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Last month (February 2024) we spent a week cycling in Lanzarote and fell in love with it as a winter cycling destination. So much so that we’re already planning next year’s trip.
We chose Lanzarote as it’s the least steep of the Canary Islands (after the monstrous hills of Gran Canaria last year we knew our winter cycling legs needed something a bit more gentle) but a lot of the reviews said it wouldn’t be pretty. Also, as a lover of fresh food I’ve never been too impressed with meals out in the Canaries due to them having to import most fruit and veg. Happily, we were proved wrong on both fronts; the landscape and food were both epic, and that coupled with the rides we did has planted it in the firm favourite category for us. It’s probably not for people who love hairpins and altitude, but for what Veloforte lovingly call the ‘everyday athlete’ it was the perfect mix of easy cycling and more challenging routes.
Here are our top tips for cycling in Lanzarote.
Although the least steep of the Canaries, it’s still quite hilly!
We stayed in Costa Teguise which is half way up the east coast; great for rides in both directions. If you’re staying at any of the coastal towns though, your first few miles is going to be uphill. There are two main routes out of the town and unless you do a random loop for a few miles to warm the legs up, you’re heading upwards on either route. The more southerly route via the Aquapark (LZ-34) was what we did on our first day and that was straight up which was a bit of a shock to the system, but the next day we headed out on the LZ-14 which we much preferred and we planned our routes from there after that. Although there were no ramps and few switchbacks, there were lots of long drags so it was just a question of settling in and getting on with it. It really did help build our leg strength though, which has helped on return to the UK. We chatted to a few people who said they were staying inland to avoid the hill starts, in towns like Teguise and Nazaret, and while it does make sense from one perspective, we just enjoying being by the beach. Each to their own.
Find the LZ1a and plan it into all your routes - it’s amazing!
If it’s possible to fall in love with a road, then this is the road for me! The LZ1 is the main road on the island and connects all of the towns on the east coast. But alongside it for about 12 miles is a sister road the LZ-1a, with beautiful tarmac, and where bikes take priority. It’s not totally car free (there are a couple of turn offs for local villages and we did see some pro cyclist team cars following their riders on it too), but they are few and far between and it’s really for the cyclists. It was utter heaven! Easy riding and ace if you want to do some speed work. It’s bizarrely not mentioned on any Lanzarote tourist guide we read, but we’d heard about it from a cycling blog and honestly, the Lanzarote Tourism board should be shouting about this from the heavens!
Every day is windy. Get used to it!
Even on days when the forecast was for little wind, there was wind. The Canaries have prevailing winds from the North East, so it’s worth factoring that into your ride. For us that meant that most days heading downhill back to Costa Teguise on the east coast meant we’d have to peddle when heading downhill which was ‘interesting’ on the first day but we got used to it. We were buffeted about on occasion, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Additionally once you’re in the lee of the volcanoes it does dissipate, so it’s not continual. It certainly didn’t spoil the adventure.
It’s a lot smaller than Mallorca or Tenerife so there are fewer options for long/hard rides, but the ones that are there are magnificent.
Every day seemed to get better as we got to know the island. My first big ‘WOW’ moment was heading down towards Famara Beach - leaving Teguise there are amazing views towards the Timanfaya National Park, then turning right towards Famara was simply stunning. Cliffs, blue seas and a rugged coastline took my breath away (or was that the wind!). I pronounced it my favourite ride ever. Then the next day we went into Timanfaya and through the Volcanoes National Park - another WOW! And finally up to Mirador del Rio with the most beautiful views out to La Graciosa from Cesar Manrique’s fabulous lookout point. It’s hard to choose on reflection which was the best but the main thing is that they were all stunning in their own ways. Although it’s not a big island it does have quite diverse scenery with the north being fairly green, and the south, although it’s more barren, has the majesty of the volcanoes and lava fields that are just so different to any other landscape. We’ll probably do all 3 rides again next year alongside some new ones. We met plenty of people who go year in year out and we can see why. You might get bored after a while, or want a tougher challenge, but for a winter cycling destination it’s definitely up there for us.
You might have to re-route a few times if you’re on a road bike, as not all ‘roads’ are passable.
We plan our routes using Garmin Connect (and checking out other people’s rides on Strava). While it’s a great app, it doesn’t differentiate between what’s possible on a road bike and what would require a mountain or gravel bike. We had a few dead ends, a few places we just couldn’t find a road (it definitely wasn’t there!) or where it was just a sandy or rocky path. Others we spoke to said they had the same experience. Even ‘roads’ labeled LZ…. they could be tiny unpaved things (mostly covered in sand). Just be prepared to detour when it happens (especially on the proposed route from Teguise to Famara Beach).
Factor in stopping for amazing food
We do love to cycle but we also love good food (which is probably why we’re not amazing cyclists). The quality of food in Lanzarote was excellent. Coffees in Teguise, cakes at San Bartolome, home-made burgers on Famara Beach, beautiful salads with local goats cheese in Yaiza and freshly caught seafood on the beach in Arrieta. All were great and good value for money, and so much better than any of the ‘resort’ restaurants available on the strip in CT. This and the views is probably why we like cycling so much!
We keep it cheap when we travel and like to stay in apartments just because it suits us (simple pleasures like a coffee on a balcony and breakfast when we choose it our MO). This was quite possibly the cheapest holiday we’ve had since the Teletext Days of yore! We flew with Ryanair from Edinburgh (about £200 each) and we booked a great apartment in a complex with a lovely pool through www.booking.com (£450 between us). Costa Teguise is only 20 mins from the airport so cheap transfers, and we were IN our apartment within 30 minutes of actual landing (and we had baggage to pick up!). Eating out was cheaper than the UK and good wine from the supermarket was a whole £3 - heaven ha! We had some lovely meals in little towns too - great local cheeses and wines, and some lovely salads. We also found TWO perfect pizza and carbonara (our thing) restaurants on the street opposite our apartment. Mi Piace and La Otra; both friendly, great atmosphere and lovely food. We totally scored with these on our doorstep.
We hired bikes through Tribike - super handy for where we were staying and the bikes were good.
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