“Since joining inGamba, I have always been impressed with how many of our guests could just as easily be my neighbors,” say James Startt, inGamba’s creative director. “So when Karina Maher and Michael Kovac reached out to say they would be passing through Paris, I was only too happy to meet them for lunch and take them for a walk around my neighborhood.”
And so, over a quiet Sunday lunch the three reminisced about their recent Strade Bianche trip—the first for the couple in over a decade—and trips to come.
More than a decade had passed since Karina Maher and Michael Kovac last joined an inGamba trip.
Back in 2015, they traveled to northern Italy for a custom Maratona dles Dolomites experience, riding legendary roads through the high mountains of the Dolomites. It left a lasting impression, but more than ten years slipped by before they returned.
“Why did it take us more than 10 years to return?” Michael said. “Well, there was COVID, of course, but the main reason is that we simply haven’t been road biking so much.”
Like many cyclists, their riding evolved over time. Having come to cycling through mountain biking, they gradually shifted toward gravel riding around their home outside Los Angeles.
Then they spotted something on the inGamba calendar that immediately caught their attention.
“When we saw that the Strade Bianche trip had a gravel focus, we said, ‘Ah, that really speaks to us!’” says Michael.
So they returned — this time to Tuscany’s rolling gravel roads, vineyard-covered hills, and medieval villages. Staying at Borgolecchi, inGamba’s bed and breakfast in the heart of Chianti, they quickly felt at home.
“It more than lived up to our expectations,” Michael said. “It was marvelous.”
Unlike their first inGamba experience, which moved from hotel to hotel, the Strade Bianche trip revolved around a single home base at Borgolecchi — something that became one of the highlights of the week.
“I loved having a home base, and Borgolecchi felt like home by the end of the week,” Michael said. “Everyone was super warm and friendly.”
That atmosphere is what many riders remember most about inGamba. Beyond the routes and accommodations, it is the people behind the experience that leave the deepest impression.
For Karina, that culture is what truly sets the company apart.
“I think that inGamba is the perfect combination of professional service and support within a comforting, kind, friendly environment,” she said. “The only pressure you might feel is from yourself.”
She described the comfort of knowing every detail had been anticipated, from route support to mechanics and post-ride recovery.
“The support is everything you would want,” she said. “Never once did I ever feel that I wasn’t good enough.”
That sense of inclusion stayed with her throughout the week.
“There is a real respect for every rider here at inGamba,” she said. “Obviously we are not professional cyclists, but there is never any sense of condescension or irritation. There is always respect.”
Karina felt inGamba had achieved something rare in cycling: a professional-level experience that still feels deeply welcoming.
“I have been on trips that sell themselves as professional, but when you get there, there are real gaps,” she said. “Not at inGamba. Everything is so smooth. Everything feels natural.”
The week in Tuscany also offered something increasingly rare in modern travel: genuine connection. Among the group were four couples who shared long rides, dinners, and stories over wine at the end of each day.
“It’s nice to have a trip where you really connect with people,” Karina said.
Michael agreed that every part of the experience exceeded expectations.
“Everything at inGamba is at a different level,” he said. “The quality of the food, the accommodations, the bikes — you name it.”
For Karina, the company’s greatest achievement is the consistency of its culture.
“This may have been our first time back with inGamba in over ten years, but I recognized the core principles of inGamba,” she said. “They haven’t changed.”
Even though the two trips were completely different in structure and terrain, she still sensed a common thread connecting them.
“There was a common thread — a DNA,” she said.
Now that they have rediscovered it, Karina and Michael are not planning to wait another decade before returning.
“I am super excited to do our next trip or two, and we are looking at the calendar already,” Michael said with a laugh.
Part of their hesitation in previous years came from feeling they needed to ride huge volumes beforehand. But the gravel-focused Tuscany trip changed that perspective.
“One of the big reasons we haven’t done some trips in the past was that we simply didn’t have the time to put in the miles before,” he explained. “But we are riding more consistently now—not in terms of miles just consistency—and this was such a fun trip that I don’t want to wait to do it again.”
The possibilities are already expanding, as James gave them a sneak preview of some new trips on the 2027 calendar, which include amoung other desitnations, Switzerland as well France’s wine-rich Burgundy region.
“I have never been to Burgundy, and that is a place we have always wanted to go, and I am always game for Switzerland,” Michael said. “And then if there are other gravel trips — well, gravel riding has just been a revelation for us.”
After ten years away, Karina Maher and Michael Kovac returned to inGamba looking for gravel roads and Tuscan beauty.
What they rediscovered was something deeper: the joy of being fully taken care of, the pleasure of sharing unforgettable rides with like-minded people, and the reminder that the best cycling experiences are never just about the riding itself.
Sometimes, they are about finding your way back.
