Latest / Zone2Speak Podcast / Riding Far, Living Fully: Flavia Camargo Finding Freedom, Strength & Connection Through Ultra Cycling

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Riding Far, Living Fully: Flavia Camargo Finding Freedom, Strength & Connection Through Ultra Cycling · Zone2Speak Podcast

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Now, let's get into the episode.
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Welcome to Zone to Speak, a base zone for conversations about all things cycling.
2:51
Today, I am thrilled to welcome Flavinha Camargo,
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the heart and soul behind At Diário de Ciclista, a cyclist, adventurer,
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and a storyteller who brings a holistic approach to ultra-endurance riding.
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Flavinha isn't just about long miles and epic climbs. Her journey is one of
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connection to the road, to nature, and to herself.
3:16
Through breathtaking sunsets, mindful nutrition, and the art of endurance,
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she has transformed ultracycline into a deeply personal experience,
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blending performance with balance.
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In this episode, I will explore how Flavinia embraces the beauty of long rides,
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her approach to feeling both body and soul, and the lessons she has learned
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from all the kilometers on the road.
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From the mental grit required for races like Paris, Brass, Paris,
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and to the simple joy of pedaling into the unknown,
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this conversation is a reminder that cycling isn't just about speed, it's about the journey.
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Get ready for an inspiring episode that goes beyond racing and results.
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It's about passion, purpose, and the freedom found on two wheels.
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Flavinia, welcome to the podcast.
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Oh, my God. I got emotional about this entrance.
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Oh, my God. Thank you so much for having me and for this. Oh, my God.
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Such a beautiful thing you just said about me.
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Because it's nice when you have a life based on nature and activities and God.
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And somebody actually sees it.
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So I got emotional listening to it Thank you so much, Ju Well,
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that's what you bring into our lives You know, your Instagram Sharing your journey,
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your daily life It's so, so inspiring Because,
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I mean, you're a badass, let's just say it But you bring so much beauty in everything
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you do And so much purpose And it's really, really inspiring And I want to give
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a shout out to Mulheres de Gravel,
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Elena that connect me with you.
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And you took me and my husband, Miguel, to the top of the Christ Redeemer.
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Amazing, super famous climb, especially for cycling in Rio.
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And that's how we met. And I'm so grateful and very happy that you're here on
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the podcast to share a little bit of your story, what you have done and what's next.
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I am very happy. Thank you for having me.
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So you have earned the super Rondonier title multiple years in a row.
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What makes Brevez so special for you?
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I was never that person that wanted to compete with other people, you know.
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So I wasn't sure what cycle was all about for me.
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And then I saw a video about a guy, this guy is a Brazilian guy,
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that went for Inca Divide years ago.
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And it was this autosuficient race and like super, super hard one.
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And I was like, oh my God, that's what I want to do with my life.
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You know, I want to prove myself.
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I want to test my limits. I want to connect with the nature and God while I cycle.
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So for me, discovering the Brevez and the Aldax thing, it was like a present,
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you know, it was like finding myself.
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So being super hung on it three times in a row and things like that it's just
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like a title but it's nice for me that when I do this I know that I'm inspiring
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a lot of people to do it because they see that's possible,
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I'm not like a young woman anymore, I'm about to turn 45 and I work from 8 to
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6 so I want you Prove people that everything's possible, you know?
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So doing the breves is not just about me. It's about showing people that's possible.
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So I think that that's pretty much it. Yeah, amazing.
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You know, and you are doing that. I think you are inspiring a lot of people, myself included.
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And I didn't even know you were about 45 because you look super young and you
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have such a young spirit and attitude.
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But I think it's important you know it's something that you know I'm going to
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turn 50 this year and it's more and more important to me now to keep on,
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Talking to other women because it's so good to, you know, for our own even smaller
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community, you know, like cycling is a smaller community and then women cyclists
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are smaller and then 40 and above, it's even smaller.
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And it's good that we can continue to do this and inspire other women to start or to continue.
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So thanks for sharing your journey. I think it's important as well because it's
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a very male sport, right?
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Every time I go to a brevet, it's like, in Rio, it's only me or sometimes one more, you know?
