The cycling day… It’s strange being on a cycling holiday without a bicycle. That’s how it felt yesterday. Today the normal order was restored and I have been cycling. Not on my bike but a hire bike from a local company called Mr Bike Tenerife. I don’t think that’s his real name but Mr Bike delivered the ‘Pro Mountain Bike’ to the hotel this morning at just after 11:30 as promised. Let the cycling commence…
This trip to Tenerife is one of the many cycling holidays offered by Jet2 Holidays. Jet2 have a range of flights to Tenerife and I chose to travel from Manchester to Tenerife South. I stayed at the Dreams Jardin Tropical Resort and Spa, one of the ‘Winter Sun’ destinations offered by Jet2Holidays but, of course, Jet2Holidays offer holidays to Tenerife all year round.
My tentative plan was to cycle from here in Costa Adeje to a place called Los Gigantes further north along the coast. There’s a motorway that heads in that direction so I had hoped that the road nearer to the coast would be a lot quieter. It wasn’t. I plodded on, and I wasn’t alone; there were quite a few cyclists out there, mainly on shiny road bikes. But the road was thin and the constant rush of cars had me thinking of a plan B.
In between times, I bumped into a cycle tourist. His English wasn’t great so the conservation was a little stilted. He was on his way from Los Gigantes to Costa Adeje (and beyond…) He set off from home – Cassel in Germany – a few months ago and was about to clock 5,000km. Portugal was too cold so he decided to head south to the Canaries for a while. He was wild camping and had plans to return to Spain and cycle along the south coast once the weather gets a bit warmer. So cycle tourists do come here! (I also saw some bike packets earlier in the week…)
Plan B eventually materialised when it dawned on me that if I didn’t divert away from the coastal road and find an alternative road, I would be destined to cycle back along the busy road later in the day. The map suggested there were more minor roads that would take me inland a little – inevitably uphill – over the motorway and eventually to another road that would take me back to where I started via a different route. Los Gigantes was abandoned as a destination and about halfway to my intended destination I turned right and started climbing.
They were farm tracks, nothing more than that, but they were almost deserted and allowed me to see up close and personal something of the Tenerife way of life away from the tourist hotspot of the south east corner of the island. Since I was on a mountain back, it seemed a more suitable place to be cycling although at times I did wonder where the hell I was going…
After crossing the motorway, a bit more climbing and then a longish descent back to the coast. 40-50km perhaps? Not the strenuous climb to Mount Teide – that was never on the cards – but a good workout nevertheless.
Tomorrow is my final full day. I’ve looked into joining a group visit to the mountain and up the cable car but there is no availability. Ferry to La Gomera is another possibility. Hire a car and head around the island independently? Or stay at the hotel and relax and crack on with some writing… As they say in these parts… mañana…
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