CyclistBig Ride: Life on Mars in TenerifeUp, down and around. That pretty much describes your routing options on Tenerife. The largest Canary Island is dominated by Mount Teide, all 3,718m of it, to the extent that its almost impossible not to climb, descend or circumnavigate at least part of the towering volcano on any given ride. It has given rise to the idea that Tenerife is more for training than enjoying, and a strong link with WorldTour camps and a lack of racing on the island does nothing to dispel that notion the last time a big race visited was 1988, when the Vuelta a Espaa departed from the capital, Santa Cruz.Still, Tenerife became a haven for cyclists seeking to boost their haematocrit levels via natural and unnatural means the former by riding at altitude; the latter by taking advantage of both the islands remoteness, which made doping controls near non-existent, and the fact that Spain didnt outlaw performance-enhancing drugs until 2006.By the 2010s, however, Tenerife was established as a cycling destination for all the right reasons. Its testing roads, altitude and consistently good weather attracted Team Sky, and soon the hordes followed. Its now one of most popular bases for spring altitude camps for the pros.Those same qualities also make Tenerife a popular destination for ordinary cyclists, which is why Ive been received by brothers Alberto and Marcos Delgado who run Tenerife Bike Tours no relation to the famous Pedro, but Canaries-born and bred, and hence perfectly placed to guide me on todays 135km loop over Teide. They have previous with us, having hosted Cyclist in 2013 for our Big Ride in issue 13, something they kindly attribute as being responsible for an uptick in British clients, although Wigginss yellow jersey and the glory years of Team Sky may have helped too.Celestial heightsMarcos picks me up from my apartment in the tourist hotspot of Playa de las Amricas and we drive to our start in Tamaimo in southwest Tenerife, poised just above Los Gigantes, whose huge walls of black basalt plunge 600m into the Atlantic Ocean below. As we pedal off, Im promised an early espresso stop at Snack-Bar Parada in Cho, but after negotiating a stretch of road already very much in the up category, we find the cafe closed. In better luck for me, my ride partner today is Marcos rather than his eight-time Ironman and sub-seven hour Marmotte-finishing brother, Alberto, who has driven away in the van.After a few more kilometres spinning up moderate slopes, the days early fog lifts to reveal cliffs to our left and a steep drop to our right. A sign with the words El Teide Abierto indicates this mountain is open for business and we are indeed on the right path to its summit, but theres no rush: its still early in the day so theres plenty of time to stop and admire the views along the way. At Mirador del Chirche (look out for any miradors, Spanish for viewpoints these roadside spots really do provide stunning views), we pause to gaze at the neighbouring island of La Gomera, which rises to a less imposing 1,487m and offers some unspoilt riding just an hours boat ride away.The road swings inland into a steady 8km stretch where the slope barely deviates from 6%, which wouldnt be all that daunting were it not for the knowledge we still have 20km left to climb to Teides top, all through increasing temperatures and steadily thinning air. For now, though, Im content to spin up past palm trees and cacti, catching occasional glimpses of the dark peaks of the Teno Massif away to the northwest, one of the three volcanic islands that millions of years ago merged to form Tenerife.We pedal on into the Corona Forestal Natural Park, whose pine tree canopy offers relief from the intensifying sun until its trees peter out at 2,000m. So far, climbing has felt meditative such has been the consistency of gradient and smoothness of road, which is apparently a vast improvement from when Team Sky started coming here. Its the closest Ive come to the controlled environment of a turbo trainer on real roads, to the extent that Id be tempted to describe it as boring were the surroundings not so engagingly alien. Ive never cycled anywhere like this the wide, uniform road carrying me unerringly on and up through barren slopes and fields of black basalt boulders.Occasionally cars of tourists pass and pull over to take photos or set out on hikes. At sundown, theyll be replaced by the stargazers who come to take advantage of some of the worlds darkest, clearest skies, which reach deep into the Milky Way and far, far beyond. Indeed, astronomy is the reason why I can pedal here at all. The 2,390m-high Teide Observatory, which received its first professional telescope in 1964, needed roads, so too the Canarian Institute of Astrophysics, whose scientists continue to study here.The