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And sometimes we have like 90 people in a brevet, like a 201 that you get to
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have more people in those.
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You have like two girls and 80-something guys, you know?
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It's crazy. So I think it's important for us that practice to actually say to
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other girls, hey, it's possible, hey, come,
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you know, and to share experience and not being like, I'm the best,
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I'm the unique, I'm, you know, I just want to show other women that it's possible.
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Yeah actually when i started
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doing triathlons i don't know if
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i would be where i am if it weren't for this friend of mine
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melissa because i i really wanted to
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do you know but i was a little bit terrified you know it's very intimidating
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also to you know line up in a start line and melissa was just like i'm gonna
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be by your side come with me and that unlocked the yeah that i never stopped,
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but it's important to have you know someone and we support each other it's also so important.
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And so congratulations also on completing the Paris Paris.
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What was the experience like? Like, oh my God, life-changing.
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It was awesome. It was awesome. I spent like almost three years of my life preparing
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myself for that because of course I've done, yeah, I've done like a thousand
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kilometers per day here in Brazil before.
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But it's really different when you go to another country and you don't have the support.
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I'm talking about support, not the support during the race, but like you don't have anybody there.
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Right. So if something happens, like you don't have anybody.
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So when you go to a race, it's not a race, a brevet like that. It's a party.
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It's life experience. And it's a journey to yourself.
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So it's it's really
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awesome like you can't actually explain
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to other people how it's life-changing because you prepare yourself for the
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bad and the good for the bad weather for the cold for your tiredness for your
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crankiness you know because you're going to be hungry you're going to be sleepy,
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you're going to be extra tired.
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And different from like Biking Man that you did and other races,
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our time is so little so we can't sleep that well.
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Like we can't sleep at night, a whole night. We take naps.
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So we actually sleep now. Sorry, explain to the listeners a little bit of how
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it works because usually a lot of ultras you have a hundred and 20 hours,
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which is five days, to do 1,000 kilometers.
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Yeah. How does the pervert work? The pervert is 1,220 kilometers,
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and you have to do it in 90 hours the most.
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So it's crazy because you only take naps, you know, you take naps on the grass,
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you take naps on benches, you know, so you take naps on the street.
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Like there were people actually sleeping on the sidewalk, you know,
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and it's like. Oh yeah, you don't have time to waste.
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No, no, you don't have time to waste, you know, so the lines that we got to
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eat, it was a waste of time.
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So after some time of the Brevet, we started like not going into the restaurants
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of the control points anymore.
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We were just stopping any restaurant we had because I really wanted to see the
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view, see the people, talk to the people.
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You know, like you said, it's about the journey.
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I thought it was like pointless to go to experience like that and not get to
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know the people, the citizens, the people.
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They are on the streets to give you water, to give you soda,
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to give you bread, to give you pasta.
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It's incredible, you know, the 208 cities that we passed through,
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we had the support and it was awesome.
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So I wanted to see that. So I wanted to not race.
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I really wanted to go in a good pace, of course, so I don't lose it, you know.
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But taking it is low as well. So I could see the scenarios, the castles, the people, you know.
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It was awesome. Anyway, so Paris Breast was a life journey experience because
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I got to know a lot more about myself during it, you know?
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You can't prepare, well, for an example, I know that I'm going to be sleepy,
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but the, how can I say that?
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The way that we get tired in a, in a, in a brief like this, you can't prepare
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yourself. You are not going to be in your house awake for 36 hours because you want to.
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And you have to in a minute like that.
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So it's crazy because you have to deal with new emotions that you thought they
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were going to come, but they come in a way that you have no idea.
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And then you have to learn how to deal with it. At the same time, it's happening.
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So it's so crazy and it's so awesome.
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I love it. I really love it. I was listening to this neuroscience podcast,
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and forgive me, I don't have the right terms, but there's something that blocks
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emotion in our brain when we reach a stage of tiredness.
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And I think that's what happens a lot in this ultra-endurances races because
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the lack of sleep, you're so tired, so your emotions are much more intense.
