Routes

Well, this are my selection of best routes on the south of island. Why only south? Because it is place where you will have your hotel (probably) and it is better choice than north as you go in wilderness straight up and not after many kilometers of pedaling as on north.

First boring downhill: Please if you are interested in downhill go with organized group. Many rent a bike business have trailers and small busses that will take you uphill and than you can go with leader down. For details ask in any shop that rent bikes. I will not lose time on that. Price, 30 - 50 € per person + bike = who knows

What I will write is for those that want to go by themselves, alone or with few friends. I will start with easy one that can be accomplished by total amateur and from 5th one I will talk about pain an will finish with HELL. I will scale it from 1 to 10 where 10 will be HELL...

Each next route is continuations of previous one so you can easily find your way home if it becomes to heavy to you.

Also NO details descriptions (I will leave to your adventure spirit to discover when next HELL arrives...) and NO maps (except info one on bottom of page) as I make this for free and I know that some IDIOT will sooner or latter lost himself in the middle of mountain and I do not want to be responsible. If you want good map, by one in shop in your home town, study and be responsible. OK

1. Presa de Ayagaures (Difficulty: 1)

You will start from "Cruce de Tablero" some few hundred meters from "Mercado de San Fernando" and that will be starting point for all routes. OK? Then you will go in direction of village named "Ayagaures" After few kilometers you will pass cart track and water park named "Aqua Sur" Straight after aquasur, the road turns sharply left but you DON'T and instead go straights forward and then you have some 9 kilometers of easy uphill (some 200 meters of altitude). At the end you get to the dam. From there you have sharp uphill to go to top of dam. Hard but short. Over there enjoy dry & empty lake and take care of Swans. OK? Now go home, all downhill with peasant smell of fruits in the air. This one is completely on asphalt so you can take with you even somebody with sensible ass...

2. Montaña de Data (Difficulty: 3)

Once you successfully escape from mad swans that are sick of stupid tourists and empty lake GO LEFT and attack mountain that is left from lake looking fro direction you have arrived from hotel... (do not go over dam yet, OK) You will have in front of you few kilometers of uphill and some few hundreds of altitude to beat. Hard if you are not in form. Once you get on top than simply slide down and look houses where lives one Baron fon ... and also A. Kashogi sometimes (watch for francotiradores) and some idiots that have purchased villas over there Lately you will pass one village where there are no idiots in the same way as before but neither tourists... Afterwards use your brakes or you will finish inside of bull ass in "plaza de toros" If you miss bull ass, turn left and pedal home. Also no off road, all asphalt.

3. Los 4 barancos del Sur (Difficulty: 4)

Well we will start again from those mad swans... now turn right and go over dam. Nice, for first time you will hit hard rocky surface and will leave asphalt behind you for next 30 kilometers. You have to peal uphill for few kilometers and once you get on top of hill stop! Look around, have a rest and think. If you are tired and find that it is hard for you go on than go home now since if you go down on other side it will have no sense to go beck. OK? If you go further now you have nice downhill. Enjoy. But take care. If you go to fast maybe just maybe you will fall... and as road is made from sharp rocks, if you fall you will cut yourself and you will look as if you just had a visit from Fredy Cruger... At the bottom of downhill there are few small empty old houses. DO NOT ENTER!!! Dogs!!!!!! SHIT DOGS NAMED PRESA CANARIA You have been worried. Do not even look in those houses. As long as you keep pedaling you will not hear dogs. Once you stop nobody will ewer hear from you anymore. Then you again go up... and around... than new downhill. On bottom of this one is nice cave. Go visit it, no dogs. Then you go again up, shit. Around, small down and around again... Just keep on riding and enjoying landscapes till you get in one big barranco (canyon) named "Baranco de Fataga" and then look for road that goes sharply right and down. Go there and not forward. Open your eyes as you can easily miss it. Just go down, down, down... some parts of road are damaged. Take care. Just follow the road, enjoy and you are back in Maspalomas. All together 4 times you go up and down. Some 40 kilometers. No traffic, no people, no help, no mobil phones. Take care.

