Mountain Trax Team On Tour - Tenerife 2007
By Lorraine Staley
'Today We Will Mostly Be Going Up'
This, along with other choice comments (ask John for an explanation!), can be commonly used for describing Tenerife riding. One week, 5 people with bikes, lots of hills and plenty of sun! This being my first cycling holiday (err, training camp) I would have been happy going anywhere, anywhere hot that is! With temperatures in the regions of 22-30c all week and a gentle climbing gradient of 4-5% plus the occasional 25 percenter for good measure Tenerife is a good place to ride. The aim of the week was to get some warm weather training in, mostly to top up our winter Base. Each day we generally headed off on our bikes around 10.30am, and with the exception of the recovery and shorter rides we returned to the villa around 5pm, in the pool (heated to 35c, wow) by 5.05pm!
We were based in the South of the island near the Amarilla Golf course and airport, staying in a self-catering ex-pats villa, which worked out at just over £100 per person. Add BA flights at £120, car hire and food and you have an economically priced holiday.
Rather than take road bikes we opted for mountain bikes shod with slick tyres. A very wise choice as some roads were so decrepit even the front suspension was a godsend. Slicks also gave us the added confidence of cranking the bike over on the hairpin descents using all of the road, and then some! The riding was generally steady climbing out and super fast descents back. Total miles on average for the week was about 240, nearer 300 for the cheeky solo rides attained by some, and average metres climbed per day was 1600m.
John, Paul, Clive, Chris & Lorraine relaxing by the waterfront
Our shortest ride (with the exception of recovery rides) was to Los Christianos, just east from our base, for a few photo's on the seafront (note the blue skies) before hauling arse back up the steep climb out of Los Christianos, though others danced their way up or 'spun' with Granny!
The roads in Tenerife are great to ride on, mostly... they do however have a habit of changing from smooth and fast to craggy and potholed, with sections of gravel bash! Climbing on these roads although good, can be rather 'numbing' on certain delicate parts and a few turns standing out the saddle were required to allow you to remember what sex you were. This aside it was gorgeous to climb here (I'm not the only one in thinking this am I? No, especially at the point where the tree line came bringing a pine fresh fragrance to your nose and lungs, Ed.)
Our longest ride and for me the most anticipated, was our ascent to Pico de Teide, the volcano in the center of Tenerife. Clive and Paul headed off first from the villa due to lack of space in the van (well volunteered) and Chris, John and I set off from Granadilla, the base of the ascent to Vilaflor and beyond. Total climbing was 2500m with a max height reached of 2100m, basically about 23 miles uphill... ace! This was achieved by steady spinning up through gentle flowing roads and merging scenery from rock and houses to smooth roads that lead you even higher through pine trees casting dappled sunlight, a complete contrast to the crater itself. As we descended into the crater, we were greeted with an expansive view of desolate plains of spiky congealed lava flows, interspersed with jagged rock erections, culminating with the volcano itself in the distance.
Chris finds "support" at altitude, before the descent into the volcanic crater
We stopped for a quick photo shoot then pushed on as time was against us, to the hotel/cafe where we scoffed cake, drank cafe con leche, and larged it up on our bikes for the camera... or rather, we refueled, rehydrated, and took photos for the website, ahem! Heading back we had to climb back out of the crater before being able to enjoy the descent back to the villa. This time though we opted for the more flowing swoopy descent from Vilaflor rather than the Mach 1 warp speed descent we 'survived' on our first day.
Not that we didn't take the opportunity to practice our 'tuck and go' (51mph max) but mostly we played it safe, well Chris and I did. John decided to play chicken with an oncoming car on his first acceleration into the hell descent... he won... just! Clive had a pedal clipping moment whilst trying to seduce more speed out of his stead on the final Vilaflor descent and Paul, well he just seemed to try and chase down (terrier like) anything in front of him, whether it be car, vespa or another cyclist!
All in all it was a great week, returning each day with that tired but happy feeling that follows a long day in the saddle, in the sun with like minded people... doing what we love... riding... in the hot sun, did I mention the great weather? For those who couldn't make it this year, it's a must... so long as you like to go mostly up!
A special thanks to Judy, Clive's girlfriend, for her organisational skills in regards to the 'kitty' and her efforts in keeping us fed. It didn't go unnoticed and was hugely appreciated by us all.
It wasn't all about the cycling;
Chris worked on his handicap, Paul hit the waves, and Clive regressed to childhood...
