From 7:15 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., Tracey Scavella is known as a paraprofessional: an educational worker that is not licensed to teach yet assists other teachers in the Special Education wing at Coral Gables Senior High. Outside of school though, Scavella is an avid cyclist who is often seen training for her next 100 mile race or trailing after her instructors in the Breaking the Cycle and 305 Cycling teams.

Scavella discovered her passion for biking during the pandemic when her weight loss boot camp coach at the time asked her if she would like to join his cycling group: Breaking the Cycle. Gradually, Scavella began to fall in love with the sport and soon enough riding a bike became a weekly activity for her.

Beginning her training, she practiced with a PT Cruiser, a bike designed to ride on the sand. However, she later upgraded to a road bike to travel up and down bridges, covering distances spanning from Overtown to South Miami Beach.

A common strategy in cycling, wearing bike shoes which clip onto the bike in order to prevent slipping and as a result losing momentum is a technique Savella has become accustomed to. In order for this strategy to be effective, the cyclist has to clip in both shoes while remaining upright, a maneuver Scavella used to fear because it meant if she were to lose her balance she could not stop her fall.

While in the process of training for a race, Scavella attends cycling sessions with BTC and 305 due to the variety of experiences and training each group has to offer. In addition to group training, she also likes to routinely undergo intensive cycling training by herself at Sunset and Key Biscayne.

For the Women’s 100 mile race she recently competed in, a week before the competition commenced, Scavella paused her diet in preparation for the competition. During the race, the athlete rode 50 miles non-stop and only took a break when the bike leader told the group they were hydrating.

For the next couple of weeks, Scavella will continue to keep training for her upcoming race, the Dolphins Challenge Cancer ride on Feb. 26 that consists of a 100-mile rally which includes 11 bridges as obstacles. Looking to bring others along while she trains, Scavella is recruiting students and other teachers along with her in her cycling endeavor.

“If any students want to join in, I can arrange for you all to come out. I’ll let the cyclists know that I’m bringing a group of kids that want to come out and see what they are all about. And we just go and we just ride and then at the end you let them know how you feel about cycling,” Paraprofessional Tracey Scavella said.

Wanting to spread the sport which allowed her to feel free in the world of athletics has become Scavella’s next goal in her journey. Hoping to continue her passion and become stronger through training, Scavella continues to demonstrate that there is no boundary to what one can accomplish.