions) and Andlit Afríku (Faces of Africa, the Compass – alone on a motorbike in Africa; only Icelandic edition) and made 10 popular TV documentaries about his journeys. To date he has XXX mileage on his bike since he first started riding a motorbike at the age of 55. Since 2018 his wife, senior high school/junior college math teacher Ásdís Rósa Baldursdóttir, has joined Kristján as a passenger on some of his adventures.
Kristján is a talented photographer and a gadget enthusiast. He has documented his travels extremely well, using Canon cameras, Apple Iphones, GoPro-cameras and advanced drones to capture both quality photographs and high definition videos. The immense amount of video material he has recorded on his trips led to the making of a 10-episode docuseries of Hringfarinn/Sliding Through, covering many of his unique journeys so far.
Kristján is also a popular lecturer, giving talks on his journeys at different venues regularly, inspiring both young and old to challenge themselves to keep active, be curious, stay adventurous and most importantly: be kind. He describes his tales as "... not a story about a mad motorcyclist blazing around the globe, but rather human interest research by a traveler on a motorbike – c , checking out his fellow citizens of the world."
==Education - Profession==
Kristján Gíslason graduated from XXX in 1976 as a System Analyzer, ran his own company,
Radiomidun (Radíómiðun), from 198X to 1998, specializing in maritime telecommunications,
fish-finding equipment and navigation systems for the fishing fleet (Nautilus, Iridium,
Dancall, GMDSS etc.)
==Personal life==
Kristján married Ásdís Rósa Baldursdóttir (born Dec. 8. 1956) in 1978. They have three sons:
Gísli (1981), Baldur (1983) and Árni (1989) and 5 grandchildren.
Travels:
Kristján was an avid golfer until 2010 when he had to give up his favorite sport because of
back problems. Instead of retiring from sports altogether he decided to try motorcycling,
something he had never done before. Despite an accident on his first ride resulting in a
broken ankle, he was determined to keep to this new interest. With his father's encouraging
words: "Never stop daring!" in mind, he set out to plan a 3-month long motorcycle tour
around the world in 2014, at the age of 58. Originally planning to ride with other
motorcyclists, he ended up riding solo across the globe – and the trip lasted 10 months instead of three. Kristján rode almost 48,000 km (close to 30,000 miles) through 35
countries on five continents.
2014-2015:
Iceland, Faroe Islands (ferry), Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, UAE (Dubai), Oman, India, Nepal,
Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand
(stopover), Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, USA.
2016 Across Iceland, Spain, Andalusia
2017 Australia, New Zealand, Morocco
2018 Across USA: from NY? To Monterey, Iceland, Faroe Islands (ferry), Denmark, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Russia
2019 Greece, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, Tanzania, Malawi
==Publications===
===Books===
2018: Hringfarinn, einn á hjóli í hnattferð/Sliding Through – Around the World on a
Motorbike, Alone. A 190-page book covering his world tour with hundreds of photos
and 66 stories from his 500 page travel log. "What this is not is a motorcycle book for
bikers. It is not a collection of stories about brake fluid, cylinders of different tire
designs. This is the story of a traveler, a man who matures on his solo-journey
around the world – on a motorcycle."
(Icelandic and English versions)
2021 Andlit Afríku – Hringfarinn – Einn á ferð um Afríku (Faces of Africa – Sliding Through
Africa, alone on a motorcycle). A 185-page photo book covering his journey through
Africa, traveling south from Egypt to South Africa. In addition to over 150 photos it
includes 23 stories from his travel log. (Only Icelandic version).
===Documentaries===
2019 Hringfarinn – í kringum hnöttinn á mótorhjóli. Three hour-long programs
documenting Kristján's journey around the world on a motorcycle. Broadcasted on
RÚV (Icelandic State TV) in January-February 2019.
2020 Hringfarinn – touring the US and crossing Europe from Iceland to Russia. Two hour-
long programs documenting Kristján and Ásdís' motorcycle journey across USA in
2017 and their trip following the Icelandic National Male Soccer Team to the World
Cup in Russia in 2018. Broadcasted on RÚV (Icelandic State TV) in 2019.
2022 Hringfarinn – the Africa Jouney. Five hour-long programs covering Kristján and Ásdís'
journey from Greece, through Croatia to Israel and Jordan – and then Kristján's solo-
journey through Africa. Broadcasted on RÚV (Icelandic State TV) in March-April
2022.
==References==
Category:1956 births
Category:Systems analysis
Category:Adventure
Category:Photographers