Looking for the perfect trip for your whole family, your cycling crew or even your employees in order to celebrate that big company win?
A bespoke, private cycling trip to a premier riding destination might be the perfect way to celebrate any life milestone, or simply have a stress-free week to connect with friends over a shared love of life on two wheels. That’s why our inGamba private trips are so well-loved—and why clients keep coming back year after year. We spoke to one inGamba cyclist who’s been on several private trips with us (and other touring companies) over the years to get the best tips for planning the perfect trip.
Understand what sets inGamba apart from other companies
A private trip with inGamba isn’t just a great time on the bike on amazing roads—it’s all-inclusive. “My family standard of benchmarking is a good high-end safari in Africa, because I think the safari operators have really dialed it down to the finest detail,” one client says. “There are very few things that match up to that experience, but inGamba does just that. It’s about the littlest details that make all the difference, and sometimes you don’t even notice them. But if you’re just observant about it, you can really tell. Your bike is always perfectly cleaned. The route is loaded onto your computer. When you get to a coffee stop, someone is there to take your bike so you don’t have to lean it against a wall, and while you’re there, they swap your old bottles with new ones.”
You can trust inGamba with every detail of your trip. “I like active vacations, and I like well-organized vacations. Tours are a lot less stressful than having to organize a trip by yourself,” says a long-time client. At inGamba, a private trip is easy to arrange: You let us know what you’re looking for, and we design the optimal experience for you.
Know your group
This is your private trip, so as you plan it with inGamba, let us know what your group is really looking for. How hardcore are your riders? Do they want to grind and grind and grind, or do they want to just cruise? There is no wrong answer!
Big age gaps? Consider ebike options. Recently, inGamba introduced ebike options in certain cycling destinations, and if you have a group of cyclists who have a wide range of abilities (or ages), using the ebike options can help keep your group together. One inGamba client recalls opting for an ebike for one of the newer (but older) riders in his group, and said it was the best decision they could have made: The older rider was able to easily power over hills, keeping up with riders four decades younger!
Know what you want—but be open to suggestion
Enjoy the flexibility of the private trips. Have a friend who owns a vineyard near where the bike tour is taking place? Just tell us about it—we’ll work it into the schedule! We might even know of the perfect tiny restaurant nestled in the mountainside near that vineyard for a delicious dinner afterwards.
The same is true when it comes to route planning: If you’re planning a private trip with a group of diehard cyclists, then bring on the mountains! But if you’re bringing the whole family or your employees who may be newer to cycling, you may want to ask about route options that won’t include a lot of climbing. Our pros can plan a trip that feels just right for your group—and if you decide you want to add a climbing Queen stage towards the end with an option for some of your group to get in the van for the final climb, we can do that as well.
Expect an unparalleled guided experience
The thing that truly sets inGamba apart is our guides: Bike lovers, aficionados and former pros, every person who leads an inGamba trip is obsessed with providing the perfect experience that will make you love your bike even more.
“The personality and the way all of the guides behave makes a huge difference,” one client says. “The degree of personalization and subtlety that inGamba manages is incredible. The guides are mostly former pro cyclists, and that gives them an edge in knowing how to make the guests feel good while still pushing everyone a little bit on the bike.”
Remember even the “bad” days are great stories
When you’re on a bike tour, sometimes mother nature has a different plan for your day than your guides. One client recalls a day of pouring rain and howling wind. “It was blowing so hard that one of our riders got blown off the road,” he says. “We did eventually have to get in the van because the weather was too dangerous, but there was something about the way the guides handled it that made it an adventure, not a miserable experience.”
In fact, when asked about his favorite moment of a tour, he was hard-pressed to choose between that moment of battling the elements versus a perfect ascent up a mountain in a peloton of his best friends with the sun shining and wide open views.
