GranGuanche Audax Gravel — five islands in two and a half days

Bike Touring Collection by Paul Voss

Tours

33:15 h

429 mi

51,250 ft

GranGuanche Audax Gravel is a non-stop, self-catering bikepacking adventure across five Canary Islands: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and El Hierro. This adds up to about 700 kilometres (535 mi) and almost 16,000 metres (52,500 ft) of altitude. The islands are mountainous and the terrain is demanding; there is no level terrain here. You start together and race against yourself and the clock. Ferries link the islands, making the connecting journeys even more fun.

Henning Bommel and I rode GranGuanche as a team. The fact that we were there together at the start was due more to chance than to long-term planning. We more or less decided it over coffee and cake during a rest break while gravel riding.

I had only been to Tenerife once before and therefore found the idea – to cross five islands in only two and a half days – pretty intriguing. We also had no choice but to finish it in two and a half days, as we had booked flights back to Germany, putting us under more time pressure.

I had heard a lot about the individual islands beforehand, with the exception of El Hierro. This small island turned out to be a gravel paradise.

On The Map

Tours & Highlights

Lanzarote – GranGuanche Audax Gravel
04:43
68.3 mi
14.5 mph
6,075 ft
6,125 ft
We started at 10 p.m. in northern Lanzarote at night. So we actually only saw the island at night. Nonetheless, what you could see was pretty impressive. The lava rock, the constantly changing nature of the subsoil. It's been good fun. We arrived at the ferry relatively early and still had time for a…
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Fuerteventura – GranGuanche Audax Gravel
06:17
95.5 mi
15.2 mph
7,200 ft
7,325 ft
Arrived on Fuerteventura, you could immediately see the stark contrast to Lanzarote, although the islands are only a stone's throw away from each other. The west coast was so rough and hard. We drove through desert-like areas. It was beautiful. The route then took us to the southeast, where we found…
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Gran Canaria – GranGuanche Audax Gravel
07:23
87.2 mi
11.8 mph
11,500 ft
11,475 ft
Arriving in Gran Canaria it was already dark and we had to make our way through Las Palmas, the capital of the island, which was larger than expected. When we finally got out of the city and suburbs, it was all uphill. This is where my suffering began. Due to my stomach problems, I could hardly eat…
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Tenerife — GranGuanche Audax Gravel
08:33
104 mi
12.2 mph
13,825 ft
13,850 ft
The crossing to Tenerife was very short and actually didn't offer any time to relax. Nevertheless, the hour was enough to gather some energy. And so I was more optimistic again that we would make it onto the ferry to El Hierro in the afternoon. For breakfast there were three Spanish donuts dripping with…
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El Hierro — GranGuanche Audax Gravel
06:19
72.9 mi
11.5 mph
12,675 ft
12,550 ft
On the crossing, the drivers who had made it onto the ferry - there were only seven participants - decided that we wouldn't drive across the last island at night, but would start at 5 a.m. the next morning, so that we could all have a little Get sleep and see the island in the light. This definitely…
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