4. Prohibido el paso (Difficulty: 5)

Hello dear crazy swans, again... (do not laugh as sooner or latter HE will get you, and he gets only mans, and he attack hard and straight between your legs, OK? I know the owner, he is also straight!) This time follow the road that goes forward following what was few years ago nice coast of nice lake... You will see in background another dam. That is where you have to go. Before you reach dam (you will newer get there by the way as you go left and UP before...) you will have one and only test for the following 4 routes. OK. If you can go without stopping and without hurting your muscles and breathing for next few kilometers till you reach a top of pass with traffic sign "prohibido el paso" "Forbidden to go further" when translated, than you are OK. If not than do finish this one as worst is behind you but do not attempt to go on next one. OK? Now go home as there is sign that is telling to you that it is forbidden to go further and could be also chain over road... but if you do not speak any other language except Albanian I do not now what to do... from here on you are leaving civilization. Respect nature and take care about yourself and equipment. Now you have some more kilometers to pedal up and down and up and down till you reach end of road with beautifully small unhabitet old canarian village with old houses made from rocks, they are not ruins. Very peaceful place but do not enter as it is private and owners sometime spent some weekends there. Do not burn anything or make barbecue please. Be nice. OK! Now have a look further... you will see big mountains and no road at all. That is where I will take you. If you fell more than only slightly tired and/or fell fear from going further go home by the same road as you arrived and forget next one... If not, and if you have adventuristic soul... and if you are not ALONE...

5. Cruz grande (Difficulty: 8)

First go early as the sun comes up (I needed 8 hours to get on top of island and than to go to Las Palmas down). Secondly do not go alone, please. I did first time and newer again. You will go in wild forest & inhabited mountains with no roads and no telephones. There are some less crazy people then I was that are passing from up to down with same road/oppose direction but it can be two days till heavy traffic in Sunday. OK! Take loads of food, energy & WATER, WATER, WATER. OK.??? Good maps, compass if you need one. GPS. Porno magazines also, who knows. Nobody goes from down to top, only I did. Respect nature and animals. Recommended music from headphones & MP3 player. "Heroes del Silencio; CD: El espiritu del vino"
Lets go... from that small village go to the end of road. You will be presented with chains and ramps and signs but as we speak only Albanian... look over nice palm tree oasis in front of you, and on right side is one mountain. You will be, hopefully, able to se narrow tiny road. It is not road, it is so narrow that only if you walk you can pass there. When you spot it... than it can be reached by jumping over .... and passing fry palm bushes... going over water (only in winter)... putting bike on shoulders... going over ruins and bingo. Here it is. Bingo, now you will sent me to HELL as from hier on, you must take bike on your shoulders for next 1 - 2 hours and few HUNDREDS of meters of altitude... it all depends on your skills. Now I am little bit crazy so I like this, but if you think that mountain biking does not include fact that sometime you have to exchange positions with bike... go home and pay 50€ to be taken on hill with bus and than throw pedals and dive in stupid downhill. OK?
Now if you continua note that on first part you have to go uphill and it is sharp and zig - zag. Watch your steps, nobody wants to bee hurt now. Do not yet attempt to ride bike. Once you get on (what you think is top and it is not) top of mountain on right, than you have also to go around mountain in front and on left... and more up... now you should enter in light forest and if you have good skills balancing bike and have full suspension bike you may try to ride the bike occasionally. Take care as place is hard and full of roots. Do not forget to enjoy nature, you are not racing. Take a breaks sometimes, watch that porno magazine.... Now once you get behind of that mountain you have to get close to one more mountain on right side where at one moment you will have sharp uphill on right side (The mountain is named "Los Moros de la Vaca". You must go zig-zag as it is so sharp. On top, after few huntress of meters you will hit the road. Hard and wide mountain road. End of walking. If you didn't thrown away you bike in ambis before, now you can exchange position with him once again.
Now, please I repeat get yourself good map even before you arrive on Gran Canaria. There are few mountain roads over there and you have to go on place named CRUZ GRANDE that is on top of mountain. That is place where you will hit asphalt road and civilization again. In general keep the mountain on right side and always go uphill. Do not go left and down. OK! Even if you miss and went left and down do not worry but I didn't ride there and I have no idea how to go down to Maspalomas. You have to help yourself. If I miss I will always go back and uphill as there is only one place on top of all roads and it is that CRUZ GRANDE we are looking on.
Once you get there you will have to go over some ramps and chains and when you turn your head back you will find sight "prohibido el Paso"... Once on main road you will have few options to go home. First is to go back with the same road you came up or to chose one of next three downhill... (6, 7 & 8) and if you are still alive and want more, and to go up on that gorgeous rock in front of you and to get on top of island (2000 meters of altitude) then go with me on route 9. and I will take you to HELL.

