We have managed to get a hold of an atlas-sized digital road map of Tenerife. This isn’t your ordinary everyday map. This map of Tenerife is a full 300 megapixels in size, measuring 19,000 pixels wide x 15,800 pixels tall. File size is ~125Mb as a jpeg image! Don’t be fooled by the tiny little vintage map shown here… click the image to download full high resolution map of Tenerife. It doesn’t quite show every single street in Tenerife, but it’s not far off!
I was looking for places to stay in Tenerife and your website appeared so I thought it best to ask your advice. I’m after living at altitude for a little while and training on mount Teide and I wondered if you knew any hotels or villas available that would be around 2000 meters above sea level? Also if you knew any that would cater to cyclists in February?Thanks
Hello there,
Without a doubt the highest place to stay and train at altitude is “El Parador”, the only hotel located inside the Volcanic Crater @ 2000 masl.
Thanks,
-Leslie
Here are some updated cycle routes from Puerto de la Cruz. Take note: we have taken special care to indicate the best way(s) of getting into and out of Puerto de la Cruz. You may find it helpful to print out certain sections particularly around Puerto de la Cruz (note there are three or four ways in, “El Botannico”, “Martianez”, “Las Arenas” and “Las Dehesas”). Some people find the way through to La Orotava & Icod EL Alto a bit confusing, and also the way through La Laguna and the way back through El Sauzal…
It looks like the new highway between Adeje and Santiago del Teide has been delayed again. However, governmental funding has been approved, work can now continue and hence the expected completion date has been postponed until the end of 2013. This coincides with another part of the island loop (“anillo insular” in Spanish), the stretch between Icod de los Vinos in the North of Tenerife and Santiago del Teide. The two new roads represent a 400 million euro investment for the island of Tenerife. [Read more →]
That’s right, if you are a past or future customer of www.Tenerife-Training.net, we’d love to see photos of you cycling in Tenerife! Please send us your photos via e-mail to this address: cycling@tenerife-training.net. All image file formats are acceptable. The bigger the image, the better. If you have many photos, please send them as a zip archive. Once approved, the best photos will be selected & displayed on our guestbook page. We’re thinking about offering free bike days for the best photo submissions. The second prize could be a free T-shirt or something…
Here’s the last in a series of road bicycle videos filmed in Tenerife, Canary Islands. This particular vid shows the winding descent from Vilaflor all the way through to Granadilla de Abona. Once again, thanks to keyna201 for allowing us to share these vids with our readers.
This series of videos was filmed here in Tenerife, Canary Islands by one of my clients in March 2012. This particular vid shows the fast descent from the crater rim of the Teide volcano (Las Cañadas) down to Vilaflor. Full credits go to this dude. Thanks for posting this up!
One of my clients recently filmed this uninterrupted video descending from La Escalona -Arona, Tenerife.
Dear Sir/Madam
I am planning a holiday in Tenerife later this year and I would like to do some cycling. I can cycle but I would like to improve my confidence and ability in a relatively safe environment.
Thanks
Ade
Hello,
Great! What would you like to know?
Tenerife is a safe enough place for cycling regarding other road traffic… nevertheless, there are certain roads to avoid because of high levels of traffic or poor quality road surfaces. Quieter mountain roads are better than coastal routes.
Also, most accidents we have seen are due to rider error (going down around corners too fast and mixing up front/rear brakes for example). Tenerife is also not the best place to learn with clipless pedals due to the abundance of hill starts. The flattest road for beginner cyclists is between Granadilla de Abona and Güimar which undulates along road TF28.
Hope this is of some help.
-Leslie
Here is a nice route via GuÃa de Isora, Chio and Arguayo, leaving from Abama.
The Masca route via Tamaimo and Santiago del Teide, also leaving from Abama. Return via Buenavista del Norte, Garachico, El Tanque & Erjos. Note the location of the start of the El Tanque climb.
A much shorter loop maybe for the first/last day or else a “recovery ride”.
You can also travel up the road directly opposite Abama and then link up with TF465. They’re not connected on google maps, but with a bicycle you can do it.
Here’s a unique map we recently found hidden on the Cabildo website. It’s a traffic density map of Tenerife showing the average number of cars per day on each road (numbers marked in bold). The red figures indicate the percentage of “heavy vehicles” (I expect that means ones weighing in greater than 3,500 kg MMA (maximum authorised mass). It’s in pdf format and can be downloaded by clicking on the thumbnail image to the left…
There has been an “Extreme wind risk” issued by the spanish medioambiente site for Tenerife on Monday the 29th of November 2010. I.e. tomorrow!
There are also simultaneous “rain” and “coastal” risk alerts. The maximum gust of wind is predicted to be 170 km/h, with a 40%-70% probability. So yes, this is a serious weather alert folks…
There are three (four?) alert levels:
No Risk Risk Important Risk Extreme Risk.
It’s normal for there to be a few sub-tropical storms in the Canary Islands, especially at the start of Winter. This happens when snow is dumped on the peak of Mt Teide. The main danger for all road users are gale force winds, which can cause trees, branches and rocks to fall onto the road surface or vehicles themselves. The chances of this provoking other accidents is greater than normal, due to reduced visibility around blind corners, etc. Cars, trucks and buses may then swerve to avoid obstacles. Therefore, it’s highly reccommended that you don’t cycle at this time, especially above 1000 masl where the wind level is always esculated.