straight were on eventually ends in a long right-hand bend at the Mirador del Poleos in front of the Chinyero volcano, the site of the Tenerifes most recent eruption in 1909. But though our direction has finally changed, the gradient hasnt, sticking resolutely at around 6% as it makes a languid twist over 6km through an extended S-bend.Suddenly my reverie is broken by a fist bump from Marcos. Well done, he says as the road plateaus out, marking the end of our climbing for a while. Its a strange feeling, because were at 2,200m and yet it doesnt feel like were anywhere close to a summit. Thats because the Pico Viejo volcano before us is hiding the Teide formation behind it despite being junior in height, and looking at my computer, although weve ridden 25km from Cho at a 5.5% average gradient an hors catgorie ascent in anyones book theres still some way to go.Article continues belowThe climb out of Tamaimo sets the tone for a lumpy route.Pete GodingTenerifes flora isnt limited to cacti and palm trees, but they do figure heavily on the inhospitable southern slopes.Pete GodingSnow can cause the closure of the road to Teide, but its too hot for that today.Pete GodingLa Gomera, another cyclable Canary Island, is just about visible beyond the cloud.Pete GodingThe pine forest of La Corona Forestal Natural Park offers rare shade on the otherwise exposed slopes.Pete GodingTeides latest eruption in 1909 scattered volcanic debris on the side of this road.Pete GodingThe Teide climb from Cho ends at 2,300m altitude on this long straight road through black boulder fields.Pete GodingPete GodingThe Las Caadas crater is a Spaghetti Western landscape formed by the collapse of a volcano even bigger than Teide.Pete GodingCopper deposits lend a green tint to boulders near Teides summit.Pete GodingThe teetering Roques de Garcia rock formations have names such as the Finger of God.Pete GodingHotel Parador, a favourite of pros on altitude training camps, sits at the base of the volcanos dome.Pete GodingOnly the cable car can get you higher than this.Pete GodingPapillon, our lunch stop, has a colourful collection of professional cyclists bidons behind the bar.Pete GodingPete GodingLos Realejoss vivid murals and buildings brighten up Tenerifes northern coast.Pete GodingPack a warm jacket for a descent that will carry you through one of Tenerifes many microclimates.Pete GodingThe final climb to La Montaeta is steeper and more sinuous than the Teide ascent.Pete GodingBananas and grapes abound in the islands sub-tropical north.Pete GodingLava and sugarloavesA long, pedalling descent as straight as an airport runway carves through more walls of black volcanic chunks. We turn left into the Las Caadas caldera, a vast crater believed to have been formed by the collapse or erosion of an even larger volcano than Teide.If Mont Ventoux is the Moon, this high up Teide feels like Mars, and with the midday sun now beating down, it feels like Im in a giant frying pan of dusty red earth and gnarled rock.The climbing resumes as we traverse Las Caadas ravine and its greening copper-tinged deposits, eventually emerging into the other half of the caldera. Its divided in two by the Roques de Garcia, which look like precarious Jenga stacks of rock ready to topple onto Tenerifes highest hotel and thus the favoured base for pro cycling teams that visit the Hotel Parador.Teide hulks intimidatingly above us, but Marcos assures me its a dormant volcano. Still, streaks of cooled lava flow are visible down its sides, topped by a series of light-coloured splodges known as the Pan de Azcar (or sugarloaf) and another light brown cone, created by a subsequent eruption, above that.A final climbing effort takes us to our highest point of 2,350m and rewards us with a spectacular panorama of cloud, rock and sea, before its time to start on our requisite down, cranking our big rings through flowing corners. We bypass a couple of tourist spots before stopping at a restaurant called Papillon for lunch, where Marcos orders us slices of tortilla and a tranca, a sort of long, custard-filled pastry. I just hope the remaining descent is long enough to allow me to digest it before we hit the days last climb.Storm before the calmBefore the 15km descent to Portillo, Marcos advises me to put on an extra layer. Having just seen a couple of geckos basking in the sun, I sceptically don my scrunched gilet, but I soon wish Id brought something more substantial. As we drop, a refreshing drizzle turns into a downpour, and that, plus the wind chill, deteriorating visibility and rain-slicked road surface, makes for a nerve-wracking descent.Weve been caught out by one of Tenerifes microclimates, of which there are as many as eight.In summer it can be 30C on top of Teide while its raining in the north down below, Marco