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Absolutely. And I think that's not just because of being tired,
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but a combination of a lot of things, you know, the being tired and feeling
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more of your emotions, but also being on your own, on your thoughts for such a long time.
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I think it unlocks a lot of this self-learning journey. Yes.
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That it's magical about ultras.
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It is. And there is a very non-cyclist in Brazil, Renata Fazzoni.
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She I encountered her on last
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August I think in an event in a
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cycling event in São Paulo and she was
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talking to me about it and she was like Flavia I'm not
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able to do what you do because I can't deal with my demons so how do you deal
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with your demons and I said oh they are all controlled by now it's a lot we
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got to know each other yeah we are pals already you know.
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Well it's uh it's such an amazing experience because you have to know how to do with yourself.
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Yeah, I don't remember the name of the cyclist, but there was also the cyclist
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that was doing some ultra race.
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And I think by day two, he just had this big cry. And it was his first ultra.
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And he's just like, okay, now I know what people talk about.
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Now I know what it is. so and every
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brevet it's different yeah it's like
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i've done i don't know how many 200 kilometers
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brevets and each one of them
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were different and some of them were more difficult
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than like a 600 brevet so that's
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something you have to learn too that you can't just
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like oh it's a 200 kilometers breathe it
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no problem no maybe it's a
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bigger problem than the 600 one you
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know why is that why do you think
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maybe because of the altimetry maybe because of the weather you know a big big
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enemy for me it's the wind the wind is something that i still have to make up
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my mind about it You know,
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because I get so frustrated that I'm not, you know, going well.
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So the wind is something that always cracks me up a little bit, like breaks me.
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So if I go to a brevet that's by
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the beach, for an example, that I know that's going to be a lot of wind.
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Sometimes it's worse than having a 400 or 600 kilometers brevet that's not by the beach.
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You know something like this yeah no
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i totally get it yeah the wind headwinds are not fun
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at all at all yeah yeah yeah
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and what were the toughest moments during the paris breast ride i would think
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sleeping alone yeah fight how actually that was not a problem in paris that That is not a problem.
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Like Paris breast, we had like 6,000 something athletes, you know? So you were never alone.
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And they are all there for the same purpose.
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And the people were supporting us.
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So I would just lay down the grass of some square and sleep like,
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oh, that's a non-joke, you know?
18:46
That I can't do in Brazil. Yeah.
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You know, so in Brazil, I have to prepare myself a lot more because I have to.
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Oh, my gosh. How do you do it?
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Where I'll have hotels or hostels or something, you know, to get a little nap.
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Okay. I think you're going to say that you have to prepare where you're going
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to sleep alone, but you check in somewhere.
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Okay. Yeah, I always check in somewhere. No, I think it's a lot.
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I put myself in a lot of danger just riding by myself during the night for itself.
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So it's not necessary for me to sleep by myself somewhere.
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I have to go to a hotel for my own safety.
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You know, but in Paris, Paris, in Paris, Brass, I think the two most difficult things,
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first of all, sleep, of course, because as I wanted to enjoy the journey,
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I wasn't fast enough to sleep a lot.
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So that was a choice I've made. That was something I thought before starting the Brevet.
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Like I want to go slower than my regular pace in Brazil because I want to enjoy
20:04
the journey. So that was something.
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So I fell asleep so many times and I slept on the bike so many times.
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And then... How you didn't crash?
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Yeah, I don't know. Like so many people crashed.
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So many people crashed. Yeah. Wow. That was a guy that crashed on me.
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And I didn't fall because I had gravel, gravel.
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Oh my God, I forgot the pneu. Okay, the tires.
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The tires, yeah. Bigger tires. Yeah, I had bigger tires because when he crashed
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me, I was ascended to the sand by the road.
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So fortunately, I had gravel tires.
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Anyway, the food was something that was challenging for me because I didn't
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like the food on the control points.
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I thought it was so like consult and, you know, and when you are doing something
21:08
like this, you crave food, like real food, you know? So, yeah.
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You're craving like Brazilian homemade food. Yeah, probably.
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You know, there's a lot of sauce on it, you know, things like that.
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So I wasn't having food enough in the control point.
