Gran Canaria 6-15 October

drlodge

Just booked a few days in GC, staying in San Augustin and hoping for 6 days cycling (well six days when I cycle) and 2 rest days. Just wondering if anyone else is out there during this time?

charlie_potatoes

drlodge wrote:

Just booked a few days in GC, staying in San Augustin and hoping for 6 days cycling (well six days when I cycle) and 2 rest days. Just wondering if anyone else is out there during this time?

Have a good one Doc. Not a bit jealous

drlodge

Cheers CP. I've had enough of all these people enjoying themselves on the continent, so its now my turn! Will likely be the last trip to GC, next year somewhere else and probably splitting out the cycling holiday from the joint holiday :roll:

hjghg5

I'm out around then - i think it's from the 11th to the 18th, looking forward to it. My parents live out there so I usually get over a couple of times a year.

drlodge

Cool, I've got a schedule which looks something like this:
7th: Short ride to Soria once bike is collected from free motion
8th: Long to Pico De Las Nieves up the GC-60
9th rest day
10th: Short ride Fataga-Santa Lucia
11th Long: Mogan-"Serentiy"-Soria
12th rest day
13th Short: Monte Leon double loop (hard way followed by easy way)
14th Long: Soria, Ayacata, Fataga

I may extend the long rides depending on how I feel. The first ride to Soria will tell me how much water I'm getting through, and the 2nd ride to Pico De Las Nieves will tell me if that's my limit for one ride. I would like to do the VOTT but (a) its bloody hard and (b) its a long ride just to get to the start of the GC-606.

Where are you staying and what do you think of the above routes?

hjghg5

Routes look fairly similar to the stuff we do when we're out there, although we tend to use the car and drive up to the north for a bit of riding too. My OH wants to ride over to San Nicolas and back - I'm sure he's trying to soften me up for an attempt on VOTT!

I need to make it to Pico De Las Nieves first though - I've only really started focussing properly on cycling this year and in previous years have just stuck to the relatively easy stuff - I have made it to Ayacata a couple of times but otherwise haven't ventured much beyond things like Monte Leon, the Mogan-Soria loop and the Fataga-Santa Lucia loop. But this year I've done loads more cycling and am looking forward to making it a bit further afield.

We don't stay in the resorts so use the car a fair bit to either get closer to the start of rides and avoid adding extra bits of east coast onto rides or to get driven out somewhere and then ride home.

drlodge

Let me know if you want some company on the Monday or Tuesday, I'll try and write an update here for the first few days and you can see my progress on Strava ;-)

drlodge

One question I have - are there small shops up in the mountains that sell water, like up around Ayacata? Aware that venturing into the middle of nowhere in the heat means I could be getting through a lot of water and will need to restock.

hjghg5

Ayacata has 2 or 3 bars so no problem there. There's also a shop between San Bartolome and Ayacata from what I remember. Above Ayacata I think there's a bar at a picnic area although that might just be open during summer/weekends and there's usually a kiosk at the very top. There's also usually a man with a van selling stuff at Cruz Grande (on the Mogan-Ayacata road above where the Soria road comes out) and there's a recreation area near Presa de las Ninas (on the same road) which was being done up last time I went past and might now have a shop/bar/kiosk.

hjghg5

And the bar in Soria (Casa Fernando?) and one in Santa Lucia (can't remember the name but it's on the way out of town as you head into the mountains, on the left overlooking the valley) have energy bars, spare tubes and (I think) a track pump.

hjghg5

Just remembered - there's also a kiosk at the Roque Nublo car park (between Ayacata and the summit).

drlodge

Thanks - very useful info!

banditvic

At the back of the Restaurant in Soria the old women sells some great Figs covered in powder, possibly Icing sugar. Buy a bag of these will keep you going all day and taste great.

drlodge

Thanks all for the advice and info. I've been pondering routes a bit, I'm constrained by the start being the hotel in San Agustin and its certainly possible to head to the peak at Pico de las Nieves, and do the "serenity" route via Mogan which looks very nice.

I'm wondering though whether its worth extending a ride to go round the loop in the middle of the island as shown by this route http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5905317? Is it very scenic up there and worth the effort, or are the roads around Mogan, Soria, Ayacata, Santa Lucia etc just as good or better? Hair pin climbs and scenic views are what I'm after.

drlodge

A couple of people have asked me about cycling in Gran Canaria so thought I would write up my plans here so others can read up.

