A last minute (well a month) decision by the family to book an Easter holiday away in Tenerife to escape the brutal winter we have had in 2018 provided the perfect scenario to get some warm weather cycling in and to tick of a bucket list cycle in Mount Teide.
I hired a bike from
Bike Point Tenerife which is situated in Playas de Americas. I was staying about 20 miles away in Playas de Arenas but for 40 euros they will deliver and pick up the bike to your hotel which is very handy. And a nice bike it was too. A BMC Road Machine was mine for a few days and I found it to be a very comfortable ride and was extremely glad of the hydraulic disc brakes on most of the scary hairpin descents.
Mount Teide - Playground of the Pros
I made my first challenge the ascent of Mount Teide, Tenerife's mighty volcano. It stands at 3718m making it the highest mountain in Spain and the road to the highest point is the longest climb in Europe at around 2600m. It is daunting to be at the bottom of a mountain looking at the road sign which tells you the summit is 48km away but I set off, heeding advice to take it slowly to begin with. I also took it slowly in the middle and at the end of the climb. This is a monster. Never overly steep but never ending it seems. You appear to cycle through 3 different climates. First 3rd is spent rising through Spanish heat and scrub with cacti for company before you first start to reach the cloud which gives moisture to the second 3rd to Villaflor, wetting the farms and fincas as they grow produce in the rich volcanic soil followed by the last 3rd which is through the beautiful Corneal Forest which reminded me more of Dumfries and Galloway at times in its for trees. You then break the cloud and treeline into the summit of the climb and into the volcanic crater of Teide.
Wow. The desolation of the landscape is fantastic to see and akin to being on the surface of Mars. At this level this was my fist experience of the air being slightly thinner and on a long flat at the top I did feel a tad out of breath for the effort I was making.
I descended on the North road back down to Los Gigantes. I have never experienced a descent like it. At the top of Teide my Garmin read 70km. At the bottom it read 120km. Those last 50km involved absolutely no pedalling whatsoever as I coasted downhill for 30 miles along long straights in the forests and tight, scary switchbacks clinging to the sides of lesser mountains.
Mount Teide is tough and its clear to see why its the training ground of the GC contender(Chris Froome was on the slopes at the same time). I cant say at all times I was gleeful but what an experience.
You will have to excuse some of the data on the ride as my Garmin decided to go haywire on this ride of all rides but at least it got the route and time right.
Masca TF-436
So the next day I followed my biggest ever climb with the biggest day of climbing ever with a shorter 85km route which ended up raking in 3600m of climbing. You know what the day ahead is going to be like when the warm-up is a 1200m climb from Los Gigantes to Santiago Del Teide then contiuned to rise further as I followed the TF-82 higher before dropping dramatically to see level for 10 miles to the north coast of the island. This descent was a bit hairy the road surfaces were not the best (still a mile better than Scotland) and some of the hair pins clung to the sides of a cliff face.
I then followed the coast road till I reached signs for Masca, a hidden mountain village, along the TF-436(Buena Vista - Santiago Del Teide). This stretch of road proved to be the hardest bit of cycling I have done, especially with Teide in the legs the day before. It climbed for 16km through volcanic, fertile farmland which gave you the feeling of being in Colombia rather than off the coast of the Sahara, before working itself up into the mountains and cliff faces of Los Gigantes. The views, cliffs, mountains and gravity defying roads at this point were as stunning as I have ever witnessed and I stopped at a road side cafe to recharge the batteries and drink the scenery in.
I then descended to Masca, mistakenly thinking the climbing was all but over, only to find that the beautiful village of Masca sits at the bottom of a descent and a long climb on numerous quite steep switchbacks is a ahead in the next 5km.
I read later that the TF-436 is thought of as both one of the most scenic but also dangerous roads in the world. It certainly felt the later when the tour buses passed and had to do precarious 3 point turns to negotiate the switchbacks.
Finally the top came with sweet relief for the quads and another long descent tracing my way downhill for 16km, getting cramp in the fingers and arms controlling the decline in altitude back to the hotel.
So to sum up Tenerife......
It was great to finally get the shorts and t-shirt on after this crap winter and Tenerife offers good early sunshine that doesn't melt you. However if you are doing Mount Teide arm warmers and a gilet were a good recommendation for the descent.
Bike Point is a great service for bike rentals and I would use again when I am back.
The roads aren't as good as Mallorca but still good in comparison to the UK.
Maybe it was the routes I chose but Tenerife is not for the novice. I enjoy a climb and had 10000km in my legs and a season of cyclocross behind me so be prepared to work hard on the roads even at your own pace.
Mallorca is still my favourite cyclists playground but Tenerife is fantastic and I will definitely be back (with a fixed Garmin) to do Teide.
2019?