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So I started to look for Burger Kings and Domino's and things like that to have
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like calorie bombs, you know. Yeah, absolutely.
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Because I was starving all the time. So I started to look for calorie bombs
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and having those big, huge hamburgers and french fries and soda.
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And I would buy five or six cheeseburgers and put on my backpack and carry with
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me so I would eat them during the night.
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You know, so those are basically the worst things for me, like the sleep,
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the lack of sleep and the food.
22:23
Yeah, I think sleep is something that everyone in ultra-endurance races struggles
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with because even doing five days, you have to do 200 a day and that can be 15, 20 hours.
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So you don't have really a lot of time to stop, to eat and sleep.
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So it doesn't matter how fast or how slow, the sleep is always a struggle, I think, for everyone.
22:48
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And we're talking a little bit about safety,
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you know, sleeping on the side of the road and things like that.
22:59
Yeah. We talked a little bit also about women's safety, you and I,
23:02
because I had an experience and had to stop in a race.
23:07
Yeah. What is your take on this? I mean, of course, we want equality.
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We want a race like everyone does. We don't want different rules.
23:15
Yeah. But it's so hard. You know, I talked to many other endurance riders,
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female riders here on the podcast, and every single one of them have had a bad experience.
23:27
And one that really stuck to me was Megan Haneken, because she was on a big
23:32
bikepacking in Europe with a friend.
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Nothing happened. And the day her friend left and she continued,
23:40
she was harassed. So I think it's just like, just being a woman alone, you are a target.
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What is your take and is there anything you think organizers can do to make things better?
23:54
Yeah, I do think they have to provide for us or allow us to provide a security
24:04
car or a security motorcycle or whatever.
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Because one thing that the organizers have to be aware, and maybe they don't
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get it that much because they are guys.
24:20
Okay and i'm not telling
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i'm not saying like in any way
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that they don't understand us
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or something like it like like it but they
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are not in our skin okay so
24:35
this kind of race or brevet or whatever it was made in another time the rules
24:44
were made in like 100 years ago actually 100 years ago because that was created
24:51
like a hundred years ago,
24:53
right? So it was another time.
24:56
We had more security and it was created in Europe.
25:01
Yeah, for men. Yeah, and for men. And here we are in a third country.
25:08
We have more violence. It's not like, you know, because you are from here, but it's not.
25:16
That that everybody says but we don't have
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the security that we have in europe that's for a fact yeah
25:22
but i think it happens anywhere even in the first time i know
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just because you're a single yeah for sure but
25:28
anyway they have to be aware that we don't get to the to the start line like
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the guys do the guys just have to worry about being there and being prepared
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to race and bring bring their food,
25:46
bring their tools or whatever.
25:50
We girls, we have to worry about the size of the clothes we wear.
25:56
If we are feminine, we are too much feminine.
26:01
You know, if our hair is up when it's at night, if we have someone to go with
26:08
us, You know, we have to worry about other things that guys don't have to worry.
26:15
So it's not equal in the start line.
26:18
The start line, we are losing already. We are before the guys.
26:24
You know, we don't have the same start line.
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So that's what the organizers have to recognize, you know, to be aware of.
26:35
It's not equal.
26:38
It's not equal right now. Guys don't have to worry about the same things we have to worry.
26:43
Like after what happened in Biking Man, now I have a pepper spray.
26:48
The guys don't have a pepper spray. And when they do, it's because they don't
26:52
want to lose their bikes.
26:55
I don't want to lose my integrity.
26:58
So it's completely different, you know? So that's what I keep telling the organizers.
27:04
Guys, you have to let us provide.
27:08
Okay, you don't want to provide because it's going to be more expensive for the other riders to pay.
27:18
Okay, I'll pay for my security car.
27:21
And I don't want the security car for the whole day. I just want it for the period of the night.
27:27
You know, but my last one, my last Brevet, it was in November.
27:34
And it was a thousand kilometers brevet here in Brazil. I was the only one that was going to do it.
27:41
And I almost didn't do it because I was by myself.
27:46
And I was like, oh, my God, I'm not going to do it because I can't do that to
27:52
me, put myself in that position.
