Cycling River Adda

If you like cycling but are worried about battling it out with Italian car drivers I can recommend an excellent track by the river Adda that runs from Lecco to Cassano D'Adda. The River Adda is actually the 4th biggest in Italy, running for 313 kms from Monte Del Ferro through lake Como to the River Po at Castelnuovo Bocco D'Adda.

From Lecco to Olginate the cycle track is not complete and you will need to return to the main road from time to time so I don't really recommend this section to those who want to stay "off road". However from Olginate as far as Cassano D'Adda the track is good.

The best access points if you are bringing your bikes by car are Brivio, Imbersago, Paderno Adda, Porto D'Adda , Trezzo sul Adda, Vaprio sul Adda or Cassano D'Adda.

The track is used by pedestrians and sometimes horses as well as bikes, in particular Sunday afternoons can result in a lot of traffic! I would recommend the section from Paderno D'Adda as far as Cassano as the best, widest section if you decide to go at that time.

The gradient is pretty easy for most sections, the steepest is rising from Porto D'Adda to Paderno D'Adda. However it's worth the leg work as the river scenery and the rapids are spectacular if the river is high andd you can also see the canal system constructed by Leonardo Da Vinci at close quarters.

The track is perfectly suitable for ordinary street bikes and Mountain bikes. I would advise you to prepare to get dirty if it has rained recently on the section Imbersago to Brivio as this is mainly a mud track.