I run a travel website for road cyclists and write guides to some of the world’s most amazing road cycling destinations. This means I have quite a lot of experience of planning rides in new destinations and am usually pretty spot on with estimating how long it will take to complete a ride.

However it all went very wrong on a recent trip to Tenerife!

It was the first day of our visit and we were riding a loop of the stunning Masca mountains in the north of the island. We’d set out on a 100 km ride later than we’d hoped and, in our rush, had failed to have time to charge our phones or buy enough food.

“It’ll be fine” we thought. “We’ll pick up something on the way.”

What we hadn’t realised is that the roads are unrelentingly steep, there are very few shops (it’s mostly restaurants where you need to stop for a three course meal) and darkness falls suddenly and much earlier than you’d expect.

So at 6pm, in the growing gloom of nightfall, we found ourselves about 40 km from home with a 20km, 1000m climb ahead of us. We had almost no phone battery, no food, just a couple of euros and a few Spanish words between us.

It was one of those, “help, what do we do now” situations!

Thankfully on 1% battery we managed to get a call to our hotel who arranged us a taxi. But it really brought home the importance of proper planning!

Our tip: if you’re thinking of cycling in Tenerife, use our detailed guide to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation! Looking for somewhere else to cycle? From the Italian Alps to the Cote d’Azur and Mallorca, our website has heaps of guides to amazing cycling destinations around the world, and they’re all free. We’ve also got active communities on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - come and join the party!