6. Embolse de Chira (Difficulty: 8 including guessing up here OK?)

If you want to go home now and do not mind fast off road downhill than now from "Cruz grande" turn left. After few kilometers of easy ups & downs you will get to place where you have one road going fast down and left with direction "Embolse de Chira" Dive in space till you get to empty lake (no swans, to cold...) Once there, pass small village, ride on left side of lake till you get do dam. On left side of dam begin rocky, damaged road. Just go down following map. Sooner or latter you will after some 20 - 30 kilometer get to Maspalomas. This is one of most popular tours with buses that takes you up there...

7. Pozo Izquierdo (Difficulty: 8 including getting up here OK?)

If you do not want to leave asphalt anymore go right from "Cruz Grande" and fly (rent a bike with nice breaks) down to village named "San Bartolomeo de Tirajana" Once you pass him you will get to option of two roads. Go left & down to "Santa Lucia" From there follow maps and go down to Arinaga, Vicendario or El doctoral, wherever on east coast. Look on maps to find where is "Pozo Izquierdo" beach. This is one of most famous beaches for windsurfing and can be great place to relax. From there follows the main road on south and go back to Maspalomas. Note that it is long run, some 60 - 70 kilometers from "Cruce Grande" and is recommended only in summer when the days are long. OK

8. Baranco de Fataga (Difficulty: 8 including getting up here OK?)

On the place where you in previous route went left & down to "Santa Lucia" now don't and instead go up & right to "Fataga" or "Playa del Ingles" You have few kilometers of uphill and then dive in open space. After you pass that village named "Fataga" you have two options:
One is no more hard uphill but also no more asphalt. In that case go right on opposite side of canyon and you will get to rocky road and after some kilometers you will be on same place as on route 3 (only you will arrive from opposite side) where you have sharp turn left & down that you can easy miss. Do not miss it, take care about damaged road down and ride down to Maspalomas
Other is one more hard uphill but all asphalt. In that case follow the asphalt road. You will go more down, than at the end you have hard uphill. Once on top, you have final 9 kilometers down to Maspalomas.

9. Pico de las nieves (Difficulty: 10 HELL)

Nice boy, I call it hell as you already get to some 1600 meters of altitude and you have to go down some 200 meters and than to go up 600 till you reach the top of Gran Canaria. Now we are tired and that is HELL. At the end, the rest of 600 meters is hard but OK, if we forget that you are coming from ground 0 and that you are tired. OK! Now turn left and ride some kilometers, pass that "Chira" road on left, go straight, ride more kilometer, relax but keep roiling as we do not want to call of your muscles. OK? Once you get to village named "Ayacate" stop. Have two red bulls and look uphill on right. That is few hundred meters in few kilometers. Good luck, you are in hell. Turn right and pedal. I will wait on top.
Welcome dead man. There is normally small shop there. Bu few more red bulls once you get there. Smoke one joint. Now keep riding some more kilometers as you go up & down try nice forest (hey, can you believe what deference makes landscape on this altitude) Ride easily till you get to place where you can go in 4 direction. One is to go beck. Do not. Other is to go to "Cruce de Tejeda" do not. Other is to go to Las Palmas as I did, do not, go uphill and left to direction of "Pico de las Nieves" You have to sweat once again but it is not to hard, BUT we are tired and it makes us nervous. Be aware as this is time to make mistake. After few kilometers you will get to military antenna and so on. Turn right, go behind house and once you get to end of road you have done it. TOP OF GRAN CANARIA. Look down to se from where you have arrived. WOW. Look right you may see Tenerife and "Teide volcano"
Now go home. Look on your clock for time calculation. Calculate how long is day. Fastest way to go home is to go beck to "Ayacete" and then to go left to that route 6. "Embolse de Chira" turn right and downhill to Maspalomas. Study the map. Take care.

Alejandro de Bosnia