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Tenerife Advice

Hi Everyone.

I am planning to go to Tenerife in few weeks for six days (four full days)  16 and I would love to hear any advice from the forum.

I am planning to do the following rides:
Day 1: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6749153
Day 2: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6749208
Day 3: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6749240
Day 4: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6749353

However if I find it hard I might drop Day 3 or repeat Day 1 or Day 2 instead.
I have spent a week in the Alps and found that tough but manageable.

How cold will it be in January/February at the top of the climbs? - I was planning to wear shorts/jersey and just take a wind jacket.
How easy is it to get water past Vilaflor? Can you get/buy water at Parador? Do they mind (non pro) cyclist visitors.
Any tips on the routes I have chosen?
Anything else?

Many thanks

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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11 comments

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HeadInTheClouds | 9 years ago
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Thanks to everyone who posted some advice here - it was really useful and I am glad in particular that I heeded some of the advice on clothing in particular.

I actually changed the routes I did in the end to remove the tough Day 3 (for time reasons as much as anything) and to improve the routes:

Here is what I actually did:

Day 1 (same as before): http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6749153
Day 2: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6823377
Day 3: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6817652
Day 4: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6791414

Day 4 was hard as the wind was a cold head wind for most of the way up the climb.

I ended up going up Tiede, 3 of the 4 days which was pretty good and ultimately ended up climbing around 9000m. I took it all fairly easy as I was cycling alone and didn't want to blow up on the slopes.

If you want to see my strava then you can look here:
https://app.strava.com/athletes/660694

The weather at the top of Teide was hot - weirdly it is colder around 3/4 way up but never dropping below much below 8-12C when you go through the low clouds and trees.

I felt completely fine temperature wise at the bottom and all the way to the top. However you get very cold on the way down. It took me around 1 hour to descend to sea level and I got very cold. I took a wind jacket, arm and leg warmers and some woolen gloves to put over mitts. I feel the cold though... I also carried a small backpack with all this in.

I didn't meet any cyclists though you see people coming the other way. Most are friendly and wave etc. I have seen a few pro-cyclists - no one I recognized , but teams like Quickstep, Lampre, Quebeka, CCC and load of others. I was overtaken a few times :).

The roads at the bottom near the resorts are busy but climb a little away and everything is lovely. The roads are mostly great.

For me this was one of my best cycling experiences and would highly recommend it! I might go again and possibly stay in the North and see Masca.

Thanks again for your help.
 16

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bjornalkema | 9 years ago
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I stayed late september 2013 in Costa Adeje... at the beach every day sunny with around 32 degrees.
But above Arona you will never know... I`ve several times in the french alpes but I found tenerife more unpredictable if it comes down to weather conditions.
I also drove the Marmotte in 2010 and on my own in 2013. Your day 3 is almost equal!!!! I advise you skip that one... `cause if the weather is bad in the crator, it will be one of your worst nightmares.
If you have a rent-car, drive to Santiage del Teide, take your bike out and drive down to carachico, towards Buenavista and then up back to Santiago... (a climb with at least strokes around 16% at the end) ...very beautifull scenery in that corner of the island.

- also i advise you take a rucksack for warm clothing, gloves, cap, arm/legwarmers, goretex jacket... just to be sure, you dont want to get ill, do you?!
- on the TF-21, where the tourist take the lift up to the Teide, you can buy water/refreshments there... just a few kms from hotel parador(dont know if you can get something there)

let us know how it was and enjoy it!  16

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Bmac | 9 years ago
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Hi,
Have not gone up teide from the south but last year went up and down it a number of times from the north (I.e from orotava) it can get very cold and damp at times, as you often have to ride through a thick cloud layer which can really chill you. A bit like riding through fog - no sun can get through hence the coldness.
So in terms of clothing I would take plenty of light layers (particularly arm warmers etc) that you can discard or put on as required.

I also noticed that on day 3 you planned to ride round from the south to buena vista to orotava and then climb up teide and down through Vilaflor. This is a tough ride! I am not sure which route you planned to use from buena vista to orotava but if you plan to use the main coast road the stretch from icod to orotava is very busy and not at all pleasant to ride. If you take a less busy route it means a fair amount of climbing - be warned!!
(I.e. Particularly in the north of the island there is very little flat riding!!)

Also note comments re road surfaces at the top of teide there are some fantastic stretches of road and some horrible.

