If you’ve been hoping to book a bike tour, but keep putting it off out of fear that you won’t be able to keep up, think again.
At inGamba, we pride ourselves in matching your pace and preference, whether you want to race former Olympic gold medalist Eros Poli up a mountain or (his preference) take it slow and enjoy the scenery along the way. On some trips, you can even opt for an e-bike if you know your friend or spouse is a speedier rider than you and you want to even the odds of beating him to the cafe stop mid-ride.
For Charles and Radell Rasmussen, going on an inGamba tour sounded like a dream. There was just one problem: Neither of them had ridden in years. “There was this trip in Portugal that Charlie’s cousin was doing and he invited us,” recalls Radell. “At that point, I was like, ‘Charlie, we don’t even have bikes!'”
But they didn’t let that stop them—though before leaving for Portugal, they did get out on a few rides. They even tried some group rides, but found that their newly purchased hybrid bikes often had them falling off the back of the group. So Radell admits she was nervous when she showed up in Portugal and was presented with a shiny Pinarello e-bike to ride. “I was a little afraid,” she says. “We knew that the guides were former pros, so we didn’t know what to expect. I’d never ridden an e-bike before, so that was also a little scary.”
The guides got her set up on the e-bike and before she knew it, she was zooming around the parking lot at the hotel. It was heavier than her bike at home, and there was definitely a learning curve to getting up to speed (literally) but once she figured it out, she was in love.
“I was nervous on our first trip,” Charlie admits. “I was a really inexperienced cyclist at that point—but I survived. I loved it. And looking back, I was the only one putting any kind of stress on me. It was entirely self-imposed.”
At first, Charlie was nervous simply because he was aware that the friends he was with were a competitive bunch. But he was relieved when he realized that the group would split into three smaller groups every day, so that riders could ride at different paces. “It was great because those super fast people could go super fast,” he said. “We were never holding them back, and each group was so well-supported.”
And that stress about being able to keep up? Not a problem. “The whole group was just so welcoming,” Radell says. “And I mean everyone. The group we were with, but especially the inGamba staff. They couldn’t do enough for us to make sure bikes were set up right, that I was feeling okay with the pace—and the end of the day massages didn’t hurt either! We were not sore a single day.”
In fact, she enjoyed the trip so much that when she came home, she started acquiring more bikes—including a road bike that she’s now ridden across her home state of North Carolina, with plans to do the trip again in October. The Rasmussens have also now been on three different inGamba trips as well, and as Radell says, “Cycling is definitely addictive.”
Even knowing what to expect, Radell does admit that each new trip comes with first day jitters, but says she’s learned to embrace them. “It’s exciting,” she says. “And the e-bike really has made it so much more fun. If the e-bike option is available and you’re nervous about being able to keep up, go for it. You can beat the fastest riders if you just turn on the power and go! Or you can avoid using the power as much as you want to get more of a workout. Either way, it’s a great way to just be able to keep up with the group and enjoy it. The group of people we’ve coordinated our trips with are pretty fast and competitive, so it’s definitely nice to have the e-bike!”
Heidi Luquer has a similar story. “I hadn’t biked in 20 years or so—a really long time,” she says. “So when I signed up for the trip, I was nervous that I’d hold the group back. The ability to use an e-bike instantly made me feel better about my ability to keep up—but even without it, the inGamba team was so unbelievable, I know they wouldn’t have let me feel like I was holding anyone back. They were so helpful, from actually getting me riding to cheering me on every day. They were so encouraging and heartfelt. They really go out of their way to make sure that everyone is getting what they want out of the trip, whether someone wants to rush to the top of a mountain, or someone wants to enjoy their ride.”
”The care that they take with every aspect of the trip is unbelievable
Heidi Luquer
And the e-bike itself was a big help as well! Heidi fell in love with it on the first ride. “It was absolutely fabulous. Each day had a different challenge in terms of how high we were going or how far we were going to go. And each day, the bike was perfect.”
Even on the longest days, she learned how to break the ride down into manageable chunks so it didn’t feel intimidating. “I’d tell myself, ‘It’s 10 more kilometers to this spot,’ and then 15 kilometers to the next stop—I just kept setting new mini-goals.”
Still need convincing? “On these trips, you go to really beautiful places to ride with like-minded people,” Radell says. “The guides are just so personable, and they truly want to know that you’re enjoying yourself and will help in any way they can. You shouldn’t be afraid to go on these trips.”
Whether you’re a new rider or a seasoned veteran of the sport, on an inGamba trip, you’ll always be surrounded by support, encouragement, good times, and—as Heidi recalls her favorite moment—an invisible hand helping you up the climb when you need it most. You’ll never be left behind, or made to feel as though you’re holding the group up. This is your trip, at your pace. (And frankly, Eros Poli will be really thankful you gave him a break on a climb!)
