Winter training in Tenerife

This was my first time travelling for winter training but definitely not my last. A Tenerife long weekend was a revelation. I added a longer write-up and more pretty pictures in the blog https://theadventurecapitalist.wordpress.com/2017/01/22/volcanic-activity/ but the short version is I was impressed at how cheap it could be done and how pleasant the weather is, even at the height of winter. Has anybody got experience of other Canary Islands? Are they also worth a visit with the bike?

Just got back myself - I recognise that top shot with fondness, the lower one on the Lava Negra stretch less so..complete sense of humour failure due to the potholes.

Completely echo that for the money, in January, Canaries can't be beaten. Especially when the pro camps are being called off left right and centre in Calpe.

IMHO Gran Canaria had much better roads, far better descents and much less concrete jungle in terms of accommodation options. Will be going back to GC in a hurry, less so Tenerife.

The road quality was definitely hit and miss. A bit too much miss really. GC sounds like a solid option then. Thanks for the tip. I absolutely love a proper descent and Tenerife never really offered that. I think the descent down to El Medano would've been good but I only climbed that route in one direction. The others had long stretches of sketchy surfaces.

I did laugh when I saw the pro shots from a snowy Calpe while we were sweating in 24°C.

That lava road shot is on the TF-38 road in the crater https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@28.2255093,-16.6846792,13z It's beautiful (in a stark way) but an absolute sod to ride. So much so that it kind of eliminates the 38 as an option.

As promised to myself, I did return to Tenerife last weekend with @hippy and @Jasmijn. Here's the write-up and a ton of photos to get you booking a flight to the Canaries.

Blog: http://bit.ly/Bang-Teide

I did a single road ride (and a bit of MTB'ing) when on hols in Tenerife a few years ago. Straight up the volcano from El Medano and back again. Really enjoyed about 80% of the descent, until getting close to El Medano, when suspension forks would've been nice. Flippin' eck!
My bro's out in GC right now. Not jealous at all!

Totally not jealous.

I went to Tenerife early Jan and went to Gran Canaria Dec 17

I think I prefer Tenerife, both awesome islands with great cycling. Tenerife was so empty this year though, barely saw cars or riders even on the multiple ascents up Tiede.

I went to Gran Canaria between these Tenerife trips too. They're both amazing but at their best I think GC is better. The VOTT route is a proper bucket list ride and the views from Serenity are something else.

https://theadventurecapitalist.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/valley-of-the-tears/

There are still some rough patches but they were working each evening to resurface the lower slopes. Every morning we'd find a new section with fresh tarmac and another section that had been freshly ripped up. The entire climb will be in beautiful condition by the end of the month.

That's how good the road surface is now: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsxu-ppF7e1/

I found the road surfaces better in Tenerife, some of the Gran Canarian ones are fairly shonky. I also had better weather in Tenerife so that may have swung my opinion a bit, was 25 degrees plus first week of Jan this year

Tenerife definitely wins on road surfaces. GC has some shockers. Tenerife has less route options but the major routes up Teide are all top drawer, so if you're there for a long weekend you're not going to be bored. Tenerife climbs are a bit more consistent too, whereas GC climbs can be all over the place with some very angry sections. For GC I'd recommend the biggest tyres you can fit and, ideally, tubeless so that you can run lower pressures.

Did you venture up to the North West end of Tenerife? There's a lovely climb out from San Andres and a savage one up from Benijo.

Only as far as the Masca Valley and Buenavista del Norte in the northwest corner. That little sod peaked at 27%. https://www.strava.com/activities/2089859897 The northeast looks like it's worth a visit on a longer trip or if we stay further east on the next camp.

Yeah the Anaga mountains in that North West corner are great. We stayed in Radazul, near Santa Cruz. Did Tiede from Orotava side and Grandilla way and then a few rides in the Anaga mountains.

I went to Tenerife and fucking rained all week.

Damn, that's unlucky.

I went to Tenby and fucking rained all week.

Indeed.

A 15s video edit of the crater at the summit https://www.instagram.com/p/BtDcrW6ln8T/