which canary island?

DaveMoss
DaveMoss Posts: 236
edited September 2012 in Tour & expedition
which is best for a weeks road cycling. Teneriffe, lanzarotte or Gran Canaria? going 1st week in March
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Comments

  • mr_goo
    mr_goo Posts: 3,770
    Never been. But a couple of the chaps on this forum Thomas the Tank Engine (he of league leader metric 100 challenge) and Topmoxy went to Gran Canaria for a training week earlier in the year. Apparently an excellent island for road cycling with lots of good climbs. Drop them a line.
    Always be yourself, unless you can be Aaron Rodgers....Then always be Aaron Rodgers.
  • Cornish-J
    Cornish-J Posts: 978
    tenerife if you like going up .. and up and up and up.
  • bigpikle
    bigpikle Posts: 1,690
    Gran Canaria is a cracker - the road around the outside is windy and dull, but the roads up to the mountain top in the centre are quiet and crackers. Been 2 Xmas weeks on the trot for riding, and been every Xmas for 8 years otherwise and will be back again this year.

    There was a really good post on here earlier this year comparing GC with Tenerife and it concluded they are different types of riding conditions, so depends a bit on what type of riding you want?

    Google Freemotion for some routes and a great bike hire resource on GC.
    Your Past is Not Your Potential...
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    I did a week training on Gran Canaria, which is amazing for riding, but you can't avoid loads of up and down. Some climbs to rival the Alps. Particularly the interior and North part of Gran Canaria is great for cycling - the south coast where all the tourist resorts are and the bike hire agencies is actually the least interesting. But, again, don't go if you don't like climbing. As far as I know Tenerife has similarly good riding and climbing. Gran Canaria has a somewhat denser road network (all super tarmac!) so more options for loops, and Tenerife that weird volcaic moonlandscape of the Teide mountain. Both islands are dry and hot on the southside and green and (a bit) wet at the northside.
    I know people who've been to Lanzarote with the bike, and it's more undulating, a bit drier, and very, very windy

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