Mountain biking in Oltre il Colle

Park in Oltre il Colle in the large square with the fountain, just before the church. Warm up to Zambla Bassa, climb to Zambla Alta (1,197 m, 4.4 km) and turn left towards the Arera; after Plassa a sign announces 12 per cent, but the description records ramps of up to 22 per cent that rarely drop below 13. At the fourth hairpin is the detour to the Cattedrale vegetale, largely destroyed by storm Vaia in 2018 (Valle Seriana Bike); you pass the SABA hut and reach the end of the asphalt (13.3 km, 1 hour 10 minutes).

Just before the car park take a very steep track on the left, concrete and stony, with peaks of 25 per cent beside the old lift station: with good fitness you can ride almost all of it, except two or three stretches. You reach the Capanna 2000, at 1,954 metres according to the description (14.5 km, 1 hour 50 minutes). From here CAI trail 222, the lower Sentiero dei Fiori, is for experienced mountain bikers only: big stones, changes of gradient and frequent stretches with the bike at your side up to the Passo di Val Vedra (1,854 m, 17.8 km).

From the pass you walk up the grassy ridge and descend to a pond, where you pick up trail 231: the long, technical descent of the Val Vedra passes the Casera di Vedro and the Baite Zuccone, then tight turns worn into the meadow, the Cascina Bianca and a narrow path down to Pian Bracca (24.1 km). You carry on via Piazzole and the Cappelletta della Forcella and finish with 2 kilometres and 130 metres of climbing on asphalt back to Oltre il Colle. Percorsi MTB Val Brembana considers a full-suspension bike and the GPS track essential, and offers an extreme variant up Monte Vindiolo, at 2,056 metres.

The «La selvaggia Val Parina» traverse, revised on 2 May 2026 by Cesare Adobati, starts from San Pellegrino Terme: 48.4 kilometres, 1,180 metres of ascent, 5 hours 30 minutes actual, demanding, with 70 per cent of the trail rideable. You follow the Valle Brembana cycle path to Ambria, then the SP27 through Serina, Valpiana and Oltre il Colle; from there you drop towards Zorzone and join CAI trail 259.

The description is explicit about the risks: there are no escape routes, no mobile signal and nobody around. Go in a group, with spares, in good weather and on dry ground. The exposed chained passages, which cut across gravel gullies above the valley, are done on foot; in summer watch out for vipers. On the valley floor the old timber-railway bed is level but cluttered with stones and rails, and in several places it cannot be ridden. From the Agriturismo Ferdy an iron bridge leads onto the Valle Brembana cycle path, which takes you back to San Pellegrino in 11.5 kilometres.

«Su e giù per la Valle del Riso», revised on 25 June 2023, starts from Valpiana di Serina: 44.3 kilometres, 1,339 metres, 4 hours 45 minutes, moderately demanding. It climbs to the Passo di Zambla, takes the dirt road to the Conca dell'Alben and at the Passo della Crocetta drops on CAI trail 526B to the Madonna del Frassino and Chignolo d'Oneta, down to Riso; then it climbs via Gorno to the Grem pastures and the Baita Alpe Grem, and returns to the pass on trail 223, about 70 per cent rideable and slippery when the rocks are wet. The way back to Valpiana uses the cross-country ski tracks and the Pian della Palla.

Valle Seriana Bike's Arera Tour, from Ponte Nossa, is the longest ride: 53 kilometres, 1,900 metres, six hours, very demanding, 90 per cent rideable with about an hour of pushing or carrying, descents of technical grade S2, rideable from May to October. It climbs through the Val del Riso to the Passo di Zambla and the Capanna 2000, rides the whole of trail 222 to the Passo Branchino and descends on 218 to Lake Branchino, the Alpe Corte and Valcanale. It also suits e-bikes, but the description recommends a second battery.

Edo Sport, at via Prealpina 892 in Zambla Alta, hires Rossignol e-bikes: the E-Track Trail 2, full suspension for demanding trails, and the E-Track 29, hardtail, for easier routes, both with a Shimano E7000 motor, a 500 Wh battery and a stated range of up to 100 kilometres. The published rates are 35 euros for half a day, morning from 9 to 12 or afternoon from 15 to 18, and 55 euros for a full day from 9 to 18; helmet and lock on request, booking required on 0345 95285.

For safety reasons the hire rules forbid riding the hired e-bikes up Monte Arera: for the Capanna 2000 loop you need your own bike. To recharge there are two e-bike charging stations, free according to OpenStreetMap: one in the centre of Oltre il Colle and one at the Passo di Zambla, with schuko sockets.

In Lombardy the trails of the regional hiking network may be used on foot, by bicycle, including e-bikes, on horseback and with non-motorised means, unless stricter limits apply for safety or because of the nature of the place; motor vehicles are banned, with fines of 105.57 to 316.71 euros (regional law 5 of 2017).

The CAI's self-regulation code for mountain biking asks riders always to give way to walkers, warning them from a distance by voice or with a bell, always to wear a fastened helmet, not to skid and not to leave the track. On the Sentiero dei Fiori the loop description itself urges the utmost respect for flowers of great botanical value; the Val Parina and the slopes of the Grem are Special Areas of Conservation of the Orobie Park.

On the Arera loop the only water mentioned is in Oltre il Colle, and the support point is the Capanna 2000 (0345 95096). On the Val Parina ride the fountains given are at Galleria, Serina and Valpiana; on the Val del Riso round at Oltre il Colle, the Passo di Zambla, the sanctuary and Riso, with the private Baita Alpe Grem as a support point. The reference map for all of them is Kompass 104 Foppolo / Valle Seriana.