You may have noticed that we are currently adding some translations to the main website in Spanish, Russian and Finnish. Next to follow will be German. We’ll do our best to finish translating the site as accurately as possible. If you should notice any mistakes or things that don’t work as exptected, we’d be grateful if you let us know of any problems you encounter. Thank you!
We have been working very hard behind the scenes over the past few months on a completely new main website. The new website for desktops and mobile browsers is expected to launch on or before 1st December 2012. (we are just working on some final details) The new website will feature:
Nobody linkes old links because, well, they’re not very helpful. They’re more like a waste of time because you have to sift through all the bad links in order to find a good one. Due to the new webpage which should be ready in a few days’ time, I have taken this opportunity to refresh and reorganise all existing links. Some of the blog links in particular were getting quite old, so only recent blogs will be linked to.
It gives me great pleasure to announce a few more updates. This blog is now even easier to read if you are on holiday in Tenerife as I have just installed a dedicated theme for mobile browsers. It should automatically work with most modern smartphones. Even the new forum also has a mobile version! Enjoy!
Technology has advanced enough recently enabling us to collectively map out all the exact locations of drainage grates in Tenerife. Considering the length of roads here, there aren’t actually that many.
This is an editable map so if you have found a drainage grate you believe to be a road hazard for cyclists, please update the place on the list. I highly encourage you to do so, because once we are armed with the exact location of ~20 or so known hazards, we can approach both the the Tenerife and Canary Islands cycling federations, local councils as well as the Tenerife Tourism department and see if we can get them to modify the design to be more cyclist friendly. The Tenerife deptarment of tourism once asked me something along the lines of «what could we be doing to improve cycling in Tenerife?». I think eliminating these potential dangers is a simple and achieveable goal.
Thank you,
Leslie
It’s been a while since I last updated the whole website, so you can expect a new main website some time next week! In the mean time, I’m upgrading the blog software, so you may find that this blog could go offline. Also expect the theme too be temporarily different while these upgrades take place…
Normally I don’t post items for sale on here. But this is a pretty special frame which is currently for sale on ebay. It’s from a classic era, now considered retro I suppose and is in fantastic condition. No scratches or dents to speak of. Inlcludes an alphaQ fork and token headset. Current bid is only US$81 and I was hoping to get a bit more than that. Granted, the auction hasn’t ended yet -it ends in two days- but I thought I’d give it a bit of a push anyway.
There is now an excellent sports training centre in La Orotava called Complejo Deportivo el Mayorazgo (Mayorazgo Sports Complex). Main facilities include 25m indoor pool and gymnasium. The gym has both free weights and cardiovascular equipment (exercise bikes & treadmills). Pool measures 25 metres by 21 m wide with six lanes. Numerous blood pumping activities are scheduled each week: cardio, gap, spinning, aerobics, step, ‘total training’ as well as other more relaxing classes: pilates, yoga, taichi, dancing (several types including tango, salsa and other latin ryhthms), stretching and relaxation.
CD Mayorazgo also offers a massage service, physiotherapy and aquatic physio. They also have a great physiotherapy centre called Fisio-Natura.
This all new sports complex wouldn’t be complete without a well-stocked cafeteria with an assortment of sports drinks, energy bars, gels and protein powders available. Basic swimming equipment is also for sale at the front desk (googles, swimwear, swimcaps, etc) and there is also a dedicated fitness shop located inside. Needless to say, free changerooms, lockers and ample parking are all an important part of the complex.
Staff are very friendly and the doors are open to all visitors, tourists included. Their phone number is 902 102 395 and email: info@cdelmayorazgo.com. Most staff at least speak a basic level of English.
Rates are very reasonable (€6.42 per day, €47/month) and the standard is very high. In fact you can join for one whole month for less than the cost of going to the T3 «tenerife top training» centre for a single day! Click here for the rates (just remember to add %7 IGIC tax to those prices).
