Cycling lane in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote. How to ride?
Vlad6
Posts: 3
I'm going for vacation to Lanzarote and planning to do some road cycling there.
Question is: from Playa Blanca to Femes there's a cycling lane on the side of the road (street view). If I ride from PB to Femes I naturally use it, but how about other way around?
Normally I would ride on the car lane (right side of the road), but markings on the road indicates that I should ride on the cycling lane (street view)
I've never rode in Canary Islands or in Spain, so don't really know how is the rules in there.
Question is: from Playa Blanca to Femes there's a cycling lane on the side of the road (street view). If I ride from PB to Femes I naturally use it, but how about other way around?
Normally I would ride on the car lane (right side of the road), but markings on the road indicates that I should ride on the cycling lane (street view)
I've never rode in Canary Islands or in Spain, so don't really know how is the rules in there.
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Comments
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Rode it yesterday, most have one cycle lane on one side of the road for both ways. Just keep to the right, Femes is one of the steepest climbs on the island.
Most of the roads have a large hard shoulder to ride on.
Windy and pretty baron island. Gran Canaria much better (if you like hills) and the Drivers there are second to none for cyclists.0 -
as you leave pb heading to femes there's a bike lane all the way (about 6km) to the roundabout at the bottom of the steepest part which is about 800m, the average gradient c. 14% but steepest is 20-ish (assuming you're taking the final hairpin on the right/outside, if you were to try it on the wrong side of the road it's much steeper), this final 800m has no bike lane, drivers will give you space
a couple of years ago the road was marked closed at pb, but i went up anyway as it looked fine, but once on the steep bit i came around the corner and found it blocked by earth movers etc., i was about to give up but they saw me, waved me to come on and all the diggers got out of the way for me to come through! lots of smiles too, they like cyclists in lanzarote
anyway, on this road, going pb to femes, use the the bike lane, it is wide, with a 1m gap marked out between it and the traffic lane, most other roads have no bike lane but lanzarote is very bike friendly, the vast majority of drivers will treat you with great respect, in years of riding there i can only recall one time a driver was 'bad', in a hire car so probably a tourist
btw from femes to pb, do NOT use the bike lane, you'll easily be doing 70-80kph a lot of the way, so you must ride on the right side of the road with the traffic (using the bike lane would be extremely dangerous with others climbing towards you, and oncoming drivers will not be expecting you), drivers will not pass you until it is safe, just concentrate on keeping your line as there can be strong crosswinds
heading pb to femes, once you crest (look for the cafe just to the left of the roundabout, it's closed thursdays otherwise have a coffee), it's a gentle descent, then a slight climb, then a twisty descent exposed to wind, be careful on windier days as this side gets the full blast, at the bottom there's a roundabout, first exit is to arrecife, don't do it, ugly, crowded, lots of traffic, second exit takes you on lz-30, leading to lz-56 (see below), third exit is yaiza (see below)
if you're staying in pb, the other route out is on the quieter road parallel to lz-2, head north, at the roundabout take the third exit to los hervideros where you can enjoy excellent tarmac with many swoopy corners, eventually heading back inland to yaiza, as you reach the centre of town look for the bar y rest on your left, great food or just have a coffee, keep on going looking for the turn left off to timanfaya lz-57, take it, up to the top (hidden cafe at the bit where the camel ride is) , tear down to mancha blanca, coffee at cafe (la mareta) on the right if it's open, otherwise head right at the top of the hill and then you get to zoom along lz-56 a few km until a t-junction, go right on lz-30, after some fast (tail wind) undulations and an ess you can take at 70-80kph (if you see it's clear of oncoming traffic), you're now heading back towards the roundabout at the bottom of the others side of femes, from here either go up to femes and down the steep bit, or take the first exit to head back to yaiza, los hervideros, and finally back to pb (the prevailing wind means you'll probably do it a lot faster than outbound)
coffee and cake at the bakery in the little shopping centre opposite the pb bus station, there's also the superdino supermarket here which is the best in pb i find, it has a proper butcher, fishmonger etc., but for fresh veg/fruit use the little greengrocers opposite the bakery (which also has excellent crusty bread)
the two routes out of pb can be extended, heading up to famara (cafes) on the west coast is nice then loop back via la santa (cafes), or go up lz-30 to teguise (cafes), then lz-10 to the northern end, great views, but exposed on windy days
it can be tempting to use the bit of road to the right of the white 'edge' line, but unless/until you know the road don't do it, some roads are ok, on others the road edge may have collapsed or there may be debris, bits of volcano etc.
on lanzarote there is a volcanic gravel called picon, it accumulates off line on corners, roundabouts etc., it's black so does not show up against the tarmac, if you hit a patch you can lose grip/skid, you may be tempted to move to the edge for cars, don't, stick to the clear line left by vehiclesmy bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny0 -
Thank you very much sungod! Really good info on the bike lane thingy and also thanks also for the route suggestions.0
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Thank you very much sungod! Really good info on the bike lane thingy and also thanks also for the route suggestions.
I just got back from 6 days riding in Lanzarote. I was based in Puerto Del Carmen. From Playa Blanca, you'll have some long treks to reach the northern climbs of Tabayesco, Mirador de Haria and Mirador del Rio!
Expect it to be incredibly windy, perhaps dangerously so in some cases. It is relentless and there is nowhere to hide. One way you'll be blown along averaging over 30mph, the other way you'll be struggling to pedal and in crosswinds you'll be fighting not to end up in a ditch or oncoming traffic! I don't recommend deep rims. :oops:
Also, watch out for glass. I thought it was volcanic rock or something as it was everywhere, but apparently the locals just like throwing bottles onto the road.
Lastly, the roads surfaces are generally good but there are a few awful roads. Watch out for the road joining the LZ-10 to the LZ-30 from Nazerat. It is on the Ironman course for some reason and is probably the worst road I've ever ridden on!
Here are all the rides I did. Let me know if you would like a GPX for any of them. Enjoy!
https://www.strava.com/activities/455505144
https://www.strava.com/activities/456058886
https://www.strava.com/activities/456465498
https://www.strava.com/activities/457189948
https://www.strava.com/activities/457942079
https://www.strava.com/activities/4585526110
