Returning to the Canary Islands in winter is always a great experience. Who wouldn’t be happy in February with the sustained 20-22 degrees, the mostly dry and predictable weather, ideal for cycling.
In 2023, I received the holiday as a birthday present from my wife. I came specifically to ride my bike, and my wife came to relax by the pool and sunbathe. Of course, we made reasonable compromises, so it was completely different from last year in Tenerife with friends, where we just cycled.
Accommodation
This year, mainly because of the relaxation part, we stayed in a hotel with a breakfast + dinner combo. The hotel is the typical 4 star mega complex with a huge pool in the garden, good spa, lots of rooms = lots of people. Despite this, everything is excellently organised, the average quality is better than the average 4 star, the room is large, the balcony overlooks the ocean, you don’t feel the crowds, the food is roughly plentiful, varied and good. So Little Wife chose well.
The downside of the hotel compared to the apartment – from a cyclist’s point of view – is the time it takes to get meals. The sun rises on the island at around 8am, so life doesn’t start too early. We also slept until 8 – 1/2 9 every day 🙂 And of course breakfast is only from 8am, so by the time you can comfortably eat breakfast and start cycling it’s about 1/2 10. Since it gets dark after 6:30, you have to hurry for the bigger laps (which are 8-9 hours) with your morning chores.
Plan A
My plan was very simple: ride my bike as much as possible + do a couple of bigger rides + go to places I hadn’t been before but were interested in. One of the longer rides I planned was GC210 from the South, another was Pico and its surroundings, and the third was the West coast. These were largely successful, I’m contentedly typing these lines on the plane home.
In the previous article I wrote my opinions about both Gran Canaria (GC) and Tenerife, and I can only repeat them.
Rent or own a bike?
I always rent locally, but lots of people carry their own bikes to the island. The reasons I don’t like this are many. One is the price, another is the complicated packing – disassembly thing. Plus, I was afraid to have the bike transported.
On the island (this year), you could rent a full carbon Ultegra set of bikes with integrated handlebars for 140-150 euros (for a week). Transport of the bike there and back is 80-100 euro (although this includes most of the luggage – maybe up to 30 kg). If you add the rental of the suitcase (about 50-70 euro), you get exactly the price of renting a bike. I don’t have a bag, because an investment of 300-400 euros would only pay off in a very long time (I need it 1-2 times a year). Nevertheless, I’m starting to think about a hard-lidded bag… So it’s not worth it for me to pack, assemble and worry about the bike getting damaged.
The disadvantage of renting a bike is that it is not your own bike. So it won’t necessarily be true to size, and on the other hand, if you have, for example, a crank wattmeter, you’re screwed (you can ask for a rental, but it’s not cheap). Plus, you have to think well in advance, because February is the full bike season here and you don’t always get what you want (or even at all). There aren’t that many bike rental shops here(Mallorca, for example, has a lot more rental shops). The biggest is FreeMotion, but they didn’t have any bikes there this year. I rented from the Italians in Melanoras, as I did 3 years ago. I managed to get a Scott Addict 20 this year.
The advantage of owning your own bike is obviously that you own it, you don’t have to worry about the size, it’s set up, it’s going to be what you expect. And if you have a suitcase, it might be a bit cheaper. The disadvantage is that you have to pack it, assemble it, assemble it and leave it to the baggage handlers at the airport.
The hired Scott passed the test with flying colours. The Addict was perfectly comfortable, although the 54 was a bit big for me (179cm), but it was comfortable enough for 10 days. The bike is of course more restrained, neutral, comfortable, not as sharp, light and easy to handle compared to my own, but it was plenty big enough. When I got to the rental shop, they couldn’t give me the Scott that day because the previous renter didn’t return it on time, so I got an S-worls Roubaix for 1 day. Well, it was just as I imagined 🙂 I told them that it would be good for 8 days, but unfortunately they didn’t give it to me, someone else needed it 🙂
Tenerife or Gran Canaria?
If the question of Tenerife or GC arises, I can still say that Gran Canaria is recommended for recreational cycling and Tenerife for training. To put it very simply: in Tenerife all the roads lead to Teide, there are 1-2 uphill, which are very long (40-50km), and then almost gone. Of course this is simplifying, as there is also the unmissable Masca Valley. But the fact is that Tenerife = long, endless climbs and a smaller network of roads.
On GC, however, the climbs are shorter and there are more roads and more opportunities to experience cycling. The island operates with brilliant views, spectacular serpentines and real oceanfront rides. Of course, it’s a matter of taste, but I much prefer and like Gran Canaria better.
