Sports
How Cycling Reconnected Pavani and Maíra Post-Pandemic
From an unlikely 120 km debut in Morungaba to the Haute Route challenge, cycling became a shared journey of connection and high performance.
After navigating a challenging return to São Paulo, Pavani found an emotional outlet and a renewed marital bond through road cycling. What began as an unpretentious ride on an electric bike quickly evolved into an intense routine of training and mountain races alongside his wife, Maíra.
The transition from pandemic isolation to the fast-paced routine of São Paulo brought profound challenges for Pavani and Maíra. While she maintained a rigorous training schedule on the indoor smart trainer, Pavani found balance catching waves daily on the coast. Returning to the state capital, coupled with entrepreneurial pressure and diverging personal routines, took a heavy emotional toll and exposed a growing distance between the couple.
Realizing that a routine centered solely on work and children needed an extra bond of shared happiness, Maíra invited him to try road cycling. His debut was direct and unpretentious: equipped only with sneakers, a t-shirt, an urban helmet, and a borrowed e-bike, Pavani tackled a 120 km ride to Morungaba alongside experienced cyclists.
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Discovering the Flow State on Two Wheels
Even with electric motor assistance available, his competitive drive took over. Pavani switched off the battery on climbs to test his own limits and completed the route with the battery charge practically untouched. The feeling at the end of hours of effort drew an immediate parallel to his surfing experience: the ability to disconnect from daily worries, endure discomfort, and enter a pure flow state.
The next step was buying his first road bike, a Specialized Roubaix, and diving headfirst into the peloton. Early on, getting dropped during group rides and tackling grueling routes—such as the course from Alphaville to Itu with over 2,700 meters of elevation gain—became routine. Falling behind and relying on encouragement from fellow cyclists served as the main fuel to accelerate his technical and physical progress.
The Leap to High Mountains at the Haute Route
With less than a year of consistent cycling under his belt, Pavani took on one of the toughest amateur stage races in the world: the 2022 Haute Route. The seven-day challenge featuring more than 21,000 meters of climbing in the mountains pushed his physical and mental endurance to the extreme, becoming a defining milestone of resilience and growth for both of them.
This deep immersion transformed their family dynamic, enabling full training blocks in destinations like Campos do Jordão. As the couple points out, maintaining an almost professional training routine as amateur athletes only works when there is true alignment of goals, turning the sport into a shared, integrated journey for two.
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