27:54
I've been tree and nice by myself on the roads in Brazil.
28:00
You know, like anything can happen and I'm going to be by myself.
28:04
And so like four or five days before the Brevet, a friend of mine,
28:10
a girl, of course, my hero, my hero, she's from Sao Paulo and she wanted to do with me.
28:19
So we went, the two of us together, all the time together, like stopping together,
28:25
sleeping at the same time.
28:26
Even when like our urges were not combined, we did everything together so we
28:33
could be more safe, you know.
28:36
And I asked for the security car, like I'll pay for a security car.
28:41
And I was said no. And it's not like Rondon e Brazil fault or anything like this.
28:47
There's a rule that comes from above you
28:51
know yeah so that yeah because that's seen as emotional support and i get it
28:57
because if i have that car there i'll feel braver but then you brought up a
29:02
point that maybe guys do feel braver because they're not worried like us to
29:07
be violated or something. Yeah.
29:10
I don't think he has emotional support at all, at all.
29:16
Because if he was a guy in my position, he was not going to just give up on
29:22
the brevet because he was by himself.
29:26
And I was about to give up on something that I really wanted to do because I
29:31
was by myself, because I'm a girl.
29:34
So that's something they really have to start thinking about.
29:41
Yeah, I agree. I think there are a lot of things, not just in cycling,
29:46
that rules were made so long ago and it just doesn't apply here anymore.
29:52
I mean, I love, and I know that's what you love too, the solitude of cycling, day or night.
30:00
And I wouldn't want to have a car there. But for the safety,
30:06
what do we do? What's the solution?
30:09
So whoever lives and has an opinion, I would totally welcome your comments.
30:14
We'd love to hear from everyone, you know, male, female, what's your take on this?
30:20
It's hard to crack. what's the pair, what's the right solution,
30:23
but something does need to change in this format. Yeah, of course.
30:27
And I love to ride at night. Like, it's my favorite time. Me too.
30:31
Quieter, no cars almost.
30:33
Yeah, it's awesome, you know? I really love to ride at night,
30:37
but I know that's not safe.
30:39
Like, here by my city, it's awesome.
30:41
I do it all the time, you know? It's safe, it's a small city,
30:45
and it's okay. But when we talk about like hundreds of kilometers by yourself,
30:52
that's not safe. That's not safe.
30:55
So changing gears, your Instagram.
31:00
So your Instagram showcases not only your rights, but also the beauty of nature.
31:07
What role does the environment and the journey itself play in your experience?
31:16
That's funny that you say that. And that's funny that you talked about my Instagram
31:21
before, because I am not like the regular influencer girl.
31:29
I don't care about like the feed, you know, and putting the same colors and things like that.
31:36
Because from the beginning, when I put my nickname there as a Diario de Ciclista,
31:43
it's a cyclist diary, right?
31:46
I really wanted everything to be real, raw, you know, like myself and not lies
31:54
and not everything edited for Instagram or for internet.
31:59
You know, when I don't have a nice day of training, I'll tell you.
32:04
When it's good, I'll tell you. when it's a flat tire, I'll tell you.
32:09
Anyway, if it's a problem because I can't go to the race, I'll tell you.
32:15
So after saying that, I put a lot of nature there because nature is like,
32:22
I can't really explain to you, but I'm a very spiritualist person.
32:28
I'm not that person that finds God in a church.
32:33
I was raised Catholic. I am a Christian, but I don't get emotional or touched when I go to a church.
32:43
I don't get touched by the step-by-step of the things.
32:49
But I really get so emotional and connected to God when I am in a nature...
32:58
Somewhere, like in a mountain, on a waterfall, whatever, in the beach,
33:05
on the beach, I feel God all the time.
33:08
So I don't know if somebody that's hearing that is going to rely,
33:13
but I know so many moments that I can actually describe that I saw God.
33:20
Like once I was riding with a friend of mine, like the two of us only,
33:25
it was a guy and me. and it was so hot, so hot.
33:30
And we were going up in a hill, on a hill.
33:34
And I was in front and he was coming after me.
33:37
And it was like very, very hard hill.
