Mountain Bike Tour in Tenerife
Mountain Bike Tour in Tenerife with Tenerife Bike Adventures
We were on our family holiday to Tenerife in the Canary Islands and after deciding that my plan to rent a mountain bike, take it on the local bus the top of El Teide volcano, which according to Wikipedia “Its summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic” and then ride down, was perhaps not particularly sensible (or as it turns out legal) … I jumped online to compare the local MTB tour companies to get this tour done right.
After finding a suitably optimistic route, I phoned Tenerife Bike Adventures, they were very friendly and helpful explaining how the day would work and what I would need to take with me. Turns out, it was just my riding clothes.
They took my booking without any payment upfront and I was later contacted via WhatsApp to confirm the time they would collect me from our hotel and again asked if I had any questions.
The day of reckoning came and bang on time at 8:00am my tour guide arrived in his nice new minibus to collect me.
We had two other riders to collect on the way to the bike shop, but it was good to see more of the island on the way and Massimo proved to be great company for the journey discussing everything from bikes to crazy golf!
30 minutes later we arrived at the bike shop where our rental bikes were prepped and waiting for us as well as any equipment we had managed to leave at home was available to borrow free of charge.
Our guide Unai, introduced himself to us, failing to mention he was a former cross country MTB champion, and explained a bit about the route and what to expect in the next 52km!
The rental bike was of decent quality and well maintained, but next time I would definitely pay a little extra for rear suspension as it turns of volcanoes are pretty bumpy to ride over!
The ride started off by crossing a sandy beach, something I would have thought impossible on a bike (and still is for me) if I hadn’t seen or guide glide across the sand as if it were a tarmac road.
After this we headed along the coast along cliff top paths with were spectacular views although it was best to look where you were going if you didn’t want to take a noise dive into the sea.
Then the climbing began … And continued to climb!
Once we had gained some altitude the ride undulated up and down for the next hour through everything from fire roads to rock formations … Leg burning heaven!
A fast descent on technically challenging single track covered in slippery volcanic dust resulted in huge drifts and alarmingly little front tire grip, taking us down to an amazing locals bar cut into the rocks over the sea
As Unai got the coffees and waters in we took in the amazing location and chilled out on cushions scattered across the rocks.
All too soon it was time to get moving.
We rode briefly through the town enjoying the sights and the shade of the buildings then it was back into the wilderness to climb into the lower reaches of Tenerife’s El Teide volcano.
After what can only be described as a hard slog, where I began questioning my choice of hobby, we turned off the trail into a very fast decent, where my bravery wildly outweighed my lack of experience riding on this loose surface and I promptly slid out on a bend in the trail. Despite doing the splits for the first time in 35 years I was unharmed, but very glad I had found space in the suitcase for my knee pads!
We climbed again until we were directly above the airport and Montana Roja and stopped in some shade to catch our breath as Unai fed us organic banana energy bars (bit different to Mars bars and Haribo that I normally take on a long ride)
Once refueled we jumped on the bikes, completed “one last climb” (Unai’s way of saying 3 more climbs) and turned south towards the Red Mountain!
Now was time for the pay off!!
This began with super fast twisting turning trails heading down towards the coast, which soon became peppered with man made jumps, obstacles and drops. AMAZING!
Unai would ride ahead so he could point out and obstacles that would be better avoided and we could just flow down the trail.
After stopping at the bottom of this trail to regroup and share stories of our heroics, he continued.
This flat path took us past the desert homes of some of Tenerife’s more eccentric residents, which gave us another chance to practice riding across sand (still can’t do it) and led us to the beginning of the next decent.
This part of the ride was like riding on the moon (or Utah)
Smooth surfaced rock paths running through volcanic rock valleys made me laugh out loud at the surrealness of my surroundings and how much fun the twisting paths with dozens of drop offs were to ride. Definitely up there is my most amazing moments on a bike!
At the bottom we exchanged some awkward high 5’s and Unai announced that we were going to the bar! … Once we have crossed another bloody beach and a short blast through town.
We finally stopped at a busy beach bar for a very well earned beer and chatted while we watched the windsurfers do their thing. Then it was back in the bus to be dropped off back at the hotel for more rehydration!
A massive thanks to the guys at Bike Adventure Tenerife who run mountain bike and road bike tours 6 days a week for all abilities. Even me!
You can find out more about Tenerife Bike Adventures by going to their website here.
My usual riding routes normally take place locally around Kent or if i’m lucky I get to go to Bike Park Wales for the weekend, but I am always on the lookout for new exciting trails so if you can recommend any please let me know below in the comments section below. Cheers alot!