Cycling in Lanzarote or other foreign parts

[TGR]

Morning all,

I am heading to Lanzarote on holiday next week with my family. According to the holiday brochure, there is a cycling 'pro shop' at the hotel. I was wondering if anyone had any experience of renting bikes etc whilst abroad - should i bring shoes and pedals with me on the off chance that i might take a bike out for a ride at some stage or are they supplied?

I have not built my hopes up about the mention of 'pro shop' and it may be the case that they rent MTB to bimble around on but i like to be prepared. Also, using a bike whilst abroad may be unhealthy - they ride on the worng side of the road and i may not be sober enough to ride it - all-inclusive must be abused!!!

Thanks all,

Richard

 

[47p2]

Yes you can take your own shoes and pedals, or the shop will supply flat pedals if required. I was in Puerto Del Carmen earlier this year and hired bikes from Flistones, great service and highly recommended.

 

[jonnyboy666]

i've ridden over there a couple of times, some of the roads are pretty rough, especially inland, like most places though you can get varying quality of kit, just comes down to what you pay. it's hilly and windy though but i like it, bearing in mind the heat at this time of year there i would recommend riding early morning or early evening.

 

[PurleySquire]

Gran Canaria

I would endorse what JohnnyBoy said, I rode in Gran Canaria around Christmas time way back in the late 90s. Even at that time of year it was hot enough, I have also been there in July, but it was much too hot for physical exercise.
BITD you could take a bike in a bike bag as sports equipment/oversized baggage for about £50 if they even bothered to charge you I think I was using Monarch back then.
The roads and tracks on GC were quite brutal on a cheapo rigid DiamondBack BSO. Most days I would bike and hike up to about 1500m to somewhere near the centre of the island in around 5 hours and then grab 30 minutes of downhill back to base camp.
I think the hills are a fair bit smaller on Lanzarote, but wind could be a source of fatigue and dehydration.

 

[mj3200]

We ride in Gran Canaria at least once a year. There's a thriving road and mountain bike scene there. Weatherwise I have been there from October to May and never found it too hot. As far as wind goes the only place where it can be obtrusive is the area around the airport but in the mountains it is normally as still as you get. Bikes can be rented from a company called Free Motion. Anything up to Di2 level, although we normally just take ours with us. Last year we saw the Saxo Bank team training and also Bijarne out for a ride on his own. We rode a short section of the hill to Soria with Roman Kruzinger and his training partner and had a chat at the top with him. V nice guy. I believe Armistead was there training this winter. So a bit of star spotting can be done if you like that kind of thing.

We did ride in Lanzarote a few years ago and that was good also.

Take your pick and enjoy!

 

[Pyro Tim]

I hired a really crap MTB in Lanzarote last Feb. The riding was fine, only on roads / cycle paths, but the bike was shocking. It ended up being a single speed on the big ring. Bloody hard work on the climbs!

 

[TGR]

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful indeed. From what i can gather -
bringing shoes, pedals, shorts and jersey would be best
go out early morning
avoid mountains

I might give it a try if i have space in my case after my wife has filled it with her stuff!!!

Thanks all,

Richard

 

[Robbied196]

I saw some nice riding in Corsica today

 

[TGR]

Did you see me fall off? I was also directing the bus driver.

Richard

 

[Russell]

Would you do me a favour and update the thread when you're back from Lanzarote!

I'm off there for two weeks later in the year and will also need to hire a bike for a few days... Be interested to hear how you get on