Fuerteventura

Mayo4Sam

Morning all,

Will be staying Caleta de Fuste for a week at the end of March. Looking for some recommendations:

• Bike hire?
• Suggested routes?
• Organised tours?
• Do’s/Don’t…….pitfalls etc?

Many thanks
M4S

Twentytoo

All I can suggest is go up to Corralejo and visit the dunes on the way. My wife and I cycled the area back in the early 90's. It was fantastic. We did a day trip over there from Lanzerote last year. It not the same as it was back then (much more hippy/surfers then) but still had its charm. If you find yourself there at night and its your scene visit Rock Island Bar.

tourdriving

Bike hire and tours links http://www.sunnyfuerteventura.com/caleta-cycles/ and http://www.caletacycles.com/services.html

ManOfKent

Wow, that brings back memories. I bet it's very different now from when I went in 1999.

Expect it to be windy.

deadeyedjacks

Hired a road bike from these folks last year.
http://volcano-bike.com/

Went up Betancuria from Tuineje via Pajara returning through Antigua.
Good morning's ride with a couple of challenging climbs and descents.

tourdriving

Be aware before you order bike hire from here www.volcano-bike.com/en/bike-rental there are 58 KM from where you are staying

Mayo4Sam

Thank you all for the responses.

Much appreciated.

M4S

R15

Hi M4S

I will be going to the same resort soon and have the same questions as you. How did you get on?

sloppyschleckonds

Could you get a ferry to Gran Canaria?

tourdriving

Yes you can http://www.navieraarmas.com/en/home but also fly cheap http://www.bintercanarias.com/eng

cruff

Missed this before, but for the benefit of R15, my Mum lives in Corralejo (North of the island)

As others have said, the wind is a major issue on rides anywhere on the island, pretty much all year round. Expect to regularly deal with 25mph headwinds one way, with corresponding tailwinds in the other direction! I quite enjoyed doing 55km/h for 10km towards Cotillo, whilst putting out less than 200 watts... not so much doing 20km/h for 350 watts on the return journey...

There aren't any really high climbs on the island - the climb to Betancuria is quite nice though. Be careful of descending - the road surface is pretty sh1te in places, and from memory, the barriers are also sketchy, so you could end up sailing 500 feet to your death if you slip out on a corner...

If you're stuck for bike hire places, there's a BH concept store in Corralejo - I hired a BH Quartz from them last year and it was a lovely bike - nippy, comfortable and responsive, even with the crummy stock wheels that ship with the bike by default. However, that is quite a distance from Caleta de Fuste - or even P. del Rosario, so you might get something closer to you. The dunes ride up the NE coast to Corralejo, followed by a return inland and turn through La Oliva, then up Betancuria, down to Jandia and back up would be a nice long ride - but beware, there aren't a lot of places to buy water inland as the island is pretty much deserted away from the resorts and bigger towns

All in all it's a nice little place - very sleepy away from the tourist areas and even though Corralejo is packed with ex-pats it's still a much nicer vibe than, say, Magaluf, Lanzarote or the Costa del Sol

cruff

Update for anyone who happens by.

Currently on Fuerteventura - and it is the grimmest week I've ever had on a bike. The wind is constant - it hasn't dropped below 25mph once, is almost constantly pegged at 30mph and gusting up to 45. Every ride is a mammoth slog - did 150km on Sunday in 5 hours with a TSS of 330 : All the benefits of a huge tailwind from the North are completely offset by the crosswinds - each ride for me is 20% tailwind, 80% cross/headwind. Not fun looking down at your Garmin and seeing you're putting out 380 watts, downhill, and travelling at 20k/h... Also, descending is zero fun whatsoever unless you've got 100% taily, as the crosswinds are horrendous - twice this morning I was almost blown into oblivion. Enjoy!

sloppyschleckonds

Cruff wrote:

Update for anyone who happens by.

Currently on Fuerteventura - and it is the grimmest week I've ever had on a bike. The wind is constant - it hasn't dropped below 25mph once, is almost constantly pegged at 30mph and gusting up to 45. Every ride is a mammoth slog - did 150km on Sunday in 5 hours with a TSS of 330 : All the benefits of a huge tailwind from the North are completely offset by the crosswinds - each ride for me is 20% tailwind, 80% cross/headwind. Not fun looking down at your Garmin and seeing you're putting out 380 watts, downhill, and travelling at 20k/h... Also, descending is zero fun whatsoever unless you've got 100% taily, as the crosswinds are horrendous - twice this morning I was almost blown into oblivion. Enjoy!

80/20 seems high, what does myWindsock say?

crescent

If only there was a clue in the name, Fuerteventura

Seriously, I can totally sympathise with you. I had a week in Lanzarote in January and the wind was a real PITA. It was gusting 45mph for a couple of days and, as you said in your post, the crosswinds are horrendous and take the pleasure out of it - headwinds make it tough, crosswinds make it dangerous. I still enjoyed it but would think twice before cycling there again. We did a day trip to Fuerteventura and, ironically, it was probably the least windy day of the holiday. I didn't have the bike with me but the road up to the observation point near Betancuria looked great.

cruff

Yeah. Three times I've been here now and hired a bike but still not managed to do the Betancuria climb because of winds. Did do a couple of pretty nasty climbs on Sunday and yesterday - if only because of the wind (6% average over 4km isn't much to write home about, but straight into a 30mph headwind made them more like something on the Fred Whitton... )

Actually, there's a lot of evidence to indicate that the name has nowt to do with winds, and instead translates roughly as 'good fortune' - not that I've ever had any whilst I've been here!

shamrock134

Is it worse than Lanzarote and Gran Canaria?

