CAMINHO DA FÉ
CICLOTURISMO E MONTANHAS
Abstract
The main branch of the Way of Faith, inaugurated in 2003, is a pilgrimage route of 324 km between the municipality of Águas da Prata /SP and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida/SP. Currently, the path attracts approximately 40,000 pilgrims each year, more than half of whom are cyclists. This article, the result of a doctoral research between the years 2018 and 2023, using qualitative research as a methodology, analyzed through a semi-structured questionnaire, observation and cycle trips, how cycle tourism occurs on this path. We came to the conclusion that, in addition to the motivations related to elements of faith, what also motivates cyclists is the contact with nature, especially with regard to the mountains as elements of geographicity that awaken the senses of belonging to the world. Such an experience is primarily possible due to the experience of a leisure savored on two wheels of a bicycle.