33:42
We were mountain biking. And when I was almost done with the hill,
33:47
like this guy was all blue and then just like a little clown there,
33:54
like fluffy one, you know?
33:56
It was so beautiful that when I saw that, I started crying.
34:02
I actually saw God.
34:04
And I'm telling you when I want to cry because, you know, it was so overwhelming,
34:13
the feeling and the sensation, you know.
34:17
And I'm telling this situation, but I can tell you like hundreds.
34:23
So it's where I really connect with God and myself, and that's really important
34:29
for me and for my journey.
34:31
So I like to train by myself a lot because I talk to myself and I put my thoughts together.
34:38
So yeah my instagram i i think my instagram is a kind of a mix of everything
34:44
because i am this mix too you know and i i like to bring the nature for whoever
34:52
is watching so they can share i can share a little bit of this experience with them,
34:59
You'll come across very authentic. And please continue to share.
35:04
I love especially those nature moments. And that's why I brought up,
35:10
you know, because I see your connection.
35:12
And it's beautiful. Thank you.
35:15
And talking a little bit about nutrition, I know you really like to take good
35:21
care of your body and what you put it in your body.
35:24
What is your go-to feel for your endurance rides?
35:31
Any go-to nutrition strategies that you use? And also, what do you do for recovery?
35:37
What did your recovery look like after those massive efforts?
35:42
Yeah i i'm a tiny you
35:45
know me i'm tiny but i
35:48
like to be a a muscly tiny girl
35:52
you know i like muscles and so when i'm when i'm uh during the season okay i
36:00
go to my to my to a specialist and she develops my plan,
36:09
right,
36:10
for each step of the season.
36:12
So if I'm about to have a 200 kilometers Brevet, we don't change that much because
36:19
I already eat very good and very healthy.
36:22
But if I'm about to go to a 600 Brevet, for example, I gain a lot of weight
36:30
before I go into it so I don't burn my muscles.
36:36
So I do that every time. I gain like two kilos, maybe two and a half kilos before I go to a brevet.
36:44
So a month before a really big one, like a 600 or a thousand kilometers brevet,
36:53
I start a very specific strategy so I can gain weight and then be comfortable
37:01
with what I lose during the brevet.
37:05
You know so that's pretty much it before
37:09
and then the after like the
37:12
week after I eat whatever my body wants to eat because I I think it's really
37:18
necessary yeah you're still recovering yeah I'm recovering I sleep every time
37:24
I can of course I work but if I can take little naps I I obey my
37:32
body and I eat everything I eat
37:34
pizza I eat french fries I don't care because I
37:38
really think yeah it's my prize after
37:42
all with a lot of people ask me why do you do that like you waste so much money
37:50
with that and you have no prizes you have no podium what's the deal with yeah
37:56
people always Don't ask me, what's the prize? There's no prize.
37:59
The prize is eating all pizza I want afterwards.
38:03
Yeah, and your mental health. Yeah, of course. I joke about it,
38:09
but there's so much that I think I win and I gain after a break.
38:18
But anyway, yeah, I'm allergic to fruits, and that's something everybody's like, what?
38:23
Because I'm really healthy and I don't eat fruits.
38:27
But besides that, I eat pretty much everything and I really think that my body is my temple.
38:37
It's it's my house so what do
38:40
you do with your house you clean your house every day you
38:43
take care of your house if something is breaking you
38:46
go and fix it you know so I do it my body's
38:49
the same way like it's it's where I'm gonna live
38:52
for the rest of my life so that's why I train that's
38:55
why I eat healthy that's why I eat
38:58
clean you know and that's why I take
39:02
care of my spiritually everything you know
39:04
i think it's a mix of something a
39:09
mix of a lot of things that makes you healthy
39:12
it's not just what you put inside food
39:15
wise it's what you watch it's what
39:18
you think it's who you have
39:22
for friends right so yeah that's pretty much couldn't agree more it's a holistic
39:28
approach it's everything everything makes our habits and who we are and you're
39:36
so smart and your nutrition is so smart because a lot of people think oh i'm going to this.
