This wonderful bike climb begins in the Tenerife, Canary Islands resort town of Playa de la Arena at the southwest end of the island. A safe bet for lodging is the massive Be Live Experience Playa la Arena (Hotel Playa la Arena - 432 rooms, three bars, entertainment, 2 restaurants, pools).
Our climb begins adjacent Hotel Playa la Arena. We soon enter TF-454 and begin our 53.5 kilometer climb from 15 meters to 2,355 meters gaining 2,516 meters at 4.4% average grage. TF-454 is moderately congested with vehicle traffic for the first 5 miles as this location is home to the Los Gigantos (The Giants) which is an almost 2,000-foot sheer cliff which was an amazing site to see.
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Acantilados de Los Gigantes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Photo: elsombrero.com
Once we turn right onto TF-82 and head south, we make our way to the town of Chio (elevation 680m, population 2,155). Once through the town, we merge onto TF-38 about 7+miles into the climb and take this road all the way to the top.
TF-38 doesn’t have a lot of traffic and the grade is very consistent and a pleasant average grade of 6%. After riding through the forest , the landscape drastically changes to volcanic rock fields and formations that reminded us of the climb up Mauna Loa in Hawaii from the turnoff from Saddle Road.
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Mirador de las Narices del Teide
Kilometer 38 - just before the one descent of the long climb (7.8km, -0.9% descend 112m)
The views were spectacular and worth a few pics. About 22+ miles into the climb, the road flattens out as we turn left onto TF-21. We are met with a descent and a long flat before climbing 12 more kilometers to the famous Parador de Canadas used by most pro cycling teams for winter training.
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Parador de Cañadas del Teide
Photo: Trivago