About prices
I really like Spain for its value for money. Overall, it’s not expensive at all, and considering that the Canary Islands are a top tourist destination (and it’s high season here in February), it seems very cheap. Good, quality accommodation is not, but it’s not cheap anywhere anymore, with prices going up steeply everywhere in recent years.
But the services, the food, the life is like home. The shops may even be cheaper sometimes (no 27% VAT). A big shopping trip will certainly be cheaper. If you sit down in a restaurant, you can eat well on 15-20 euros, but you can get seafood for that. Drinks are cheap too, a cocktail at a 4 star hotel is 5-6 euros. What I liked the most was the lots of fruit and freshly squeezed juice for 2-3 euros. Cactus, oranges, papaya, coconut, bananas, whatever. They have everything, a huge selection.
The closures and road quality – what I didn’t like
What I don’t like about the island (from a cycling point of view) are definitely the two major road closures.
Both of these have been going on for years and I can safely say that they seriously detract from the cycling experience. One affects the NY part of the South Shore (and therefore the whole NY part): the closure between Tauro and Puerto Magán has been going on since 2017, completely incomprehensibly. In fact, a rock slide has closed the coastal road (it’s blocked – literally), so the only road that takes you through to the West is the highway. Otherwise, we’re talking about 1 km.
In addition, the motorway that takes you to Mogan runs through a tunnel. It is of course forbidden to cycle through it (obviously) and cyclists are reluctant to do so because, on the one hand, if caught, the fines are substantial. On the other hand, and this is much harder for the novice GC cyclist to process, there is no on-ramp from Tauro to the motorway to Mogán (only to Maspalomas), so you have to take a slip road to the motorway. Double twist! 🙂
I did it this year, I cycled through it and I saw others cycling on the motorway, but most (rightly) don’t. That leaves 3 options to get to Ny: either take a boat to Puerto Mogán from the coastal towns (timetabled and you have to break up the ride) or hire a taxi in Tauro to take you to Mogán (I don’t know what the rate is now, 3 years ago it was 10-15 euros) or cycle up the difficult climb to Soria and from there come down to Adeje.
The issue has been left unresolved for many years, and I strongly suspect that it is in the interests of taxi drivers. They could have done anything in 5 years. If the coastal road is dangerous and they don’t want to clean it up, they could have just as well closed off the 2 metre or so lane on the edge of the motorway. I say, we’re talking about 1 km. Tauro’s attitude is also incomprehensible, because since there is no access to Magán and from Tauro you can only get to the motorway to Maspalomas, the village is completely cut off from the blood circulation. However, the taxi drivers must make a good living out of it, because there are plenty of them…
Closure of the GC200 road
The other closure is on old GC200 on the NY coast. This has also been in place since 2016 and doesn’t look like it will ever open. GC200 is the most beautiful coastal road on the island, between Agaete and Adeje, about 20 km. I have been on many beautiful coastal roads, but none come close (not even Elba) to this road. It’s amazing, the way the road winds along the edge of the cliffs, hundreds of metres above sea level. The asphalt has collapsed in the southern part of this road, which is not being repaired, it is completely closed. They have solved the problem of access by digging a 3.2 km tunnel into the old GC200. So you can enjoy the rocky section for about 7-8 km under Agaete, but (if you’re coming from the north), you have to come off it in the last km or so.
About road quality and transport
Perfect on most of the island. However, there are some parts where you can almost only go on a bike, it’s so remote, the roads can be terribly rough. It’s understandable that they don’t resurface them because the rocks are so bad, but a roadie will swear a lot on them. Even the 28 tyre doesn’t like it. This is the area around Ayacata. From the south, whether you’re coming from Soria or San Bertolmé, you’ll suffer. Or the Adeje side of the GC210. They could pay attention to these, because otherwise there is really good asphalt almost everywhere.
There is nothing bad to say about the traffic and the motorists, it is just awesome the patience and attention they have towards the cycling community. Of course, most of the motorists are tourists, who, moreover, don’t take risks when they are in rented cars, but here you don’t hear any pushing down or see any pushing down. All the motorists are very patient, they follow you for miles on the serpentines, sometimes it can be annoying.
True, this is also due to the fact that the Spanish system is inherently cyclist-friendly, with a 1-2 metre wide barrier of asphalt for cyclists in most places, traffic is very calm and encouraged by the many limit signs. So nobody is in a hurry, everything is very calm. From home it’s a completely different world.
The subjective leges – What I liked
Since I’ve been on the island before, there’s not a lot new to me, so the old report has the gist. However, there were a few new things.