Last year a whole bunch of pine trees (hundreds!) fell down in the area called “chanajiga” in the North of Tenerife. That landscape is still scarred today by strong winds such as these. Anyway, the good news for tourists is that the weather forecast for Tuesday is much improved, with just the “rain” risk currently in place.
This giant rider snatches the record for our tallest client to date by just 1cm; Jurgen van Oorschot of the Netherlands, measures an incredible 204cm tall (6’8″). He sure towered above me! The previous record holder stood 203cm tall.
1. Your brake levers easily hit the handlebars, consequently you’re not stopping like you’re supposed to.
2. You don’t have the power to skid either wheel.
3. You start smelling that all too familiar smell of burnt brake pads.
4. You have to do a virtual panic stop just to enable you to slow down.
5. You’ve warped your disc rotors, and they stay warped no matter what you try and do to straighten them.
6. You get hand fatigue on long descents.
7. You want to be able to brake with one or two fingers, so you can maintain control of your bike properly.
8. Your current braking system has all the requisite symptoms of bipolar disorder (it’s either “on” or “off” and there’s no inbetween).
9. Riding in the rain has become an unthinkable activity.
10. You want to be faster, braking for each corner at the last possible moment.
1] La Esperanza РIza̱a
There are several approaches to the centre of the island, and this Eastern one has the best combination of road surface, length, spectacular views and the least amount of traffic.
2] Barroso – Aguamansa – El Portillo – Mt. Teide
The road around Aguamansa has just been resurfaced this year; dare I say it but the TF21 approach from the North of the Island this has now become a world-class climb. It’s often a few degrees cooler than the Southern approach, which is great in the hot Summer months. It’s also sheltered quite from the wind (compared to Arico for example).
3] Granadilla – Vilaflor – Mt. Teide
Lots of cycle-tourists will already know this route as many are based in Las Americas or Los Cristianos and therefore it’s the most convenient climb. It has lots of smooth sweeping bends past Vilaflor, which make for some fast descending.
4] Almáciga – Taganana – Pico del Inglés
This ride is highly recommended. It’s steeper than the others, but the topography is truly amazing.
5] Arafo РIza̱a
Choose this route if you’ve aready explored some roads in Tenerife & you’re looking for a Sunny approach to the top of Tenerife.
6] Buenavista – Masca – Santiago del Teide
A top-ten list wouldn’t be complete without including a ride to Masca. Prepare yourself for the last 5km, because the road out of Masca climbs 450 metres in only 3.4km, giving an average gradient of over 13%
7] Afur РPico del Ingl̩s
One of my favourites simply because it’s more isolated than other climbs.
8] Los Silos – Tierra del Trigo – El Tanque – Erjos
The first part of this road is brutal. It literally zig-zags up the side of a cliff face. From afar, you wouldn’t think a road like this is even possible. If you’re looking for your new HRmax, you won’t be disappointed.
9] Los Gigantes – Tamaimo – Santiago del Teide – Las Llanadas
This road is one of the steeper ascents in the South of Tenerife, so make sure you choose the right gearing.
10] Batan de Abajao РPico del Ingl̩s
Another personal favourite, but not easy to get to.
With nearly 4 months notice, I’d like to annouce that we’ll be closed from 09/05/09 – 25/06/09. This means bike hire and guided rides won’t be possible during that time. Of course the website will continue to function and I’ll administer it while I’m away. Throughout May and June I’ll still be able to answer emails and take advanced bookings for the remainder of the 2009 Summer. The bike hire service will resume as normal after that date.
The reason for the closure? After two years of non-stop work, I’m long overdue for a break. I haven’t left this island since June 2007 and I haven’t seen my family in Australia since then either. The May / June period is the slowest time of year for bike rentals, so I’m taking the opportunity to catch up with family, friends and relatives over there. At this time, we’re still unsure if my partner will be able to travel with me. I’m really look forward to it!
I do sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope business picks up more in future…
I originally started the business with the intention of doing guided road bike training rides (hence the original website name Tenerife-Training). Some weeks I was riding 500km or more and climbing 10,000 metres cumulative ascent. Of course I became incredibly fit. Even during the weeks I wasn’t taking anybody I felt obliged to maintain my fitness. When I was desperate for money, I’d even go out with just one or two people, but to be honest the groups were never that big. I soon realised it was too much effort for too little financial gain. And then training like a professional cyclist while simultaneously trying to grow and establish a full-time business [singlehandedly] was too much stress. It was a recipe for physical injury & sickness. [Read more →]
This morning I was driving in the South and saw two cyclists riding in single file between Las Americas and Los Gigantes on a single lane road. As you all know I am an avid cyclist, but these pair were really starting to annoy me. Why? Basically they weren’t riding very fast and refused to move over to let cars safely overtake them. [Read more →]
Over the last two or three years, I have compiled a list of cycling clubs in the Canary Islands. I had previously linked to all of them through this blog, but it was becoming un-manageable because there are now a total of 35 links to all of the clubs’ websites. I don’t imagine many Spanish people read this cycling blog, so I have moved the list of local cycling clubs to my spanish cycling forum, here, because I think it’s a more convenient location for these links.