39:41
Do this big effort and then i'm going to lose weight no you're going to lose
39:45
muscle because if you don't have a little extra in there to support you especially
39:49
that because you can't just eat enough calories to keep up with the physical effort of your,
39:56
and so that's good, smart.
39:59
Yeah, but if someone is curious, the last one, for an example, I lost 35,000 calories,
40:07
and I'm, yeah, I am a tiny woman, you know, and I lost 35,000 calories,
40:17
the last one in 1,000 kilometers a brevet. Well, you're tiny.
40:21
You're like, I don't know, 1 meter 50-something.
40:26
59, yeah. But you have a lot of muscles. You're very toned, very lean.
40:33
But yeah, it's a lot of calories. 35,000 calories in what? Three days?
40:38
Yeah, three days and a half. That's insane. It was 72 hours,
40:42
72 hours, yeah. Yeah. That I completed.
40:46
Someone will burn 2,000 a day, and then if they're working out,
40:50
maybe 2,500 or 3,000, and you burn over 10,000 a day. Yeah.
40:59
So eat up everyone yeah and
41:03
do you have any upcoming races or any new challenge you are
41:06
looking forward to well this year i made a deal with myself that i'm not going
41:13
to race as much because when i
41:17
do something i really do something so i was in my like i i joke about it.
41:25
I was in my psychopath mode, you know, because I was three years in a row training
41:31
and I didn't have like social life. I didn't date.
41:35
You know, I was going to bed at 8.30 and waking up at four and it was crazy, you know.
41:42
On the weekends, it's when I have time to go for the long rides.
41:48
So I ride eight, nine hours on a Saturday and then five, six hours on a Sunday.
41:53
So I don't see my parents I don't you know it was crazy
41:56
so I think I got to a
41:59
point in my life that I achieved what I
42:02
wanted to achieve in the ultra distance
42:05
wise the ultra distance word
42:08
you know I don't have that much of oh my god
42:11
I have to be the best whatever no yeah
42:15
I'm I'm so happy for what
42:18
I've done so far you know and i
42:21
think i in 2025 i want to target on cycle trips i'm dying to to do cycle trips
42:31
and go to parachi it's like two hours far from here by car it's probably like
42:38
five six hours There's writing,
42:41
and it's beautiful.
42:44
The road is beautiful, and when you get there, it's a beautiful city.
42:49
So I want to explore more.
42:51
I live in an area that we have a lot to explore.
42:55
And I work home office, so I can
42:58
also take my notebook somewhere and work during the day and then write.
43:04
So 2025, I want to explore more.
43:08
And probably I'll have like maybe five, four brevets in the middle.
43:16
But the main target is like cycling trips and having fun and enjoying what I've built so far.
43:24
Nice. You deserve it. Like I said, you know, you feel like you're well accomplished
43:28
and maybe this year it's for you to find more balance in between,
43:34
you know, training, social life and doing some of other things that you want to explore.
43:39
Yeah, for sure. I needed it.
43:45
And anything that is on your bucket list, like an ultimate dream ride or adventure? Yeah.
43:53
Yeah, Santiago. It's my top of the list, bucket list.
44:01
I want to do that. Santiago, Spain or Chile? Spain. Spain.
44:06
Yeah, the Santiago way. Yeah. I want to do that for sure.
44:10
I wanted to, actually, it wasn't my bucket list for my 40s, but it was in the pandemic.
44:16
And I had to change all my plans
44:19
and everything I had like saved for that
44:23
I had to spend because it was
44:26
crazy money-wise that period you
44:29
know so now I have a different job right now that I don't have the flexibility
44:35
that I had before so the plan is going to be different this time but I'll I'll
44:43
probably have it, like, I hope next year.
44:48
I hope. I hope next year that's going to be something I'll do.
44:53
But before that and after that, I have so many places I want to go.
45:00
Hawaii is a place that I want to ride so bad.
45:06
And I want to go back to Italy for Amalfi Coast. that I went there like as a
45:13
tourist only, but no bikes.
45:15
And I really want to go back with my bike.
45:19
And maybe soon enough, I'll go visit Io in Girona. Yes, yes, we talked about that.
