LAKE COMO, ITALY: BIKE TRIP

Dates: 17.07.2026-21.07.2026

RIX–BGY | Road to Italy

17.07.2026: This time, it’s a micro-holiday in a completely new format for me — a cycling trip with my friend Jānis through the scenic Lake Como region of Italy. It’s a short one, but that should be just right for a first attempt. We have three full days planned on the bikes, and if we’re still feeling inspired, we might squeeze in a short loop on the morning of day four, as our flight home isn’t until the afternoon.

Since the route includes plenty of vertical meters — something completely new to me — I’ve been trying to approach my training in a more structured and focused way over the past two months. It was going well until a crash in Madona forced me to take a two-week break from training. Even now, I’m sitting on the plane with my leg still bandaged, but hopefully it’ll be fine.

Off to Italy we go — for what must be at least my tenth time!

Lecco

On the flight, I managed to score Ryanair’s version of budget business class — the front row, where you can stretch out your legs and practically stare at the back of the pilot’s head.

We land at around 9:00 PM, and by the time we get our Toyota Yaris, it’s already about 9:30 before we finally leave the airport. On the way to Lecco, we stop at McDonald’s for a proper dinner of champions — a Big Mac. Finding some water proves much more difficult, though, as we somehow fail to come across a single open shop at this hour.

The moment we step into the apartment, we realize we’re going to spend the entire night sweating. The room hasn’t been aired out and it must be at least +30°C inside. And, as is often the case in Italy, there’s no air conditioning. To say I slept badly would be an understatement. I basically managed about ten minutes of sleep every fifteen minutes. The only decent two hours were between 6 and 8 in the morning, when it finally cooled down a little. Same story for Jānis.

My little portable room fan did its absolute best to circulate the hot air and dust around the room, but its effect was probably more psychological than anything else.

Needless to say, we both look pretty wrecked in the morning. On top of that, my stomach has been acting strangely all week and generally making life more difficult, so I’m slightly worried about our first cycling route.

After a Lidl breakfast of porridge — without jam, because of course we forgot to buy any — we head down through the surprisingly hilly streets of Lecco to pick up our tools for the next few days. From almost any open street or square in the city, you can spot the bell tower of the Basilica of San Nicolò, rising to around 96 meters. Over the next few days, it becomes our rough navigation point around town, because the small, narrow streets so typical of Italian cities can get confusing very quickly when you’re trying to navigate from memory.

This morning, we also get our first proper look at where we’ve actually arrived. Lecco is surrounded by impressive Alpine peaks, which is why many consider this part of Lake Como to have some of its most dramatic scenery. Almost everywhere you look, there are steep, rocky mountains rising above the city. And wherever there aren’t mountains, there’s Lake Como itself. Lecco sits on the eastern branch of the lake, which locals often call Lago di Lecco, even though it is still part of Lake Como.

The walk to the bike shop takes around 35 minutes, and by the time we arrive, we’re already soaked in sweat. It’s hot! Inside the shop, our two Specialized bikes are waiting for us. But, in true Italian fashion, there are a couple of small details left to sort out: Jānis’s bike has electronic shifting, but someone forgot to install the battery, while the tyres on mine still need pumping up. We get everything sorted and ride back to the apartment to change into our cycling gear.

Varenna

Unfortunately, the stomach pain and generally feeling unwell over the past couple of days haven’t gone anywhere. Most likely because of that, my heart rate is already higher than it should be the moment I get on the bike — before I’ve even started turning the pedals.

We get dressed, set off, and within the first 15 minutes — basically before we’ve even made it out of Lecco — I get a flat tire. I quickly replace the inner tube, but the tiny hand pump provided by the rental shop is such a useless piece of junk that I probably couldn’t inflate the tire with it even if my life depended on it. Luckily, we’re still close to the shop, so Jānis runs back there with the wheel and gets it pumped up. Alright, we can continue!

