If you’ve watched the Strade Bianche bike race over the years and dreamt of riding your bike along the white gravel roads that give the race its name, it’s time to sign up for the trip of a lifetime.
Join inGamba and guest ride guide Ben Delaney, gravel expert and cycling journalist, for a week of hunting down the best gravel roads, from classic pieces of the Strade Bianche route to gravel backroads that only Tuscany’s most serious gravel riders know about.
After Ben joined us in Portugal for our epic ride with Ted King and Laurens Ten Dam, he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to bring more friends along for the ride. “There’s two tantalizing main ingredients: One is Tuscany, which, if you like riding bikes, you know that it’s one of the best places in the world to do so,” he says. “And then the other is inGamba’s absurdly high level of service. So the two of them together makes for a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Of course, the gravel expert and YouTuber didn’t want to just lead a trip on the roads. He needed to create an offroad adventure. And where better than Tuscany, where the concept of adding gravel roads into a road race—Strade Bianche—was arguably first popularized? (And to Ben’s point about inGamba’s high level of service, trust us: You’ll appreciate having a mechanic clean and fine tune your bike after some of these gravel days! The massage doesn’t hurt either.)
Ben has plenty of time for route planning and dreaming about the trip, unfortunately. A bad crash shattered his humerus, and his recovery is leaving him with plenty of time to scour maps and relive classic Strade Bianche moments so he’s perfectly prepared for the trip in October 2025. (He’ll also be heading to Italy for some recon around the time of the 2025 Strade Bianche—it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it!)
“I’m excited to ride gravel bikes there with friends,” he says. “I’ve ridden road bikes there, both on pavement and on the white roads, and a gravel bike will make it even more fun. Those slightly wider tires, that more relaxed geometry—it’s going to be a fun trip.”
And when gravel lovers unite, you know the group is going to be good. “I like riding solo, but it’s way more fun to do something like this with other folks, enjoying each other’s company, getting to know new friends from different places around the world. That’s the cool thing about these trips,” Ben says.
”And with inGamba, you know that the good parts—the riding and the food and the relationships—are maximized while the logistical headaches are completely eliminated. You finish the ride, and somebody hands you a room key and takes your bike. Everything is taken care of, even before you realize you need it taken care of.
Ben Delaney
On this trip, you’ll cover 345 kilometers and climb 7,743 meters, largely on white gravel roads. (The descending is definitely going to be fun!) If you’ve been on our Chianti Classico trip in the past, you might think you know the area around Borgolecchi well, but this trip will take you on roads you’ve never seen—and that you might not have ever noticed if you weren’t being led by Ben. Each day will feature a blend of road and gravel, and end with our always-incredible lunch and dinner prepared by chef Tomi Morgade, served with some of the best wines that the region has to offer.
Don’t miss the webinar with Ben on February 12 – you can sign up and hear about the trip. We will have plenty of time for questions.
As Ben says: “You’re riding impeccably maintained bikes on beautiful gravel roads with friends and then enjoying delicious food. That’s the dream, right?”
