inGamba’s new creative director James Startt looks back on his first ride experience.
It all started over dinner with inGamba founder João Correia at Le Select, one of my favorite Parisian restaurants. We reminisced about our years in cycling, our time at Bicycling magazine, his years as a rider agent and mine as a photojournalist. Suddenly, he reached out his hand and said that he would like me to be the new creative director. Slightly stunned, but mostly flattered, I accepted.
Great things happen at the table, I would soon learn.
I had long admired inGamba as a tastemaker in cycle tours. But it wasn’t until I participated in my first, that I fully understood the various ingredients that make up the inGamba magic.
It was clear that I needed to get on a trip ASAP. João was adamant. And João was correct. But, well, easier said than done.
This is high season in the bike business and literally every trip I wanted to do had long been full. Finally though, through the help of Bruno Pinto, our Operations Director, I managed to squeeze into the Lakes and Great Climbs of Italy trip in mid-June.
I have long admired the Italian Lake District, and I even vacationed several summers on the Lago Maggiore. Tucked away in the foothills of the Alps, these lakes are known for their pristine beauty and picturesque hillsides. It is said that the beauty of these lakes inspired Henry Talbott Fox, one of the pioneers of photography, to search for a way in which to record such landscapes and fix them on paper.
Our own trip took us to Lake Iseo, one of the smaller lakes, but also one the most beautiful. Documents show that Leonardo da Vinci visited these shores before painting the Mona Lisa, and some even maintain that these lakes even inspired the background to this masterpiece. Regardless of any lingering scholarly debates, however, one thing was instantly clear. This was simply a stunning place to ride bikes.
But as much as the lakes, I wanted to see historic climbs like the Gavio and Stelvio, two Italian climbs that were still on my bucket list.
Our group’s rendez-vous was set for late on Sunday morning at Piazza Bra in the center of Verona, just adjacent to the historic Roman amphitheater.
Suddenly a large inGamba van pulled up and the statuesque Eros Poli stepped out. Poli, of course, is best remembered for his victory on the Mont Ventoux in the 1994 Tour de France. But Verona is his town, and this was his trip. “Andiammo” shouted, waving to us to join him. We listened, and soon enough we were on our way to our first destination, an expansive villa lined by trees and vineyards north of the city.
But what struck me most upon arriving was not the dreamy villa, but rather the bikes. A whole fleet of Pinarello Dogmas awaited us, along with the three mechanics that were focused on dialing in personal positions. This was only the first time where I was thoroughly impressed by inGamba’s attention to detail. And it most certainly was not going to be the last time.
The first two days were spent riding between Lake Garda and Lake Iseo. The climbs increased, peppering our legs for what was to come, and we quickly gravitated to our own smaller groups. But I soon learned that aperativi or aperitif hour, as well as our three-course meals were also an integral part of our day as well. After all, great things happen at the table.
Day after day, night after night, we all came together to recount our ride, little matter if we were here to push ourselves or simply take in these Italian landscapes on Pinarello’s new Nytro e-bike, which are also an option for participants. We all had our own stories to tell.
Day three was one of our longest days and we had to leave early as we needed to arrive in time to catch the ferry across Lake Garda, before tackling 90 kilometers packed with more than no less than three climbs. Our three guides that accompanied us through the week, obviously knew the roads well. As our pack split up and groups formed naturally, each guide stayed with a group, pacing them evenly throughout the day, while the inGamba vans positioned themselves for numerous feeds along the way.
And while we all felt the ride in our legs, our arrival at the Hotel Araba Fenice proved to be an instant hit. An old-world luxury hotel fit for Carey Grant, it boasted an expansive deck that nearly melted into lake Iseo itself. It was here on the deck where, after afternoon massages, we enjoyed another aperativi, not to mention another stunning meal as the sun gently set. Once again, I was impressed by the attention to detail. Not only was the evening menu exquisite, but the setting could literally take your breath away. It did mine.
Once again, conversation flowed well into the night. It was not the first time where I was truly impressed by the bonds that formed so quickly over the week, and while many of us came from different backgrounds and places, there was an undeniable glue from the guides to the staff to all of the guests.
Wednesday’s ride was conceived as a recovery ride as we simply looped around the shores of Lake Isea, admiring the sheer beauty of the water—which at times appeared like an overgrown reflecting pond—while spinning our legs gently.
The day proved to be the ideal respite, as the final two days boasted two of Italy’s most iconic climbs, the Gavia and the Stelvio.
As a student of American bike racing, the Gavia was indelibly etched into my imagination. It was that climb. The day where Andy Hampsten powered through a blinding blizzard on his way to becoming the first American winner of the Giro d’Italia. Cresting at over 2,600 meters altitude, the Gavia is daunting at any level, and riding easily is not really a possibility, as the sheer length eventually takes its toll. But the satisfaction we each felt at the top was unmatchable. Those who finished first, cheered on the others, and we all enjoyed a snack at the summit-top bar, before dropping down into Bormio to our final hotel.
Only days after returning from Italy, I found myself in Lisbon for a couple days of staff meetings before leaving for the Tour de France.
This time it was João who chose the restaurant, the Tasquinha do Lagarto, a local restaurant filled with framed football and cycling jerseys. João was eager to hear how the trip went and he listened closely as I recounted the many highs.
“You know, the bike is the common denominator,” he said, thinking about what inspires him most about the inGamba philosophy. “You ride bikes, I ride bikes. That’s what brings us together. I don’t know if there are other sports like that, but cycling has always been like that. It doesn’t matter if you are a gardener or a CEO, when you are on a bike you can relax and have fun. And the table is the glue that brings it all together. The table is where the story telling happens, where everything solidifies. Everyone comes here with their own goals. Sometimes you can really suffer. But the camaraderie solidifies it.”
I don’t recall if we actually toasted, but I remember thinking once again that, yes, great things happen at the table.
