Winter Sports on Gran Canaria

The man on the bridge is certain: "They will never repair the road," he says - and beams. "This is good! Very good!" And his buddy, who with a plastic trumpet in hand and a Bluetooth speaker around his neck looks more like a clown than a sailor, adds: "Good for us, good for our families - and good for you: you can enjoy the boat tour!" The sailor-clown presses play. "In the Navy" blares over the small passenger ferry. Then he unties the ropes from the pier.
The man on the bridge steers the boat along the coast. "Put the bikes between the seat rows," says the sailor, "they are safe here." Then he turns up the music: "Are you ready to party?" Half of the approximately 30 passengers on board obediently raise their hands and start swaying.

The other half looks a little tortured out at the sea: These 35 minutes will pass. Afterwards, when you disembark in Puerto Mogan and either stroll into one of the harbor cafés or get back on your bike, the brief excursion into the depths of entertainment tourism will soon be forgotten. Because the view of the sea was actually nice. But above all, because now it's time for "Serenity": 1,200 meters of elevation gain.
Past a windmill, into the hills - and then the mountains. Up a picture-perfect serpentine road, up, up, up. Steep, but still manageable for average riders. At first through pine forests, then rolling past mountain and reservoir lakes. And above the tree line with views and vistas that made every curse, every drop of sweat up here more than worth it.

If you're looking for winter sports on a bike instead of in the snow, this is the place for you. Because roughly 1,300 kilometers south of the Strait of Gibraltar, you can find "shorts-and-jersey weather" even in December, January, and February. However, since you're in the middle of the Atlantic, there's often significantly more wind here than in the Mediterranean, for example, on "Malle" (Mallorca).
Gran Canaria, from where Christopher Columbus once set sail to "discover" America, is also the most mountainous island of the Canaries (though the highest mountain, the Teide, is actually located on Tenerife). The density of road cyclists here is high but still lower than, for instance, on Fuerteventura. This is also (still) due to the respective images of the individual islands: La Gomera - flowers. "Fuerte" - training camps. Tenerife? A winter hideaway for retirees. The latter also applies to "GC" (Gran Canaria), although here the seniors mix with a very lively queer cruising and party scene.

The fact that you can also have a spectacular road cycling experience here is no longer a real insider tip - but it hasn't yet become entirely "common bike-sense" either: After the die-hards of the early 2000s and the early adopters before the pandemic, more and more mainstream road cyclists are now arriving. These are people who often discovered road cycling through and after the pandemic – and who increasingly want to live out their sporty dreams on the road in winter instead of in the snow.
When cycling here, things can – and should – get a bit "challenging," but before and after, comfort is the goal. Gran Canaria offers plenty in this regard. However, anyone coming to this island for winter cycling should know – or consider – a few small details.

One of them is the matter with the ferry to Puerto Mogan. It departs from Arguineguin or Puerto Rico - small harbors on the south coast of the island. And it is indispensable for reaching the Serenity by bike.
Even so-called "current" cycling maps claim that you can ride along the picturesque and well-developed coastal road from Maspalomas (where most tourists stay and where almost all bike tours start) to the small fishing village of Puerto Mogan to take on the "Serenity" from there. In reality, however, the coastal road ends exactly one curve before the fishing village. Eight years ago, a rock overhang collapsed onto the road and dragged it into the sea. Since then, the tiny Taurito has been known as the "end of the developed road."
If you don't believe it (which is practically everyone on their first visit to "GC"), you can carry your bike over one or two concrete barriers. But then you'll find yourself standing at a barricade by an abyss where the road used to be - with a view of the place and route you were actually looking for.

Usually, you then turn back and have an espresso at the sandy beach of "Playa Taurito" with other cyclists who also trusted the map. You realize that this too is a very fine experience. Then you fully enjoy the ride back along the dramatically beautiful coastal road with its sea views to Maspalomas. The next day, you take the party ferry to Puerto Mogan - and when the sailor with the Bluetooth boombox plays "In the Navy" for the third time, you can't help but smile.