1. The GC65 and the detour to Agüimes
The 15 km stretch of GC65 below Santa Lucia is one of the most beautiful areas and one of the best downhill you can go on the island. We did it 3 years ago, it was a great experience. Especially as it was almost our first cycling experience on GC. Beautiful rocks, formations, mind blowing views, amazing lines. This year, as an introduction, I spiced it up with a detour to Agüimes (GC550, GC551) I can safely say that it is worthy of GC-65! The start is a tough climb, but then it’s a beautiful hairpin descent to Agüimes, and then from Agüimes back to GC65 on a spectacular undulating road with beautiful rock formations.
I’ll check the Strava (new window)
2. From GC210 Aldea
We missed it three years ago, but now I’ve made up for it. I did a bigger loop from Maspalomas to Mogan (via the motorway), then headed uphill over the mountain to Adeje. Here I crashed down the very steep section and then started climbing up GC210. Quite few cyclists to be seen on this. There are several reasons for this, first of course the closure of Mogani, and secondly, once you get to Adeje, the only way back from here is to Ayacata (if you don’t want to go the same way), which makes for quite a big ride (I managed to accumulate 167km and 3600m of climbing).
The starting point of GC210 is pretty lousy, at first I couldn’t believe it was such a trite, almost side road among all the banana plantations. As you move up and out of the settlement it gets better, but it’s still quite bumpy. Although on the way up the sometimes 10-12% this is of little consequence, but on the way down they don’t come this way! The road takes you into a narrow valley full of reservoirs, really quite pretty but quite steep. Especially near the reservoirs there is a “jump”, there is always a steeper section. Then you reach the VOTT junction. Here you can decide whether to go through the brutal “Valley of Tears”(I wrote about it here last year) or continue climbing towards Artenara.
Artenara is still a significant level and km from here, and not an easy one. However, the road is the most beautiful “inner” part of the island. Desolate, wild, monumental mountains, deep valleys, steep climbs, beautiful views. After Artenara there is a slight descent, but before Ayacata there is another 9 km climb. From there, it was just a roll down. It’s a tough round, but very, very worth it!
I’ll check the Strava (new window)
3. The NY coast on GC-200
I’ve already written about the NY coast because of the closures. But I have to mention the GC200 road with the tunnel again. The problem is that you have to get here from Maspalomas. I didn’t have enough time to do a full island circuit, so I drove to Agaete, and then made the trip south from there. It’s dizzying to see the road winding around the edge of the high cliffs below Agaete. Then you reach a roadblock and have to go into a 3.2 km tunnel, which you can easily cycle into. In fact! When I drove in, electronic signs were posted that there were cyclists in the tunnel, beware and with that the outside lane of the dual carriageway was closed. What they don’t pay attention to!
Coming out of the tunnel, I was greeted by a terrible wind (it’s always windy here), then after Adeje came the HC climb, which I never did from this direction. 4 km, 11% average. I didn’t miss it much, I suffered uphill. Terribly steep!
I’ll check the Strava (new window)
4. Climb from Mogán to Soria on GC605
The most beautiful serpentine you’ll find on the island. It is located in a valley that is closed from all directions and its contours make it stand out from the rest. 8 km, 600m of elevation, 7% average and it holds it all the way. It’s just steep enough not to be called easy, but it’s still plenty of climbing. Moreover, the scenery makes it more enjoyable than the difficulty would suggest. The tarmac is mirror-smooth, so it’s not for nothing that people like to roll it back and forth for training. The problem with this serpentine is that it’s too photogenic, so it’s hard not to stop to take photos all the time.
I’ll check the Strava (new window)
Summary
In total, I did 7 rides in the 9 days I had the bike, 620 km, 12.000 hills. I’m happy with that. I came to ride for fun, not for training, and I managed to do that. Every ride was as strenuous as I wanted it to be. It was a big advantage that I already knew the island and knew exactly where and what to expect. It makes it easier to plan. Compared to February’s form, I even overachieved, it was quite tiring.
Two things failed. I didn’t make it to the top of Pico (the top of the island) this year because the weather didn’t allow it (Strava link). Or I didn’t want to do the last km in 3 degrees and rain. I had already done the hard part, there was still 150m of level to go when it started to rain and the temperature dropped. The weather was not optimal anyway, 2 days of Calima and then cloudy and rainy every day.
I did not go to the VOTT this year. I had planned to, but I couldn’t plan a full-day trip for the last few days. Sorry, but next time. Some things have to be let go to be fulfilled later.
All in all I had a great time, although alone is never optimal, but there are so many cyclists on the roads that you can’t really feel alone here! Gran Canaria remains a forever return for me.
Rear view, good rolls everyone!
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