Tenerife’s Mount Teide is amazing by road. It’s even more spectacular off-road
Words Mark Bailey Photography Patrik Lundin
Big Ride: Tenerife
I ride past solidified rivers of lava and dark pine trees into a kaleidoscope of colour. My gravel tyres shimmy over blazing rust-red dirt and dust the shade of white-hot pumice. I pass strange, sea-green boulders and black orbs of rock that glisten like the island’s night skies. And all around me the yellow flowers of Codeso del Pico and Teide Flixweed drench this alien world in a buttery glow.
Many cyclists visit Tenerife, but without gravel tyres they will never get to see this remote, psychedelic dreamscape. Thanks to its volcanic geology and isolated geography, Tenerife is a laboratory for volcanologists, a museum for geologists, a pristine paradise for astronomers, a testing ground for Nasa astronauts and a film set for Hollywood movies. But the largest of the Canary Islands is also a 2,034km2playground for cyclists.
The island’s high altitudes, smooth roads and average temperature of 22°C make it a favourite training haven for pro teams as well as a winter escape for amateur riders. But Tenerife’s hidden gravel trails offer a gritty and more intimate way to explore the island, unlocking wild volcanic terrain and fresh cycling sensations.
On these bone-dry gravel trails I can feel the texture of the terrain shift beneath my tyres, taste the volcanic dust, smell the warm aroma of pine trees, see my skin slowly redden with dirt, and tune in to the silence of solitude. Six million visitors flock to Tenerife each year, but today I have seen only a few lizards scuttling among the rocks and a solitary rabbit. Far from the boozy bars, coach tours and sun-scorched beaches, a gravel rider can feel as though ‘Papa Teide’ – the name locals give to the island’s 3,715m volcano – has saved a corner of the island just for you.
Park rangers
Today’s ride begins in the cool shade of a pine forest a few miles south of La Orotava in the northeast of the island. My guide is Alberto Delgado of Tenerife Bike Training.
‘We are seeing a big interest in gravel cycling from road cyclists,’ says Alberto. ‘There are good gravel routes around the island, from the coast to the forests. Here in the Teide National Park, around the volcano, you can ride only one trail as most paths are protected. But it has everything: red sand, black rock, pine forests and beautiful views of Teide.’
Alberto runs Tenerife Bike Training with his brother Marcos. Their local