Overall though a fantastic climbing experience - the climbs just seem to go on for ever  20

Good lucky

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olic | 9 years ago
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Day 3 - That looks.. ambitious! If you're going to do that definitely set off early. As others have mentioned the weather can be variable and for a large part of that you will be seriously exposed when you're around the volcano. I also found navigating can be a nightmare once you get off the main routes even with a Garmin and it gets very confusing and going out that kind of distance you don't want to start going on detours!

Day 4 - I seem to remember the TF-38 was meant to be a pretty bad road surface so you might want to be careful descending as I believe that's quite steep in parts as well

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terrahawk | 9 years ago
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it was pretty cold up there last February. Take a windproof as a bare minimum.
http://40psi.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/dsc_0134.jpg

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bfslxo | 9 years ago
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Have done the last week in Nov the last two years (13/14) & the weather has been spot on & Nov /Dec is their coldest months - You can get all u need at Parador & there's a great wee cafe at the side of the road just before u turn left out of Villaflor, road is rough as in & around the crater & best u have a gilet - i have always just worn my summer cycling clothers & a light gilet but then Northern ireland tends to be a few degrees colder than southern england 99% of the time not knowing your u hail from.

I done all the routes (not the holiday) with club activo (their on facebook if u do a quick search) a local based cycling tour co, they put photos up almost every day as they go along so u get almost real time weather reports

this is not an advertisement for them at all but may give u some info if it helps
a link to the tours they do with detail which might help u with a few turns etc
http://clubactivocycling.com/tours/

if u did get the opportunity I'd defintiely recommend this area, I only done it this year for the first time, blows u away, u would think u were in a different country altogether.

http://clubactivocycling.com/masca/

Day 3 is a big ask, good luck -

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HeadInTheClouds | 9 years ago
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Thanks for the great advice - that Marrakech ride sounded epic in a not entirely ideal way  1

I am now thinking of taking a backpack or at least a lot more clothing when riding and I am also hoping the weather/wind etc is not too bad.

Day 3 is perhaps a little ambitious, I have the Marmotte as the goal for this year and hope I will be a lot fitter by then. 160km at this time of year might be a bit hopeful...

Anyway thanks again - I will try to do a bit of a mini write up when back.

cheers

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jstone1 | 9 years ago
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Agree that it's pretty barren above Vilaflor. Your Day2 looks good but I'd be tempted to do it in reverse so you get the winding descent on the TF21 from Vilaflor to Granadilla - then the run through San Miguel and "bottom to top" views at your current 11.5 distance marker on the TF28. Mind you, you get them everywhere! Roads to the east of Granadilla get a bit rougher...

Don't underestimate Day 3, and the air's thin after Vilaflor. And don't underestimate a lovely warm seaside can be a cold summit.

Hmm, it's enough to want to make me go back tomorrow!

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thereverent | 9 years ago
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I was in Tenerife last Feb with Polkadot Tours (highly recomended).

It will be lovely and warm at sea level but can be misty/rainy/cold up the mountain (the first time I went to Vilaflor it was very misty and cold). Take arm warmers, Gillet, rain jacket (as a mimimum), and some extra layers for when you stop. A small 10l rucsack would do.

Vilaflor is the last place for water (or anything else) until the Parador. I think we got drinks at the Parador (not sure about water as we had vehicle support).
The roads get a bit rougher in the crator, but otherwise the surface is generally good.

Day three looks impressive! Let us know how you got on.
It tends to be more rainly the north side of Tiede.

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Al__S | 9 years ago
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I went in April last year. I imagine it'll be slightly cooler. Took two attempts to do a slightly shorter version of your Day 2- "just" going to the road's peak at 2200m.

On the first attempt we got bad weather. Really bad. At Villaflor it was below 5°C with horizontal rain and hail. We took shelter in the café at the junction. Along with a group of Latvians and a group of Norweigians. Everyone there had two objectives:
1. Warm up a bit
2. Get back down

2. was terrifying, due to cold numb hands, poor visibility, somewhat dodgy wet surfaces and minimal crash barriers!

The second attempt? got to summit, had a base layer, jersey, arm warmers and windproof gilet. It was sunny up top, but cool and cloudy in the trees above Villflor.

Can't remember there being anywhere for water above Villaflor, never went as far as Parador (by bike, anyway)

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JoshCroxton1 | 9 years ago
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I would strongly urge you to read this:
http://road.cc/content/feature/83843-riding-marrakech-atlas-%C3%A9tape

I know it's not Tenerife, and I don't know any facts about the temperatures of the mountains in Tenerife, but I know that Marrakech is as hot as Tenerife, so a jersey and wind jacket mightn't be enough when heading up (more importantly, down) the mountains.

Enjoy it though!

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