Hannah Rowe

“There are no warm-ups on Mount Teide, particularly true when your ride starts from Vilaflor, Tenerife’s highest village. At first it was a matter of one pedal stroke at a time, trying to put some tarmac behind me. I concentrated on my quickly changing surroundings (just like Zwift!), the forest above Vilaflor thinning out to reveal something recognisably volcanic up in Teide National Park. The wind picked up, but with clear blue skies on Teide, the sun was stronger than ever. Onto the plateau, in the shadow of the volcano, and the worst of the climbing was behind me. Weaving through this strange land, there were a series of rises and falls, and twists and turns, before I reached the Parador at the summit, where the only thing left to do was cool down with an ice cream. I’d climbed 21km yet it looked like I’d reached the moon.”