There are roads everywhere, twisting in every direction, and sometimes it’s surprisingly difficult to figure out where exactly we’re supposed to go. And somehow, before we know it, we end up on the motorway — where bicycles are very much forbidden. We check the map to see where the next exit might be. Thirty kilometers away. Nope! Walk back through a dark tunnel against the traffic? Definitely not! So we look for the straightest, most visible section of road we can find, make a run for it and climb over the concrete barrier with our bikes.

The Italians driving past obviously start braking, honking and shouting something out of their windows while enthusiastically demonstrating the most Italian hand gestures imaginable. We manage to create quite a scene out of absolutely nothing, but what else can we do? Somehow, we need to get back to where we came from.

Eventually, we make it back onto the correct road. About five minutes later, just to make sure life doesn’t get too boring, my tire is flat again. This time there’s nobody nearby to get it inflated. I replace the inner tube again, while Jānis rides off towards the nearest village in search of a shop selling a proper pump. No luck.

Then an SUV pulls over nearby. A man gets out, walks around to the other side of the car and starts doing something while talking. I walk over to ask whether it’s possible to reach the village on foot without walking along the main road. As I get closer, I realize he’s peeing. A few meters before reaching him, I quickly turn around and awkwardly wait for him to finish his business.

Afterwards, he confirms that no, there’s no way to walk there. He offers to drive me to another village further ahead, but that doesn’t really help because Jānis has the keys to our apartment, which I need to get back at the very least. Alright, thanks anyway.

About 15 minutes later, another cyclist finally comes along — an older local guy who responds to my desperate waving and helps me inflate the tire. Finally, we can continue.

We eventually reach Varenna, around 20 km from Lecco and just before the big climb of the day. By this point, it’s obvious that with the way I’m feeling, there’s absolutely no chance I’m getting up that mountain. And even if I somehow could, pushing myself that hard right now probably wouldn’t be the smartest decision anyway. So I turn around and slowly make my way back towards Lecco along the same road. Jānis continues up the mountain and then returns to Lecco through the valley on the other side.

Before heading back, I spend a little more time walking around and sitting in Varenna. It really is an incredibly picturesque little town. Only around 800 people live here permanently, yet during summer the number of tourists vastly outnumbers the locals. Despite its popularity, Varenna has managed to preserve an authentic Italian atmosphere. Perhaps that’s why it’s often described as one of the most romantic villages on Lake Como — narrow streets, colorful houses and an incredibly peaceful setting.

Along the main street, Via 4 Novembre, the houses are painted in cozy shades of warm yellow and orange. The main square beside the Chiesa di San Giorgio is also a popular stop for cyclists passing through, as there’s a fountain where you can refill your water bottles. Naturally, we take advantage of that too.

Later, Jānis admits that perhaps he should have turned back with me after all. The ride was brutally difficult, and the descents were pretty terrifying as well. Neither of us has any real experience riding down mountains like these — and there’s not exactly anywhere in Latvia where you can practice.

In the afternoon, both of us exhausted, we head into the center of Lecco for dinner. At the same time, I start looking into whether the bike rental shop could swap my regular bike for an e-bike. At this point, it’s pretty clear that in my current condition I’m not going to be much of a cyclist.

For just €20 extra, I manage to get an electric gravel bike that supposedly provides assistance for up to 100 km. The only catch is that if the battery runs out before you get home, you’re left with an extremely heavy bicycle. Well, there’s only one way to find out how this experiment goes.

After a very tasty lasagna, we sit by the lakeside promenade for a while and let dinner settle before slowly making our way back to our sauna of an apartment.

There’s supposed to be a massive thunderstorm tonight, so maybe we can finally hope for some cooler weather. Getting a little actual sleep tonight would be nice too.

Menaggio

Today it’s time to properly test my electric machine. And actually, it’s not bad at all. With a little extra assistance from the motor, I can keep my heart rate under control and comfortably cruise at around 28 km/h. Above that, the motor assistance cuts out and things suddenly get much harder — so the trick is to stay below 28 km/h. For the kind of riding we’re doing, that’s more than enough.

We ride to Bellagio, where we take the ferry across Lake Como to Cadenabbia on the opposite shore.

