climbing MT Teide from Los Criatianos

charlie_potatoes

After the initial downhill it's actually a shallow climb most of the way to the Cable Car. The last ramp up is harsh bearing in mind the high altitude and potential fatigue level. Strava shows over 1,100 feet of elevation between the lowest point and the Cable Car station.

slunker

Go past the cable car as the road keeps on rising.....there is a layby which hill walkers use and I'm sure that is marked as 2399mts its only a couple of Km past the cable car.

Kangars

Im worried about making it pass Vilaflor, let alone cable cars but if we still have any energy left i am sure we will try to explore some more.

ai_1

If you want an easier and somewhat fun ride to do with a friend or two on another day I'd recommend taking the TF-636 that heads NW just above San Isidro to Chimiche then the TF-28 to Arico Viejo. I did this this route as a warm up and a shakedown for the rental bikes a day or two before climbing Teide. I started from El Medano and cycled up to San Isidro but the fun stuff is after that so doesn't really matter which direction you're coming from. In fact I think I started higher up from the TF-28 above Granadilla the second time I did it. The two roads converge at Chimiche.
It's a very windy road full of short steep climbs and drops and tight bends. 4 of us rode it and all agreed that for some reason it was one of the most fun stretches of road we'd ever ridden. The surface is mostly okay but with some very potholed patches. But the profile just invites fun dashes up the short climbs and races to signposts. I couldn't resist riding this bit of road again when I went back and again found it thoroughly enjoyable, but I find it very hard to explain exactly why! Definitely one for a fun ride with buddies. It's as easy or tough as you make it. We mostly kept it fairly relaxed except for the cat and mouse games!

Kangars

We will be staying in Los Americanos so most likely to take TF-51 and TF-21 on the way up and TF-21 followed by TF-28 on the way back. We are there for a week so have time to explore.

jimmurray

Highly recommend this, red level:-

http://clubactivocycling.com/teidenorthtour/

Kangars

Got back yesterday! Loved and hated that climb at the same time! Up to Vilaflor it wasnt too bad, like few said, you find rhythm and keep pedalling. Stopped at Arona for a small break, then few times after to take some photos. Once i got to Vilaflor i got myself coffee and a cake and waited for a friend, he found it much harder and didnt want to to the last part.

Vilaflor to the top was so hard, i thought i was gonna stay in that forest forever! But how excited i was when i got to the top. Weather let me down, it was very cloudy and foggy so i turned around right before TF21 joint TF38. I must have been around 50 metres away but i couldnt see it coz of the weather. It was +7 according to Garmin. Overall i climbed almost 2400m!

Thank you for telling me to take arm warmers, gloves, head thingy and waterproof. Saved me! Took about 4 hours to get up. Already want to go back next year!

Also might take TF 28-TF21 next year, we ccyled that route Granadila De Abona some other day and it looked like more fun.

ai_1

Well done on getting up the climb. Glad you "enjoyed" it!

Tjgoodhew

That forest is a killer !!

Well done on getting to the top

charlie_potatoes

Well done Kangers

Leroy42

Just looking for a bit of advice.

Lets just say that you had to take a weeks holidays from work before the end of March.
Lets say that your better half cannot take any time off until after March.
Lets say that you have got approval (or better described as not outright disapproval) that you could use this holiday time to take off to Tenerife on your own to get some winter sun training done on Mount Teide.
While money is not THE issue, it is course an issue as this money could be used for something else.

Given that I am only starting to get back into training after a while off (had a good January but December was a write off) would this be a good use of resources.

The reason I ask is that I could simply take the time off and train here, saving the money but obviously you face the prospect of bad weather and not having anything like Teide to climb.

1st world problem I know!

bikeboff

I just nipped over to Costa Adeje for four days, climbed up to Teide three times. Cheap flights and accommodation, not a bad trip at all. Spectacular climb, both in its scope and its scenery, but the road surface is not always great and I'm not convinced there is a lot of variety in Tenerife for a week. if you are not after hill training specifically, Majorca might be a better bet.

ai_1

bikeboff wrote:

I just nipped over to Costa Adeje for four days, climbed up to Teide three times. Cheap flights and accommodation, not a bad trip at all. Spectacular climb, both in its scope and its scenery, but the road surface is not always great and I'm not convinced there is a lot of variety in Tenerife for a week. if you are not after hill training specifically, Majorca might be a better bet.

If you have a car you could probably find plenty rides to keep you going but you'd have to drive to a suitable start point unless you want to go very long. I wouldn't be too interested in repeating the same ride multiple times. There were only a few roads around the south/south east of the island that looked good. You'd have 2 or 3 days of great cycling and then could be into repetition. However there are plenty more routes elsewhere on the island, the problem is you may need to ride over or around Teide to get to them without a car.