A Tale of 2 tours: InGamba & Cinghiale

[Kirk007]

A combination of irrational exuberance over 65th birthday and a smoke 'em (benjamins) while you got them wildhare resulted in me booking back to back tours in Italy - an InGamba Tuscany tour and a Cinghiale tour of Tuscany and Elba Island. Soon after booking the trips, a few decades of bad habits bit bad with MRI indicating multiple cervical disc deterioration and some nerve impingment leading to a serious pain in the neck among other places. The result was more time running to PT, massage, chiro and accupunture treatments than time on the bike. I was resigned to suffering like a dog and/or spending unwanted time in the van. Not believing I would win a battle with the travel insurance company, I got on the plane. I'm glad I did and figured others might want to hear about these two great tour operators.



InGamba: A Walter Mitty week



The InGamba Mercedes van and one of the guides, Sancho, met me at the Porta Romana in Florence and we drove about an hour into the heart of the Chianti region to the little village of Lecchi, where InGamba owns a bed and breakfast (Borgolecchi) and separate "Service Course" full of Pinarellos, wheels, lockers for the riders, the mechanics workshop and a cabinet full of Enervit energy products.



Borgolecchi is extremely comfortable without being over the top. It has a significant presence in Lecchi, and the shop and bar owners next door were soon friends sitting around a table telling stories. The InGamba team includes a full time chef, numerous assistants around the B&B, two guides, and a pro mechanic and soigneur who manned the follow van on rides, washed and turned the Pinarello Dogma Fs and Nytros after each ride, made ride snacks - panino, pasta, rice and cookie individually wrapped in aluminum foil. Oh, and a 40 minute masage after every ride. The accomodations, food, support, staff, bikes, everything, was first class. The second guide Giorgio was a walking encyclopedia of Tuscan history; Sancho was a former Continental tour rider. The founder, João Correia, even joined us for a few meals as he was in Italy for the Giro. Every guest gets a set of kit - shorts, jersey, socks, gloves and hat. Your kit gets washed each day after the ride and returned dryed and pressed. A nice kit bag and laundry bags with your name embroidered on them were nice touches. And if you needed more things - vests, jerseys, jackets, rain jackets etc, all by Castelli were available for purchase in the Service Course.



It was really interesting talking to him about his vision, business structure and organizational overhead. Before the trip I was somewhat taken aback by cost - the trips are expensive. Now that I better understand the overhead costs of such high staff to guest ratios (only 3 paying guests plus 2 new executive staff of InGamba on the trip) and the capital investments in equipment, and Joao's commitment to providing living wages to his staff, I understand better. It's still a lot of money but I better appreciate the value proposition. Everything was included; I didn't spend a single Euro from the time I was picked up til the moment I was dropped off at the main train station back in Florence.



The rides were great - good roads, good guides, good sites and good on the road support including cafe stops. You didn't carry a seat bag, tools nada. Flat tire? The support van rolls up and changes the wheel and sends you on your way.



You want to have a slight taste of the support a pro tour rider has, take an InGamba tour.



And a twist: on some of their trips, they offer the Pinarello Nytro, an electric road bike, as an alternative to the Dogma. Being in crummy shape and worried that my neck would withstand more than an hour and a half on a bike (not enough for the 85km, 5700 ft elevation gain day), I opted to try the Nytro. The first ride was "different" as it's relatively heavy with that battery in the downtube changing the feel of the bike particularly the first time out of the saddle). The 4 power setting seemed well incremented. The first was next to nothing, the second seemed to offset the increased weight of the bike and maybe a touch more. The next two definitely provided a boost for climbing (power assist tops out at 25km/hr). On descents and flats I turned the power off, saving battery for climbs. And there it was nice for keeping the stronger riders in sight. As Sergio said at the end of the trip "you (me) didn't need the ebike, why did you choose it?" Well, because it gave a measure of mental peace; I finished every ride - no hopping in the van, and hey it was a good opportunity to give an e-road bike a good test on some challenging terrain. I was still burning thousands of calories each ride and was tired at the end. I just went a little faster, and that was ok with me.



Tommorow - a tour with old friends - Andy and Elaine Hampsten and Cinghiale Tours.

[MO Will]

Great review! Thanks for sharing! There are so many tour companies… hard to know which ones are the best.

[clyde the point]

Great pics and write up. The wife and I did the same In Gamba tour last year, as advertised. Spoiled the wife though, the standard they set is very high.

[rwsaunders]

Nice write-up and thanks for sharing.

[nooneline]

Borgolecchi is extremely comfortable without being over the top.

From your pictures, it looks like a classic Tuscan b&b - many of which, i've found, are a unique combination of gorgeous, luxurious, and a little bit sparse.