From there, we continue north towards Menaggio, where we stop for a ridiculously overpriced slice of cake and a Coca-Cola before getting back on the bikes. I ride with Jānis for a little longer before turning around, as a 100 km route definitely isn’t part of my plan today. Jānis continues around this branch of Lake Como, while I head back to Menaggio, take the ferry across to Varenna and then casually cruise the remaining 20 km back to Lecco.

At this level of effort, I probably could have continued for quite a bit longer, but I don’t want to risk draining the battery before making it back to Lecco. In the end, I still manage a respectable 75 km today.

On the way back, I spend a little more time exploring Menaggio. I ride up through the narrow streets and tackle an incredibly steep hill where, even with the electric motor helping, I still work up a serious sweat. Without it, I’m pretty sure I would have been pushing the bike uphill instead.

Menaggio’s lakeside promenade is considered one of the most scenic on Lake Como, with fantastic views across the water towards Bellagio and Varenna. Ferry journeys between these three towns take only a few minutes, which is exactly what I use to get back across to Varenna later. I would have liked to stay in Menaggio a little longer, but it’s Sunday and the ferries don’t run quite as frequently as I’d like. I definitely can’t miss the next one, which leaves in just 20 minutes.

Back at the lakeside park in Lecco, I FaceTime Madara while enjoying a recovery Fanta. By the time we finish chatting, Jānis is already back as well. We grab a beer each in the center and then head home for a shower to wash off all the salt accumulated during a long, hot day on the bikes before heading out again for the evening.

The plan tonight is to find a local pizzeria slightly away from the main tourist crowds — and we succeed. At La Rosa, €8 gets you an excellent ham and mushroom pizza. It’s so good that Jānis somehow manages to eat two whole pizzas. That’s definitely beyond my abilities, but the pizza really does practically melt in your mouth.

After that, it’s slowly back home to watch the World Cup final. Or at least as much of it as we can manage before falling asleep.

All bets on Spain!

Bellano

Unfortunately, today’s original plan — riding to Lugano — has to be changed, as I’m still not feeling any better. We need to come up with an alternative route that both I and my e-bike can realistically manage. Eventually, we settle on a loop of around 60 km, taking us through Varenna to the village of Bellano, where we turn inland into a valley between two mountains that will eventually lead us back towards Lecco.

It’s slightly cooler today, although by now we’re also starting to get used to the heat. It conveniently pours with rain during the night, and by morning the air is actually pleasantly fresh.

After Bellano, we have around 500 meters of climbing ahead of us. Jānis diligently powers his way uphill on his own, while electricity carries me up in relative comfort. I still have to pedal — it’s not like I can simply sit there and enjoy the scenery — but there’s no denying that the motor makes the job considerably easier. These 5 km of climbing use up 21% of my battery, while the previous 20 km along the lakeshore took only 18%. Time to start doing some calculations if I want to make it back home under electric power.

We stop for a Fanta and some ice cream in Taceno, a tiny village tucked away in the mountain valley. Life and the atmosphere on this side of the mountain feel completely different. Quiet green meadows stretch out beneath the surrounding peaks, while on the other side there’s the constant summer buzz of people trying to find any possible spot to reach the waters of Lake Como along its rocky shoreline.

Near the village of Ballabio, we split up. Jānis decides to test himself on one final climb, while I head home. Or rather, I literally roll home, because the remaining 15 km are almost entirely downhill. We’ve spent most of the day slowly and steadily climbing upwards, and now comes the reward — wind rushing past my ears and one long descent back towards Lecco.

Going much faster than 60 km/h doesn’t feel particularly comfortable, though. I don’t know these roads, I have no idea what might be waiting around the next corner, and I’m also riding a rental bike rather than my own familiar one. Still, this is a completely new experience for us. In Latvia, there’s simply nowhere you can descend for so long that your fingers start getting tired from squeezing the brakes.

The descent takes me through several incredibly scenic villages clinging to the mountainside, although this time my attention is definitely focused more on the road ahead than on the architecture and panoramic views.