So far the fire has affected 369 hectares, although favorable conditions have allowed road TF-373 (San Jose de Los Llanos-Erjos) to re-open. Roads TF-82 (Icod de Los Vinos, Santiago del Teide from kilometer 17.5 to 21.5) and TF-436 (Buenavista del Norte–Santiago del Teide from km 10.3) both still remain closed. Please note that Titsa bus lines 60 and 325 are also suspended. It is strongly advised that locals and tourists alike avoid the surrounding areas in order to help firefighters extinguish the blaze.Â
El fuego ha afectado hasta el momento a 369 hectáreas, aunque su favorable evolución ha permitido que la carretera TF-373 (San José de Los Llanos-Erjos) se reabra. Permanecen cerradas la TF-82 (Icod de Los Vinos-Santiago del Teide desde el kilómetro 17,5 al 21,5) y la TF-436 (Buenavista del Norte-Santiago del Teide desde el kilómetro 10,3). Se ruega a la población de la Isla y a los turistas que eviten acercarse a esta zona del incendio a fin de facilitar las labores de extinción. También están suspendidas las lÃneas de guaguas (autobuses) 460 y 325 de Titsa.
It gives me great pleasure to announce some unexpected (but fantastic) results obtained by two Spanish athletes using our rental bikes last week. Two gold medals were won in the MTB climbing discipline, one silver medal in the duathlon and another silver medal in the triathlon! Congratulations!!
I’m pleased to announce that we have a new delivery van this season. It’s a Renault Trafic 2900 dci 150, long wheelbase version with 150 horsepower. These are photos of our new van with the Pro Bike Hire logos superimposed. We’re currently about half way through applying the actual vinyl decals. The final result is almost identical to the cgi mockup.
For those interested, it’s much more comfortable than the small Ford Transit connect that it replaces. It has ample space & power. The only two gripes are that the lower panoramic mirrors aren’t adjustable and that the steering wheel isn’t adjustable for height either (only reach). Despite this, I come home feeling refreshed even if I’ve driven for more than 4-6 hours per day. Insurance premiums actually went down for this van.
It’s been a while since I perused my blogroll, much as I hate that word. To my surprise, there were at least half a dozen dead links. They are now gone. Many of the cycling blogs in the Canaries haven’t been updated in quite some time. It’s almost as if they have been paralysed over the last few years, kind of like the economy. A few decent links remain, so those will stay. I’ll be weeding out the rest over the coming weeks. I may go in search of some better looking links in the time being… if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks, Les.
We were really impressed with the quality of our most recent Planet X bikes. So we’re pleased to announce that we have some brand new framsets on the way from Planet X in a few different sizes. Here’s what Planet X have to say about their latest generation frame:
The RT57 boasts bang up-to-date features like a tapered steerer tube and BB30 bottom bracket. A tapered steerer stiffens up the whole front end of the bike, improving handling at speed and through corners. It also makes for a larger down tube and the BB30 bottom bracket helps at the other end too, improving the torsional rigidity of the frame and increasing its stiffness against pedalling. What it all adds up to is a quick, stiff road frame suited to fast sportives, shorter Audax rides and racing on quick, twisty courses. It eats hills for breakfast and your mates for lunch and dinner!
Getting into alternative energy these days has become more feasible than ever before. By that I mean that it is both more affordable (cheaper), you get more value (performance per dollar) and it’s easier to set up (modular construction). Not just have solar cells improved in their efficiency, but there are a whole host of low-power devices (LED lighting the first one that comes to mind) to get the most out of this technology. Of course, photovoltaic cells are improving of all the time by increasing their efficiency – even so, that thought alone shouldn’t postpone you from investing in this wonderful technology now. [Read more →]
For 2012 we have some new full-carbon road bikes with more on the way! First to arrive is a small Carbon Pro road model and large-sized nanolight.
It all started when I was in the local hardware store (Leroy Merlin) the other day, feeling rather bored. I love walking in there as it opens up so many possibilities for new projects. I’m the type of guy that always has to be occupied doing something, be it maintaining, modifiying existing components so they perform better than they did in their original state, or inventing something completely new.
Anyway, I walked down a new aisle called «alternative energy». I was quickly impressed by how easy it looked to hook up all the energy & controller modules. I soon walked out of there with a 2W «solar battery charger» – better than nothing I thought, while I do some research on the other systems offered. I got home, promptly connected the solar charger to my motorcycle’s flat battery. My 8 year old neice in law had no idea what this new device was, further solidifying my belief that it was good to be emitting these new green vibes. I had it sitting there in the late afternoon for a few hours and it had still not generated enough juice to start the motor! Just a few turns of the starter motor was all I got. Somewhat disappointed, but thinking: for €24.95, what did I really expect? That’s a pretty lame foray into the world of solar.
