Tenerife & Mount Teide...

jscl

Hey BR'ers,

Just looking for some advice really. Off to Tenerife in June, staying at the Hotel Botanico (Puerto de la Cruz). Looking for some advice as to riding Mt Teide at this time of year and recommended routes from my location also.

Proposing to do it twice in a day, also looking for some short routes starting at Puerto de la Cruz.

Also, has anybody any experience with taking bikes in to a hotel? An e-mail has been sent to them to see if they're okay with it, but has anybody any experience of hotels being off about it?

The other biggy is kit - I'm aware of the need for liquids and plenty of them. Going to take deep section carbons, nice and light for the climbs, aero for the descent. But does it tend to get windy? i.e. nasty side winds for deep sections?

thanks - welcome any advice!

banditvic

Good luck in doing it twice I failed doing it once. Totally underestimated it, it is one long climb I ran out of food water and got cold, bad preparation. Temp down at sea level lovely, once you get up to 2000 meters it starts getting cold, this is about the same time as no shops or restaurants. If I had known this it would have been ok, but I really couldn't be assed to do it the next day. Take a jacket for the top and descent. Just came back from Gran Canarias which I prefer for it's terrain, yes it can be windy. Good luck took me 2 1/2 hours just to do 2000 meters.

andrewjoseph

my wife and I went in March, we checked beforehand the hotel would take bikes, took some time to get confirmation, but when we turned up no one mentioned it. We were never questioned anytime we went in or out the main entrance by any staff.

We went from Costa Adeje, Arona, Vilaflor to the highest point of the road before it went down into the crater. The whole ride took us six hours with a short stop in vilaflor.

It took us two attempts to get up, the first got us to Vilaflor in rain, strong winds, thick mist. This weather looked to be going up to the top, so we abandoned and road back to the hotel. We used our space blankets to keep warm!

The second attempt took place a few days later when the roads were open again after the snow. Again, from Arona up for several km it was very misty and windy, we couldn't see very far and it was cool. just before Vilaflor we came out of this cloud layer and into warm sunshine and lighter winds. It stayed this way up to the top. We passed through this cloud on the way back down.

take plenty to eat and drink, there is nothing after Vilaflor. Take warm layers, you can get cold coming back down.

jscl

Good news - hotel are happy to take a bike in and are willing to empty a cleaning cupboard and let bike be stored in there with kit/spares for duration of stay and give me a key to it. RESULT.

Big question now really is, wheels and gearing. I tend to ride heavy cosmic elites when on the roads, practically bombproof. But thinking of swapping out for the c24's instead? Lighter for the climbs.

Other one is gearing, riding 53/39 at the front and 11/25 on the back right now. Stick with it? Or...

andrewjoseph

we've got triples, but i managed quite easily on 34 : 26-28, with conti gp4000 25mm, 32 spoke wheels with disk brakes.

jscl

Might need to look at putting a broader cassette on, just to be safe.

Another question here guys I've mapped out a steady 40k route that I intend on doing each morning as a warm-up ride, but I'm a bit concerned, I can't actually tell if I'm permitted (of it's safe to) cycle on the roads I'm looking at...

andrewjoseph

the only road you can't cycle on (that i am aware of) is the motorway the tf1. this changes to the tf82 north of adeje.

leonhopkins

Hi JSCL,

Was out in Tenerife in March and had a superb time. I hired a bike from here http://www.tenerife-training.net/bike-hire/ and can recommend them, delivered and picked the Planet X bike bang on time. The bike came with a 34/50 crankset with 11-28T cassette, no problems on the climbs.

In Tenerife, there is either up or down, there is very little flat, so pack your climbing legs. I was staying on the south of the island at Golf de Sur and climbed into the crater 4 times, twice carrying on to the cable car and beyond.

To get to Teide, you will want to take the TF-21 south, starting to climb almost immediately, this road will take you up to Teide without any other turns.

If you want to keep an eye on the weather take a look at this site http://www.telescope.org/weather.php this will give a live feed of the weather and current temperature near the top, also have a look at the live webcams. You will pass the observatories on you left on the way up the TF-21.

The surfacing on this road is pretty good but can be rough in places. Yes, go with light weight wheels and tyres, but it’s a trade off between weight and puncture resistance. The road grit is hard and angular, I don’t pick up punctures easily, but got five during the week, one a full on blow out during a 20km descent on the TF-523 into Arafo. I carried two spare tubes and full puncture kit, if you don't want to take a spare tyre like me, pack some old tyre patches for those bigger tyre cuts.

I got some very gusty winds at the top and inside the crater which, on one occasion slammed me to an almost standstill, so be careful with the deep section carbons.

The temperature at the top when was 10 – 12C, whilst climbing was in shorts and short sleeve jersey, put on arm and leg warmers for the descent back to Golf de Sur which is pretty much a 35 mile superb descent apart from a short climb out of the crater. I would expect you will experience higher temperature’s in June, best to keep an eye on the observatory weather up until you leave and plan from there, the sun is strong, so take some good sweat resistant sun cream . Also remember that the weather in the south of the island is hotter than where you will be staying in the north.

To climb Teide twice is a bit of a problem without retracing your steps along the same road unless you do a long loop. I did this 107 mile loop http://app.strava.com/activities/45061805 but climbed Teide once. You could take the TF-21 up to Teide and follow this road south down to Vilaflor. You can then turn around and retrace your steps back up, it is a seven mile climb from Vilaflor to the crater rim, if you take the TF-51 or TF-21 or TF-563 down to the coast, remember the climb back to the crater from Golf de Sur is 22 miles (this is the climb to the crater here (http://app.strava.com/activities/45189626 ) and you still have to drop into the crater and climb back out again to get back home. That’s going to give you about 50 miles of climbing in total. The gradients are not particularly steep 5 – 7 percent, but the climbs are loooooong.