After a shower and some rest, it’s time for yet another seemingly impossible Italian mission: where on earth do you find dinner at 4 PM? Almost everywhere is closed, with the earliest places reopening only around 6 PM.

Luckily, we find a pizzeria on the Lecco promenade willing to make us dinner. At this point, it almost doesn’t matter which pizza you order around here — they’re all excellent. The main difference seems to be the price, depending on how close you’re sitting to the lake.

We finish things off with some Italian gelato on the promenade and slowly make our way back home. There’s still a bag to pack.

BGY-RIX

Since the bike shop — like seemingly almost everything in Italy — is closed on Mondays, we have to return the bikes today before heading to the airport.

More as a courtesy than anything else, I message our apartment host to let him know that we’ll be checking out about 30 minutes later than planned so we have enough time to return the bikes. The guy decides that those extra 30 minutes should cost us €25. No thanks — we’ll figure out the logistics another way!

An additional challenge is the weather outside. From the window, we can see lightning flashing over the mountains and rain absolutely pouring down. Not exactly the kind of weather where you want to be soaked within 30 seconds of stepping outside. Luckily, as is typical in the mountains — where the weather changes faster than Jānis can eat a pizza — a few moments later the sky is blue and the sun is shining again. We carry our bags down to the car, then roll downhill towards the lake to return our trusty machines. Afterwards, it’s back up the hill on foot.

On the way to Bergamo, we still need to find a shop where Jānis can buy the Lamborghini-Ferrari toy car that Pēteris – his son ordered. At least the little guy has good taste and is supporting the local automotive industry.

As it turns out, Bergamo Airport has introduced some fancy new baggage scanners this year, meaning you can now take liquids of up to two liters through security in your hand luggage. Great news for Madara! She’s getting a fresh bottle of Lombardy Pinot Grigio and a ball of mozzarella. Although I suppose Pēteris deserves the credit — without his toy-car order, there’s very little chance we would have made a separate trip to the supermarket. It later turns out that despite being relatively expensive by Italian standards, the wine I chose wasn’t particularly good.

There’s one final bit of drama when returning the rental car at the airport. The old guy inspecting it practically pulls out a magnifying glass to examine every single scratch — and there are plenty, as you’d expect from a rental car. I’m 100% certain we haven’t added any new ones.

He immediately tries to blame the first scratch on us, but even in the photos we took in the darkness when collecting the car, it’s clearly visible that the damage was already there. The second scratch is more complicated. He insists that we caused it, while unfortunately my photos aren’t clear enough to prove beyond doubt that it was already there. I sign the paperwork stating that I disagree with the damage assessment. We have insurance, so we’ll see how things develop.

Later, after a lengthy exchange with the rental company, the Italian side refuses to budge and eventually deducts €180 from my deposit for the scratch. Luckily, everything works out fine for me because the insurance reimburses the full amount, but the rental company’s handling of the situation leaves a very bad impression. I most likely won’t be renting from them again.

And with that, the trip is over.

There’s definitely a slightly bitter feeling that it ended up being both too short and not quite the trip we had imagined. Unfortunately, we still haven’t figured out how to schedule unexpected health problems for more convenient dates. At least someone invented the e-bike — without it, I probably would have spent the entire trip sitting on a bench along the promenade eating gelato.

Still, if anything, this trip has given me even more motivation to do something like this again, because the format itself is fantastic. Travelling by bike allows you to experience so many more of these tiny Italian villages that look like they’ve been taken straight from a postcard or a desktop wallpaper. It’s a completely different experience from trying to explore the area by car, on foot or — probably the worst possible option — by public bus.

The roads are narrow, cyclists are everywhere, and away from the motorways they often seem to dictate the overall pace of traffic.

Until the next cycling trip!

Summary

Countries: Italy

Full days: 3 Trip type: Cycling trip, road trip Main expenses:

• Accommodation: €650 (4 nights)
• Flights: €170
• Car rental (5 days) + insurance + parking + fuel: €150
• Bike rental (3 days): €140
• E-bike rental (3 days): €160