Kristján Gíslason

Kristján Gíslason (born 16 April 1956) is an Icelandic adventurer, writer, documentary filmmaker and former businessman. He attracted national attention in Iceland for his 10-month solo journey around the globe on motorcycle in 2014 and 2015 and subsequent travels, gaining the nickname Hringfarinn. Kristján has published two photo-illustrated books about his travels and made 15 documentaries that have been featured on the Icelandic state channel, RÚV. All proceeds from these publications and documentaries have been directed to a special foundation, Hringfarinn – styrktarsjóður, which supports various charitable and goodwill projects.

Kristjan has delivered numerous talks about his mission and travels and has been on various interviews for newspapers, magazines and podcasts (see links below      ).

Career
Kristján graduated from Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð in 1976. He worked as a programmer and a systems analyst for Samband íslenskra samvinnufélaga (SÍS) from 1976 to 1985 and later ran his own company, Radíómiðun, which specialized in maritime telecommunications, fish-finding equipment and navigation systems for the fishing fleet, from 1985 to 2013.

Travels
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.

Kristján‘s wife, Ásdís, joined him on many of his subsequent journeys on the motorcycle, e.g. touring the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and around Europe and later parts of the Middle East, Patagonia and Japan.

Personal life
Kristján is married to Ásdís Rósa Baldursdóttir. They have three sons: Gísli (1981), Baldur (1983), and Árni (1989), and 5 grandchildren.

Travel books

 * 2018: Hringfarinn - Einn á hjóli í hnattferð (Icelandic). Text: Helga Guðrún Johnson.
 * 2018: Sliding Trough - Around the world on a motorbike, alone (English version). Text: Helga Guðrún Johnson.
 * 2021: Andlit Afríku. Text: Helga Guðrún Johnson.

Documentaries

 * 2019: Hringfarinn – í kringum hnöttinn á mótorhjóli, three episodes broadcast on RÚV.
 * 2020: Hringfarinn – touring the US and crossing Europe from Iceland to Russia, two episodes, broadcast on RÚV.
 * 2022: Hringfarinn – the Africa Journey, five episodes, broadcast on RÚV.
 * 2023: Hringfarinn – around Iceland, three episodes, broadcast on RÚV.
 * 2024: Hringfarinn - touring Patagonia, two episodes, broadcast on RÚV.