Mark Bibbey is an inGamba regular. He lives in Chandler, Arizona, his adopted home of 20 years after growing up in Wyoming. He has been riding bicycles all his life, but developed a real obsession for the sport in the last 10 years. He enjoys riding many disciplines involving tire widths ranging 23c to 3.8in, on any and all surfaces. And luckily for him, his job as an airline pilot allows many opportunities to ride in varied locales.
“An inGamba trip is more than just a nice bicycle ride in a pretty location,” says Mark, who finds his inspiration for riding in the fact that he can enjoy the world around him at a slightly slower pace than an automobile or an airplane.
“The experience is greater than the sum of its parts. When I think of inGamba, I think about camaraderie, and having as much fun off the bike as on. The real joy of these trips is when your abs are sore from laughing your ass off at the dinner table.
“It’s also fun to keep tabs on your new friends via social media and Strava, and every so often catch up to reminisce on that shared suffering, the shared celebration of life, just hammering, cursing, drinking, eating, laughing. I choose inGamba because of the people: the staff, the hosts, and the guests.”
Every guest’s feedback is invaluable, but hearing positive things from a familiar face – someone who’s seen us in action more than once, and is still impressed – means the world to us. And as Mark’s a veteran of several Donkey Week and L’Eroica trips with us, he knows a thing or two about the inGamba way. You can find him on Twitter @mbibbey, and on Instagram @markbibbey. And hopefully, some of you will find him on another inGamba trip sometime soon.