Somewhat miffed, I just reminded myself that «more power» is the obvious way to go with solar panels. So I went back to Leroy Merlin the next day and sized up the different options. There were solar panels of all sizes, rigid, flexible, long and short. Even though there wasn’t much there to choose from, I walked away, scared by it all. Not just because of the initial cost, but the stigma attached to it all. Mulling it all over, I wondered: what are people going to think of someone who is paying €360 for a pair of 14W photovoltaic arrays? Aren’t I going to look like a dickhead, when a lot of the appliances I use are well over 500W? I hesitated and procrastinated so much, the security guys were starting to take notice! I looped around the store and got a basket and some other things first.
Then I noticed people wandering around, half of them lost, the remainder buying up all this stuff (with some restraint due to the financial crisis here in Spain). Who knows whether they really needed it or not. Meanwhile, I was facing some kind of reality shock. See, when I was in my early twenties, I decided my goal in life was to have a «minimum impact on the environment». And here I am, a decade later, not doing anything even remotely green. Okay, for sure I turn off all the lights whenever possible (and there are no tungsten bulbs anywhere in my house or car), but so what? That’s the least you can do. Otherwise, you’re a bit of a moron, right?
My aim for this project was to light the back of my new van so that when I deliver a bike in the dark, there is ample light to do any adjustments, change pedals, etc. Street light is pretty feeble and it just doesn’t look like a very professional setup when you can’t even show people the best bike routes on a map because it’s too dark. The plan is to install some flexible solar panels on van’s roof, where there’s plenty of stray light already going to waste (reflections, heat and whatnot). I am also planning to at least recharge my mobile phone, laptop, credit card reader and possibly a few other devices like my cordless drill, etc. At least it’s a start. Because it’s modular, I can always add to the system – I’ve calculated that the roof of the Renault Trafic will fit up to 6 solar panels, giving a total power generation of 84W. That’s something to look forward to. If it all goes well, eventually we’ll get the desktop computer off the grid too.
"In just one hour, the Sun transmits more energy to the surface of the Earth than what humanity consumes in one year"
This was my moment of self truth. A little fatter now than I used to be and about to commit to this new diesel van for work purposes, I felt environmentally obliged to invest in something good for the planet for once. Like someone was watching over me, something akin to the Truman show (how long does it take this member of society to buck the trend; we’ve made it so accesible for him?). Can I really afford four or five hundred Euros? Not really. Can I afford not to do it? No freakin’ way! [Read more →]
It’s been two years in development and now we can finally release our newest product, Vertebrae Anubis. This is a slimline black ceramic gear housing for campagnolo 11 speed ergolevers. Of course its lighter, sleeker, more expensive than the original Vertebrae and most importantly, no modifications are necessary to the ergolevers. Here’s what it looks like assembled.
With just over 2 months notice, I’d like to annouce that we’ll be closed from 08/06/2011 to 18/07/2011. This means bike hire and guided rides won’t be possible during that time. Of course the website will continue to function and I’ll administer it while I’m away. Throughout the June July period we’ll also still be able to answer emails and take advanced bike reservations for the 2011 Summer & Autumn seasons. All current bookings for this period will be respected (currently there’s only one so Chiqui will take care of that).
The pro bike hire service will resume as normal after that date. We are of course happy to take bookings now for the remainder of July, as well as August, September, October, November and December 2011.
Happy cycling!
Leslie
We’ve become quite fond of our our official delivery van since getting it late last year. It’s a 2004 Ford Transit connect, with a 1.8L turbo diesel engine delivering 75ps. This is an ex-rental van from Molina rentacar. We have since fixed up the interior a bit and added the Pro Bike Hire signwriting and then not long after, the name «Molly» stuck. We’ve tried out a number of similar small vans like the Citroen berlingo and VW caddy, but they are just not as practical as the transit connect.
Unfortunately, about six weeks ago, Molly’s engine exploded. Here’s basically what happened: The day before, we heard an unusual sound coming from the engine bay. We stopped as soon as we could and checked the engine temperature & oil level, both seemingly ok, but the sound grew worse as we came home. The very next day, we had another delivery to do in the South of Tenerife. In hindsight, we shouldn’t have taken the van that day, we should’ve taken it straight to the mechanics. But we assumed it was the fanbelt and that another hundred kilometres or so wouldn’t be detrimental. [Read more →]