Fresh legs, however, are not solely a question of the short, in this case somewhat too effortless ride to the mountain. Anyone who wants to ride triple-digit kilometers and four-digit elevation meters every day on a cycling holiday, anyone who wants to face the wind that is never predictable here (and always whistles from the wrong direction), needs not only rest but also enough – and preferably high-quality – fuel. And good hardware.

What sounds simple and logical can become a problem on an island that had fewer than 100,000 visitors per year in the 1960s but has seen its tourist numbers skyrocket from two to four million annually in the past decade:
Not least because of the famous dunes made of wind-blown North African Sahara sand, the southern part of Gran Canaria is much more developed for tourism than the northern part. Here, in Maspalomas, everything that can possibly be crammed together is packed tightly: hotel blocks stand closely next to hotel blocks, apartment complexes cling to apartment complexes. In between, fast-food restaurants, bars, discos, clubs, and bargain stores with big designer names on their displays jostle for space.
In "Playa del Inglés" (with "Inglés" referring to all non-locals), music pounds at any time of the day or night from some pub through an open balcony door. Playgrounds and pools with highway views are the norm. And if the walk to the sea would take 20 minutes or even longer, people sometimes place their deck chairs on the sparse grass next to the expressway.

Anyone looking for peace and a good night's sleep might find it difficult. This is also because, in such environments, it is often challenging to find not only empty-calorie foods but also balanced or even healthy meals in quantities that meet the demands of daily cycling tours.
It gets even "funnier" when you try to search for vegetarian or even vegan food in such regions. Specialized search apps often direct you to neighboring islands or even to Europe...

Of course, self-catering accommodations could also be an option. But then you would need a rental car to even get from the (quiet) hinterland to the supermarkets. Or you risk being constantly bombarded with noise from the club around the corner and the party in the neighboring apartment if you're not very familiar with the area.

Speaking of comfort. Many people who consider road cycling as a winter sports option today and are willing to accept longer travel distances for it, now approach the equipment with the same pragmatic mindset as those sliding around on artificial snow in the Alps: they rent instead of struggling with bulky luggage.
And just like with renting ski equipment, the days when you had to settle for second- or third-rate gear are long gone.

Pioneering work was done in the Canary Islands in this regard, as early as around the year 2000, when an (incidentally Austrian) expat couple founded a vacation bike rental service on Gran Canaria under the name "Free Motion," focusing on high-end needs. Not just for road bike vacationers, but also for touring cyclists, mountain bikers, and – nowadays – e-bikes.
Today, there are ten Free Motion outlets across the Canary Islands in various locations or hotels. The portfolio ranges from premium models of major brands to affordable entry-level bikes, and alongside common (and upon request, uncommon) sizes, a wide selection is usually available in terms of equipment and gear ratios. Nevertheless, early (and timely) reservations are strongly recommended. And: bringing your own saddle or pedals is never a bad idea.

For those seeking even more convenience, guided tours in different performance levels can also be booked. However, most people are satisfied with the cycling map of the island available at all Free Motion branches (and yes, of course: the tracks are also available as downloads). All the common routes are precisely and thoroughly described – including elevation profiles, distance information, service, and rest stations.

An error persists stubbornly in the physical maps: the route to Puerto Mogan, leading to the "Serenity," is still not marked correctly even eight years after the rockfall. In the shops, staff and signs do point out the "bug," but apparently no one thinks of redrawing the map.
Perhaps it's also because the clown sailor and his captain on the ferry to Serenity are not entirely wrong when they say that this "Boat to Bike" tour is something special. Something you can only get like this on Gran Canaria: "And, be honest: you liked it. A lot. Didn't you?

Compliance notice:
The trip was self-organized and self-financed, Free Motion and the Lopesan Baobab provided bicycles and hotel accommodations.