I would suggest you stay off the TF-38 down to Chio, the surfacing is pretty bad form some distance and absolute rat sh_t in the crater area.

I don’t know whether you will be hiring a car, I had a car and did this 50 mile loop starting from Puerto de Santiago http://app.strava.com/activities/45434474 through the Teno mountains. Some images here: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=masca ... 80&bih=926 if you are a climber then this is a must do. You can access the Teno Mountains from Puerto del Cruz, take the TF-312, Tf-320, Tf-5, TF 42 (busy road), to Buenavista del Norte, then take the TF-346 and start climbing. It’s almost 15km to the café at the top. You then drop down the switchbacks to Masca and then climb the 8km out, drop into Santiago del Teide and follow the TF-82 back to the TF-5 and home. When I was there, the climb out of Masca was reasonably busy with cars and full sized coaches doing five point turns around the very tight switchbacks. The surfacing is not good particularly near the bottom. Here is pretty much the loop I have described ridden by Matthias Huitema http://app.strava.com/activities/26890808 I calculate your loop will be approximately 66 miles.

You could also try the TF-421 climb, a nice little leg stretcher out of Las Cruces and take the TF-82 back home, about a 40 mile loop.

Also heard good things about the TF-12 to the north but didn’t manage to get out there, something for next time  but much closer for you.

Good advice about the TF-1, this is pretty much a motorway, so stay well clear, outside the main resorts I found the traffic to be pretty light and drivers respectful of cyclists.

Have fun.

jscl

Flying out on Tuesday... getting more and more excited but still remaining nervous about taking on Teide. Does anyone have any suggested GPS files I could load to my Garmin that'll guide me from Puerto de la cruz on the Teide climb and down again? It does seem very simple looking at the maps, but better to be safe than sorry!

Also unsure if my Garmin even has the right maps...

uphillstruggle

Went there a few years ago before i was cycling properly.

Set off on first afternoon for a recce of tiede and ended up going to the top.

Dont uner estimate it as it is literally 21/2- 3 hrs of straight uphill and you can go upto around 2200m from sea level which is where you will start from to the observatory.

As i recall there was a shop/ cafe after about 1000m of climbing and once at the top there are places to stop and eat etc.

Its then a straight decent back. 40 odd miles only with none of it flat.

I did it 3-4 times in the week which on reflection was probably too much.

It must be an obvious route since i found it and on other days cycling along the coast etc is also very hilly.

I explored a small town and ended up going up what must have been a 33% hill to get out with even the locals clapping. I will never forget that pain!

durhamwasp

Planning in a Tenerife trip in late-November, with the aim of cycling up the side of Teide that is the 'longest continuous ascent in Europe'. Am I right in thinking this is from Puerto de la Cruz, 46.7km at 5%

How is the climb in regards to shops/points to refill water bottles? I am estimating the climb to take between 4h30 and 5h so 2 x 750ml bottles won't be enough, anybody know all the options for refilling?

What is the hotel café like at the top? Is this hotel generally recognised as the summit point, or do I need to climb further for that?

Recommend any hire companies for bikes in or around Puerto de la Cruz?

Tjgoodhew

I did it in December and its a great climb.

Dont be fooled by the first 4000ft up to Vilafor. I found this pretty comfortable and got to Vilafor feeling fresh. The next part into the forest is a much tougher gradient and its only then i started to feel the first 4000ft in my legs. Altitude also starts coming into play. I was glad i had a 28t.

When i rode it was 21degrees at sea level and about 12 at the top. I was fine with some arm warmers for the descent but i didnt really stop or hang around to get cold. If you were planning on a longer stop at the top i would make sure you had something a bit warmer

I think the key is accepting that you are riding uphill with no let up for 3 hours and being mentally prepared for what that involves

durhamwasp

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19622831#p19622831]Tjgoodhew[/url] wrote:

I did it in December and its a great climb.

Dont be fooled by the first 4000ft up to Vilafor. I found this pretty comfortable and got to Vilafor feeling fresh. The next part into the forest is a much tougher gradient and its only then i started to feel the first 4000ft in my legs. Altitude also starts coming into play. I was glad i had a 28t.

When i rode it was 21degrees at sea level and about 12 at the top. I was fine with some arm warmers for the descent but i didnt really stop or hang around to get cold. If you were planning on a longer stop at the top i would make sure you had something a bit warmer

I think the key is accepting that you are riding uphill with no let up for 3 hours and being mentally prepared for what that involves

Thanks for that. Were there many shops/cafes on the route up from Puerto de la Cruz for refilling bottles? Also could you recommend any hire companies around there.

Tjgoodhew

I used these guys for Bike Hire - http://www.bikepointtenerife.com/

Hired a focus Cayo and it was a decent bike with a 12-27 if i remeber. Their shop is pretty much at the start of the road you need to be on for the climb.

I didnt stop until i got to vilafor where there was a cafe to refuel but do remember a few small towns on the way with shops. However after Vilafor there is nothing until the hotel in the crater so just make sure you have enough water etc... to get to the top

harry-s

Puerto de la Cruz is on the north coast of the island, - BikePoint and Vilaflor are on the south coast/south slopes.
Go on Google Earth, plot your route and check it out on Streetview, look for gas stations, tourist facilities etc. There are plenty places to top up bottles from the south approach, - I'm not sure about the route from the north side. Climbing on the north side should be more shaded than the south.
The hotel is probably the highest point, but there's not much in it, - once you get over the lip of the crater it's a rolling ride to the hotel.