Hotel

As I'm not going alone, the other half needs to be looked after in my absences. Last year we stayed at the Melia Tamarindos in San Agustin and we're staying there again this year. 7 nights in a Junior Suite was about EUR 1000, this time we downgrading to the Superior Room and staying 9 nights, for about the same price. The standard room doesn't really have much space. Always go for the sea view, B&B as there are a few restaurants nearby.

Bike Hire

Simple one this, Freemotion http://www.free-motion.com/en/road-bike/road-bike-rental-gran-canaria/. I've ordered a 'dale Synapse Carbon Ultegra with an 11-32 cassette, only EUR 22 a day. Just the job. Lets hope they have this bike ready for me - last time they discovered the bike reserved for me had been sold (a CAAD 10 with 32 cassette) and I got a free upgrade to a Synapse but only 28T. 28T is fine actually except for the steep section up towards Monte Leon, but it does no harm having one lower just in case.

Routes

I'm staying 9 nights, which means 8 full days. I intend to cycle 6 of these in a short-long-rest-short-long-rest-short-long routine. There are a few "standard" routes, shown on the freemotion site, but a great list of routes on http://www.cyclegrancanaria.com/shop/gpx-tcx-downloads/ and I''ve modified these to give me 6 routes

Day 1 (shorter) Soria Vuelta 47 miles, 4,400 ft climbing http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6079150



Good opener with a route to the Soria Dam. Takes you to the Casa Fernando restaurant where you can rest before the descent home.

Day 2 (longer) Summit climb 81 miles, 10,700ft climbing http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6079241



This is the epic climb to the summit at Pico de las nieves, heading due north. Don't forget to first head south at Maspalomas to start at the beginning of this 28 mile HC segment! Typically the way back is the same, but I've elected to extend the route south east, and along the lovely GC-550/551 roads. We'll see whether my legs are up to it or I go straight back. The climb may take 4 hours, the return leg somewhat less!

Day 3 (shorter) Santa Lucia-Fataga 53 miles, 6,400 ft climbing http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6079258



The same route as the previous day, but the other way round and cutting it short at San Bartolome. This time I can enjoy the scenery along the GC-550/551 due to the slower up-hill pace.

Day 4 (longer) Serenity 77 miles, 9,500ft climbing http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6079272



"Serenity" comes from the beautiful stretch from the start of the GC-605 to the junction with the Soria road, its like a mini Stelvio. Typically the route would return through Soria but I'm taking an extended route up to Ayacata and then north a bit to the new Roque Bentayga visitor centre where I hope there will be some refreshments.

Day 5 (shorter) Ayagaures Loop (twice) 40 miles, 4200ft climbing http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6033344



I went this way 3 times last year, on every ride! Its a great little route with a hard and an easier way. This time I'm doing it both ways, first the harder way up through Monte Leon, then again anti-clockwise.

Day 6 (longer) Tejeda & Pico de las Nieves 76 miles, 10,500ft climbing http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6079312



I wanted to explore the central "loop" and got this route from cyclegrancanaria except (1) I go via the Roque Bentayga centre, just in the right place should I need to refill my bidons (2) also via Pico de las Nieves. Well why not!? Its my last ride this holiday and possibly ever in Gran Canaria, so a fitting last right.

Other Routes

If you want a bigger challenge, there are two great routes I'm not doing:
- the hard way to Pico de las Nieves, from Ingenio via the GC-120. Its pretty steep the whole way (15%) and unrelenting.
- the VOTT, which stands for "Valley of The Tears". Its the GC-606 road, its very long and very steep and arguably the hardest climb in Europe. One to do with some company or even a support vehicle perhaps!

charlie_potatoes

Looks like a great weeks cycling Doc.
Enjoy

Solis

Thanks for that info Doc, saved me a lot of homework, have a great time and leave some decent weather for me

hjghg5

My other half did the gc-120. I followed him in the van and laughed.

Packed and ready to fly out this evening. Tomorrow will be retrieving my bike from my parents garage and fettling (i have finally got a ladies saddle to put on it and it needs new brake pads) then when OH gets his hire bike on monday we can hit the hills. He's had a nasty cold this week though so fingers crossed it will have cleared up by then (and that I don't get it!)