Meet the rider behind Lanzarote routes on ROUVY

We spoke to Jesper about how those routes came together, the challenges of recording them, and what new creators should know before trying to film their own.

What makes Lanzarote such a special place to ride?

Lanzarote is popular with cyclists for a few reasons. The weather is warm and dry for most of the year, the routes are challenging, and the volcanic landscape means there are very few flat sections anywhere on the island. And then there’s the wind.

My family has visited Lanzarote every year for more than two decades, usually staying at Club La Santa. Since 2021, we’ve started going twice a year, and as I’ve got older, I spend much more time cycling than I used to.

Some of my first rides there were during the weekly mini-triathlon at Club La Santa. The route was basically one long climb into strong winds before turning around and descending back the same way. Once I started exploring more of the island on my own, I realised almost every route felt similar in some way. Up, down and usually windy.

The roads have improved a lot over the years, too. Back in the early 2000s, some surfaces were pretty rough, but nowadays most of the roads are actually very good for riding.

How did you start creating routes for ROUVY?

Even before joining ROUVY in 2019, I had already recorded some rides on both road bikes and mountain bikes just for fun.

Then, during the summer of 2021, I realised I had an old recording from Lanzarote that I could upload and ride during the Danish winter whenever I wanted. So I uploaded it.

After that, I wanted to record more, but around the same time, ROUVY stopped allowing random uploads. Then, the Route Creator was introduced, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to record more routes properly.

At that point, there were no Lanzarote routes on ROUVY at all, which made the whole idea even more exciting. It felt like a chance to introduce riders to a destination that was completely missing from the platform.

The first route I recorded was the Tabayesco climb. After that, I started adding a mix of popular roads like Timanfaya, El Mojón and Arrieta, along with routes I personally ride often around Club La Santa.

So far, I’ve created a few Lanzarote routes and all of them are now featured on ROUVY.

Above: Views of El Mojón on a steady climb on Lanzarote

What makes the Lanzarote routes different to ride?

Most of the routes are hilly simply because there aren’t many flat sections on Lanzarote.

The climbs and descents are usually not extremely steep, but they can be long enough to wear you down over time. That makes the routes work well for both climbers and endurance riders.

The Tabayesco climb is probably the best known route and likely the most popular with riders, too. Like children, though, it’s difficult to choose favourites.

Above: Riding Tabayesco on ROUVY, the most recognisable ascent on Lanzarote.

What camera setup do you use for recording?

I use a GoPro 8 Black mounted on a GoPro suction cup attached to the top of a car windshield.

The camera height is very similar to a rider’s point of view on the bike, and for me, that creates the best immersion when riding the route later on ROUVY.

The goal is always to make the footage feel as close as possible to an actual rider’s perspective. Small camera position changes make a much bigger difference than people probably expect once riders are moving through the route indoors.

I’ve seen some official routes where the camera was mounted too high, almost like they were filmed from a bus. When riders or cars pass you on the route, they appear far below you, and it feels like you’re a giant riding through the world.

What’s the hardest part of recording routes?

Traffic is definitely the biggest challenge. Sometimes I’ve had to record the same route more than once because there were simply too many cars on the road or the timing wasn’t right. Small things become very obvious once the route appears on ROUVY.

Recording speed is also much more important than people expect. If you drive too fast while recording uphill sections, the playback later becomes unrealistic because riders, pedestrians or cars in the footage appear to move extremely slowly once someone rides the route on ROUVY. And that just looks silly.

That’s why I always try to keep the recording speed as close as possible to a realistic cycling speed, especially on climbs.

What mistakes should new route creators avoid?

One of the biggest things for me is the height profile. It absolutely has to match the video properly. I recently rode a community challenge route where the height profile was completely wrong compared to the actual road. It instantly breaks the immersion.

Tweaking the elevation profile can be tedious work, but it makes a huge difference to the final result. Turns also need to be obvious. If a corner is unexpected, there should be signs or arrows warning riders.

Traffic positioning matters a lot, too. If there’s a vehicle directly in front of the camera, it blocks the scenery and becomes distracting later on ROUVY. Stopping in traffic can also ruin the flow very quickly, especially if there are cars in front of you during the stop.

The biggest challenge outdoors will always be the wind. Some days it can be incredibly strong. Fortunately, that part disappears indoors, which means riders on ROUVY can simply enjoy the roads, scenery and volcanic landscape without fighting crosswinds for hours.