says, adding that the norths wetter, subtropical climate and fertile volcanic soil permits the cultivation of small and sweet Canarian bananas, which are the islands main agricultural export to mainland Spain. So its not all bad.We eventually make it to the undulating north coast where the cloud lifts to reveal discordantly colourful coastal villages, so different from the white and terracotta buildings found in much of Spain. Banana and avocado plantations make the most of flatter ground as grape vines cling to the hillsides. Marcos says Tenerifes volcanic wine is highly regarded for its minerality and salinity, and the island packs in five legally defined, protected appellations. Im just glad it has stopped raining.In contrast to the steady slopes weve descended from, these cliff-hugging roads dip and swoop savagely. On one particularly steep drop into Los Realejos, an incongruous group including Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Harry Potter watch us from a mural, then were pitched straight into a chain-stretchingly steep road on the other side of town, this time overlooked by some more traditionally dressed figures on another mural.We finally arrive at the final climb, an 11km rise to La Montaeta averaging 6.9%. We pass Las Angustias chapel, which Im reliably informed holds a stuffed alligator that was stabbed by a shepherd with a lance looking to protect his flock, and head for the pine-forested top. Happily, it appears to be free of marauding reptiles.One last push and the incline peters out into a plateau as our total climbing ticks over the 3,000m mark. All thats left is a descent into Santiago del Teide, a bustling little town of white-washed houses, plastic-chaired cafes and (presumably) more taxidermically festooned churches. Then its just a few lazy hairpins through El Retamar and back to Tamaimo, where Alberto awaits us with the van and the promise as is tradition for the brothers that his mum has the paella on.Many pros, few racesTeide is a magnet for pro teams as a training groundPapillon, where Cyclist stopped for lunch during our ride, has an impressive collection of signed bidons from the likes of Jumbo-Visma, Astana Qazaqstan and Ineos Grenadiers behind the bar.You never know who you will pass on Teide, says Marcos. Stars such as Demi Vollering and double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel make regular visits, although snowstorms forced both riders into rushed departures earlier this year. However, despite having the roads, climbs, landscapes and climate to attract the worlds best riders, Tenerife has very little racing action, mainly because its a logistical nightmare to bring all the people and paraphernalia of a pro race to an island that sits 350km off the coast of Africa.That was all due to change at this years Vuelta a Espaa. After a 38-year absence, the Canary Islands were scheduled to host the final four stages of the 2026 Vuelta, including a summit finish on Teide until politics intervened. Gran Canaria withdrew over the possible participation of Israel-Premier Tech (who no longer race under that name), forcing the organisers to relocate the finale to Andalusia.Tenerife, however, hasnt given up on its dream. Just like Contador did in the mountains, we will not give up until we reach the summit, said one of Tenerifes tourism chiefs after the withdrawal. Lets hope the island makes it back onto the Vueltas schedule again soon. It should be a great spectacle.How we did itTravelCyclist flew from Birmingham to Tenerife South. Direct flights go to this tourist destination from most UK airports. We hired a car and drove 30 minutes to Playa de Las Americas, although if we didnt have a bike box we could have taken the Route 40 bus from outside the terminal.AccommodationWe stayed in an apartment in Playa de Las Amricas, a purpose-built tourist resort with accommodation galore. It was a 40-minute drive to get to the start of our route, but its easy to plan an alternative route starting in the south of the island.A simple solution is to sign up with Tenerife Bike Tours, which offers a number of cyclingtours including five nights at the five-star Hotel Barcel in the south and two nights at the four-star Hotel AC Marriott in the north. For 1,695 per person, you get half-board, six guided rides with a support van, mechanical assistance, private bike storage and a paella party to finish the trip. You can also hire a bike at extra cost.ThanksMuchas graciasto Alberto and Marcos Delgago of Tenerife Bike Tours Marcos for riding with us and Alberto for driving the support van. Together they provided great company and vital local knowledge, including the best roads to take and best places to eat. For more info go to tenerifebiketours.com.The post Big Ride: Life on Mars in Tenerife appeared first on Cyclist.