Those are pretty windy too.

crescent

I thought the winds were just a seasonal thing during the winter but apparently they can be present anytime. This is the first time in three visits that I have experienced them as strong. Maybe I’ve been lucky but this year was disappointing from a cycling perspective.

lostboysaint

shamrock134 wrote:

Is it worse than Lanzarote and Gran Canaria?

Those are pretty windy too.

Not especially. If you've ridden out of Playa Blanca on Lanzarote then you'll know what Fuerte is like. I ridden them all and windsurfed off of them all and they're all much of a muchness - with the exception of Pozo Izquierdo on GC. That's always 10-20 knots stronger. Great to windsurf at, not much to cycle up to from the resorts.

cruff

I just went out on the hire bike for a late evening spin, because its been so bad today I haven't gone out at all. For the first time in my life, I was blown off the bike. Side road caught me unawares and it blew me three feet across the road into the kerb. Luckily I unclipped as I slewed across and managed to put my foot down before going over.

I'm not bothering to hire a bike when I come out here again

vinnymarsden

Did you not find the pensioners all nude sunbathing in the dunes at least a distraction!!! Lol!
We took kids many yrs ago and I was amazed by the sheer volume of very old nak d people in the dunes!
Try explaining that to an 8 and 4 yr old!!!

surfercyclist

As it happens I'm off to Lanzarote this week for a family holiday but I'll be surfing and cycling. Been loads of times before but only surfed, this'll be first time to cycle and I know how bad wind can be. Prevailing northerly winds and as I'm staying at La Santa(NW of island), pretty much any ride will involve a head wind home so not ideal! I'll definitely be picking my days to ride as no interest in getting blown off road.

sloppyschleckonds

Cyclists who live/ holiday on Islands complain about wind shocker

surfercyclist

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Cyclists who live/ holiday on Islands complain about wind shocker

Well yes, and your point is?

shamrock134

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Cyclists who live/ holiday on Islands complain about wind shocker

Yeah, it's too damn windy on the British Isles! :x

DaveyO

I cycled 3 of the Canaries last year. I don't mind headwind, but as mentioned earlier, a strong cross wind is not fun.
I was staying at Costa Calma in Fuerteventura, so pretty much was always heading out into the wind. My last day was the Betancuria climb. It was beautiful with only a mild breeze, i left Pajara and started the climb, i got about 200m from Viewpoint Las Penitas on the way, then Bang! Sidewall in the brand new mavic tyre that the cycle hire company fitted a few days earlier blew out, denied on the last day : ( Looked like the wire in the bead had failed, so glad i wasn't travelling downhill at the time.
Gran Canaria was great. VOTT was hard, but more for the heat, as i did it mid July. I only met one other cyclist on VOTT, he looked local and he was lying in a shaded area, when i approached he just pointed up and said something along the like of "Too hot!"
The climb up to Pico de la Nieves is good, at least it gets cooler the higher you go and some great scenery.
In Lanzarote i always cycled down to Puerto del Carmen from Costa Teguise for my warm up as its pretty much flat all the way, then would head somewhere north. Always slow going due to the wind, but i just take it as a training exercise. Couple of really nice roads there too and the Tabayesco climb is great.
Away back to Gran Canaria in April, so hopefully it's a bit cooler when i do the VOTT again : )

lostboysaint

SurferCyclist wrote:

As it happens I'm off to Lanzarote this week for a family holiday but I'll be surfing and cycling. Been loads of times before but only surfed, this'll be first time to cycle and I know how bad wind can be. Prevailing northerly winds and as I'm staying at La Santa(NW of island), pretty much any ride will involve a head wind home so not ideal! I'll definitely be picking my days to ride as no interest in getting blown off road.

That's why I stay in the south and travel up to Famara by car to surf

Any bike riding I do is downhill/downwind on the way home! I'd pass all the Club La Santa lot pedaling up the 401 climb to Munique from Soo in the morning as I was coasting down to Famara to get some waves and think "it's a nice descent back, but against that wind....."! When I was out around Timanfaya and up at Mancha Blanca/Tinajo I'd always think about my nice coast downhill and downwind (after the little climb just past the visitors centre at Timanfaya) to Playa Blanca and their fight back against the wind.

surfercyclist

lostboysaint wrote:

SurferCyclist wrote:

As it happens I'm off to Lanzarote this week for a family holiday but I'll be surfing and cycling. Been loads of times before but only surfed, this'll be first time to cycle and I know how bad wind can be. Prevailing northerly winds and as I'm staying at La Santa(NW of island), pretty much any ride will involve a head wind home so not ideal! I'll definitely be picking my days to ride as no interest in getting blown off road.

That's why I stay in the south and travel up to Famara by car to surf

Any bike riding I do is downhill/downwind on the way home! I'd pass all the Club La Santa lot pedaling up the 401 climb to Munique from Soo in the morning as I was coasting down to Famara to get some waves and think "it's a nice descent back, but against that wind....."! When I was out around Timanfaya and up at Mancha Blanca/Tinajo I'd always think about my nice coast downhill and downwind (after the little climb just past the visitors centre at Timanfaya) to Playa Blanca and their fight back against the wind.

Yeah, if I was on purely a cycling holiday I'd stay in the south but going with family and Mrs wants to stay at Club La Santa for all the activities/sports. Fine by me as surf right near by but I'll be careful when I ride. I usually surf all the reefs breaks there, excellent waves although locals get a bit lairy.

lostboysaint

They will