[Nomadmax]

Thank you for the post and keep reporting!

[Tickdoc]

What a great post and thanks for sharing. Sounds like a lovely way to ride italy!

[roguedog]

Man. Love these ride reports and operator reviews. Love the pix.

I always look but can't seem to spend the $$. What a great way to spend your bday though.

I think we should have more of these somewhere on the site.

[tv_vt]

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the Cinghiale report.

I saw InGamba riders in the Dolomites pre-covid, and have a friend who did one of their tours. Quick impression from a distance was it was a studly guy tour for those with a lot of funding. Nothing wrong with that, just how it looked to me. Certainly looks like one would lack for nothing and have a great time.

If there were only three paying guests on your tour, I do have to wonder about their financial viability. The group I saw in Italy was maybe 8-10 riders or so.

I've done several Euro-cycling trips over the last 10 years or so. Sadly, at least three of the companies I used are no longer running: Pyractif, Forever Cycling, and Col Collective. Four inn-type companies are still around: Veloventoux, Velo Vercors, BedBreakfastBikesPyrenees, and Holomites/Hotel Ustaria Posta. These all have a central location to stay and you do rides from there. Trying out Grand Tours Project in Switzerland later this year. Would love to do a Cinghiale tour some day.

[Kirk007]

Riding with Andy Hampsten, his wife Elaine and long-time friend Enrico is like being taken into a local family that shares their favorite roads, restaurants and neighbors with you. This trip was a "two-pigger" in other words an intermediate trip with participants reflecting that rating (as compared to the Dolomites/Italian Alps 4 pigger crowd, which had many more hard charging riders). There were around 12 of us, a nice number and a nice group.



The trip started with a pick up at the Pisa airport and an hour or so ride to the Z'Martino in Castegnetto Carducci, a family run hotel that has housed Andy's trips since they started in the late 90s, as well as many pro teams for winter training camps. The rooms are modest but comfortable, meals are served family style - delicious and plenty of food for hungry cyclists, and the family and staff are delightful. The riding started with a flat easy spin up the coast towards Bolgheri, and finished with a stop at the local bike shop and then gelato shop in Castegnetto Carducci. A longer ride the next day introduced some climbing to a lovely bar/cafe in a hilltop town before heading back. Cinghiale trips always include one or more coffee stops per ride, which can stretch into extended stops as Andy and Elaine retrieve pastries from their favorite local sources.



The following day was a 30km slightly downhill ride to the ferry terminal to Elba Island, followed by about an hour ride, complete with a pod of dolphins alongside, followed by the first coffee shop stop in Elba. A 25 km ride including a good climb took us to the far side of the Island and a lovely hotel in Fetovaia, just up the hill from a lovely beach with seaside restaurants. Riding on Elba is beautiful, and hilly. Andy says it gets crazy busy after Memorial Day, so May was a good time to visit. Restaurants etc, were just opening up for the holiday season but not overwhelmed.



4 days later it was back towards Castegnetto Carducci for some magical roads between Suvereto, Sassetta and Castegnetto. And it is hard to argue with espresso for 1 Euro, killer pizza for 12 Euro. (One dinner and off ride snacks are on you but Cinghiale picks up everything else including the coffee break stops on rides). The locals in the know flavor is enhanced by Elaine and Andy happily sharing their favorite local showmaker, tailor, restaurants, jewelers etc.



Rides were typically 3-4 hours including at least one stop. Group mostly stayed together or regrouped at the top of climbs, in towns and before traveling through any heavily traffic areas like near the Ports where the ferry departed/arrived.



Rental bikes - steel bikes designed by Steve but built in Italy or BMC gran fondo 02s - are available for an extra charge. About half the group rented and the rest brought their own.



Both trips were great and I can't really pick a favorite - two different but equally delicious Italian entrees. InGamba offers more inclusive amentities aand additional services like the soigneur and bike service. Cinghiale is a bit more downhome but considerably less cost as well. I would highly recommend either!

[72gmc]

Delightful. I suspected I would like the report on Andy’s tour and I was not wrong!

Steel rental bikes designed by Steve sound intriguing. Do you have a picture?

[Kirk007]

Not great photos of the bikes - zoom in on the white one’s - tig welded, carbon forks. They looked nice but didn’t have any big ones (at least not yet).


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[hkgmatt]

Super useful tour reports, thanks so much. I have long been wanting to participate in one of these.

[many_styles]

I too booked an InGamba trip back in 17’ as a 40th bday gift to myself. I was blown away by the level of detail of the whole operation.

Would love to save up and do another trip while I can.


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