As we crested another climb, only to find another stunning view of the crystal blue Adriatic Sea, it was funny to think that this adventure in southern Italy had begun back in Mill Valley, California, four years ago. It was João’s annual ride for World Bicycle Relief, and SRAM’s co-founder Stan Day suggested an inGamba trip to raise money for WBR. The idea stuck and since then we’ve hosted trips in Tuscany, northern Portugal, Alentejo and Puglia. The trips have raised nearly $500,000 for the work of WBR, which I think is a testimony to the generosity of the people who make up the groups on the trips as well as the greater InGamba community who have supported them from afar.
It’s the kind of scene that sets a cyclist right at ease. A bunch of other riders, all shapes and sizes and different styles, standing around chatting and laughing, with some bikes on display, some vintage prints, a nod or two to the golden age of Italian cycling, and the unmistakable smell of freshly roasted coffee beans being transformed into restorative little shots of goodness by steam pressure and the steady hand of a good barman. A good cafe doesn’t need to be bike-themed, of course, but it helps.
Scott Foreman is the founder of Cultivator Content Labs, an award-winning commercial and documentary production company based in Phoenix, Arizona. They’ve worked with everyone from Mercedes-Benz to the NFL, and over the years he’s made a lot of very cool content for us because he’s also an old friend of the inGamba crew.
“Is that Felice Gimondi?” Yep, there’s a winner of all three Grand Tours, leaning on an old team car and laughing. “That mechanic over there says he knows Eddy Merckx, and I think I just saw Francesco Moser having a glass of wine.” That’s l’Eroica for you. Every year, the great and the good of Italian cycling converge in Chianti for a week of fun. Because it’s more than just a race for old bikes. It’s a festival to celebrate the sport we all love.
I’m in bed at the Casa das Penhas Douradas hotel, and it feels like luxury showroom. A kind of wooly fever dream of soft furnishings, and I want them all. I’m surrounded by lust-worthy products, all from the same boutique manufacturer that in recent years has become one of the stars of Portugal’s fashion and design boom.
If João Correia is the boss, then his father, Manuel, is the president, the mayor, el jefe … or rather, since we’re talking the Portuguese here, o chefe. Spending a day with him in Palmela, Portugal, where he lives half the year, is like wandering around with royalty. From the ladies at the morning coffee shop, to the local police, right down to the man preparing your dinner, everyone knows “O Patrão” – yet another fancy name for The Boss.
To butcher some lyrics from the old George Gershwin tune, it’s summertime and the riding is easy. A little too easy. I try to get out on the bike as much as I can, but with a family and a couple of demanding businesses … Well, I don’t need to tell you how that goes. So I’m really looking forward to taking some time during the season to join a few of my favorite trips and enjoy a bit of quality riding with all the guests and my friends.