45:25
Yeah, and I saw a lot of interesting cycling trips around that.
45:32
I forgot the name, it's aero something. Like there is the one,
45:36
two, three, four, five, eight. And the AIDS, I think the AIDS way goes...
45:45
Goes from Spain to Greece, I think.
45:49
Oh, wow. Something like that. You have to share that with me.
45:51
When I thought it was awesome. I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to do that, you know?
45:57
So now my mind is everywhere. I hope I can have sponsorship for that because
46:03
it's not easy for a Brazilian to save enough money to do all that in Europe.
46:09
So I hope for a sponsorship.
46:12
I hope so, too. And you are working now with SoulCycles, right?
46:17
That's your bike sponsor. It's a Brazilian bike brand.
46:20
Yeah, I'm an investor for SoulCycles for the gravel that they have, the Seeker.
46:28
So I have that bike. It's the bike that was sent to me for Paris Breast.
46:34
And I kept with it because, oh my God, what a comfortable bike.
46:40
I love it. And I discovered gravel because of that bike, and I'm so in love
46:46
with it, because gravel is freedom, right? It's freedom.
46:53
So you go from the road to the mountain biking, the mountain biking to the road
46:58
again, and it's freedom. Yeah, it's so versatile. You can go anywhere.
47:04
I really, really love it as well. And also, you're more in nature and usually less cars.
47:11
It's so much better. I love it as well. Yeah.
47:16
Anything else you want to share? Well, I think I said what I wanted to,
47:22
but I'm going to reinforce it.
47:24
Just it's possible.
47:26
You know, if you want to do something, it's possible. Go for it. Put your heart on it.
47:32
You know, don't compare yourself to others because everybody has its own reality.
47:39
So we have great girls
47:43
in the scene here in brazil and
47:46
and outside of course but i i can't say most of brazil because i'm here right
47:51
and we have a lot of nice girls here and every one of them they have their own
47:57
reality some of them are they have sponsorships some of them they don't work
48:03
from eight to six, like I do.
48:06
Some of them work as well.
48:08
And like each one of them, they are so unique and they are so special for who they are.
48:15
And they have so much to show, you know?
48:19
So let's just be ourselves.
48:23
Be inspired from others, but being ourselves, you know, and embracing other
48:29
girls, and inspiring other girls, and supporting other girls,
48:33
because it's possible for everybody,
48:38
and it's so good when you find something you really love to do,
48:43
which was my case, like the long distance, the ultra distance cycling,
48:48
it's something that really...
48:52
Burns my heart, you know, it's something that completes myself.
48:56
That's why I spent, like, more than three years of my life not caring about
49:01
social life and stuff because I was a whole.
49:04
I was completed. That's something I chose. I was not unhappy doing it.
49:09
And the opposite, I was so happy doing it. I found myself there, you know.
49:15
I just know that now it's time for balance, but I was not unhappy,
49:21
you know. And so I think that's it.
49:24
Like, let's do what we love to do. Let's find time for it. It's not easy.
49:31
For myself, I can say it. I have to wake up at four in the morning to practice,
49:35
to do what I love, and then go to work from eight to six.
49:41
And then I have post-graduation and I work out in the lunchtime.
49:46
Anyway, like when you really love something, you find a way.
49:50
You find the time, you find, you find. So, yeah.
49:56
I agree. And well, thanks for being so authentic, for being you,
50:02
for being so positive and for sharing this beautiful message.
50:05
And thank you so much for being on the podcast. I'm so happy you found time
50:10
in your super busy schedule to chat with me.
50:13
It was a pleasure. I'm so happy to be here. And I hope a lot of girls be inspired
50:20
and start doing something.
50:22
It doesn't have to be cycling. It can be anything, right?
50:27
So, yeah, thank you so much for inviting me, for having me.
50:31
Thank you, Flavinha. And I'll put on the episode description where you can find
50:36
Flavia and follow her and be inspired by her. Thank you, guys.
50:42
And that's all for today's episode. I want to thank the listeners for tuning
50:46
in. Your support means everything.
50:49
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider following, leaving a review,
50:53
and sharing it with your friends.
50:56
Music.