Arrecife is Lanzarote's capital and not its prettiest town, though it is more interesting than it first looks. It is a working port of nearly sixty thousand people on the island's east coast, with a harbour full of fishing boats and ferries, a small lagoon called the Charco de San Ginés where the boats rest in the shade of white houses, and a long seafront promenade. The name means reef, and the town is indeed ringed with low black rocks, which kept pirates out in the eighteenth century, though not always successfully. Two small forts guard the harbour, among them the Castillo de San Gabriel on an islet linked by a drawbridge, the Puente de las Bolas.
The island's most famous son was born here: César Manrique, the artist and architect who shaped modern Lanzarote. In the 1960s he persuaded the island's leaders to limit height and building styles, and to paint the houses white with green or blue shutters, and he designed a series of art-and-nature sites that blend with the volcanic landscape. His influence is why Lanzarote looks more orderly and less built-up than other Canary Islands, and why it was named a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Museum of Contemporary Art is housed in the Castillo de San José, a stone fort on the shore.
The ride from Arrecife is a tour of a volcanic island. The land is black and red, with cinder cones, lava fields, and fields of vines planted in pits dug into the ash, each sheltered by a little semicircular stone wall. The island's last great eruption, from 1730 to 1736, buried a quarter of its land, and its fire mountains are the heart of Timanfaya National Park. Roads are generally good, with long, open stretches and a few climbs, though the trade winds can be strong and gusty.
Fuel is easy in Arrecife, with large stations on the ring road and supermarkets for supplies. Spring and autumn are the best for riding, when the air is warm and the light clear, while summer is hot and dry, with the occasional hazy day when dust blows over from the Sahara. Take sunscreen, and keep water with you, because the island is dry and exposed. A plate of fresh fish with wrinkled potatoes and a spicy red sauce is the local dish.