Podgalsky, Rodrigues ride across country
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Tim Podgalsky and Tomaz Rodrigues wouldn’t draw much of a reaction if either said they biked half the summer with a friend.
The Princeton High School juniors have been getting looks that range from astonished to impressed when they’ve clarified that they biked together from Charleston, S.C., to San Diego, Calif., as part of an Apogee Adventure group trip.
”It’s sort of a general disbelief followed by — after assurance it did happen — surprise,” Rodrigues said. “Pretty much everybody I’ve talked to since I’ve come back has asked me about it.”
Podgalsky had gone on a bicycling tour from Freeport, Maine, to Quebec City, Canada, going into his sophomore year at PHS. He planted the seed in Rodrigues’s head to try a trip.
”I loved that trip,” Podgalsky said. “I wanted to do the same thing, just longer. I really wanted to do this because at the end of the day I could say I biked across the continent. You only live once, so you might as well do as much as you can.”
It’s hard to imagine biking much more than the two did this summer. In 42 days, the biked more than 2,600 miles from coast to coast, dipping their front tires in the Atlantic Ocean on June 28 and the Pacific on Aug. 6.
”It was a lot more difficult,” Podgalsky said. “The Canadian one, I don’t think it got higher than 85 (degrees) ever. It was a lot harder, but it was all worth it.”
This summer’s trip was four times as far as his Canadian trip. It began with a heat wave not long after their start in South Carolina.
”Probably the two toughest parts of the trip were when we were in Georgia, we hit one of the hottest heat waves ever there,” Rodrigues said. “It was 115 degrees and 100 percent humidity. That was right after we started so we were not acclimated to biking long distances. Then, in California and Arizona where there were endless uphill ascents for miles and miles on end, that was tough.”
The co-ed group that consisted of 11 riders and two counselors woke every morning at 4 a.m., and was on the road by 5 a.m. They biked as much as 115 miles in a day before they would settle down at a campground, church or school to rest until the next day.
”Usually,” Rodrigues said, “when we weren’t biking, we were fairly catatonic and we tried to do as little as possible to get the maximum amount of recovery to be ready for the next ride.”
The riders got used to the strains of the trip and were rewarded with spectacular views, terrific stories and a memory to share forever along with a jolt of confidence as they go forward in life.
”It’s really helped me learn what I can accomplish if I focus and am disciplined and not distracted by any outside factors,” Rodrigues said. “In my outside life I can accomplish other things as long as I stay focused.
”I wanted to take somewhat of a long, epic trip,” he added. “This seemed like the right thing.”
For Podgalsky, a second trip with Apogee showed him more of what he could do and more of the country in a unique way.
”It’s a great way to see stuff,” he said. “When you’re flying, you don’t see anything. When you’re driving, you’re going 55 and you can only see things for a second. When you’re biking, you can feel the wind in your face, but you can take in all the stuff around you.
”It was a great life experience,” he added, “and I hope to see more stuff like that throughout my life.”
Both Podgalsky and Rodrigues prepared as best they could for the trip in the months leading up to the adventure.
”I did a ton of training,” said Podgalsky, who felt like one of the better conditioned cyclists on the trip. “Probably starting three or four months before, I’d do 50-mile rides with 40 pounds of weight on my bike. When the trip started, I thought I’d be fine. I was actually sick for the first week. I got better as the trip progressed.”
The riders enjoyed bonding over the thousands of miles and saw more and more spectacular scenery as they moved west.
”In Texas, there were roads where there were no sights to be seen at all,” Rodrigues said. “You could see 20 miles every direction. But then near the Continental Divide in New Mexico and Arizona, there were beautiful sights. The visual aspect of the trip was a lot better after we passed through Texas.”
Podgalsky agreed: “The mountains in New Mexico, you’d go up the top of a mountain, then coming down on the other side, you could see 50-60 miles in the distance where you’d be ending.”
Throughout the trip, the group had plenty of time to bond. They came from a wide range of backgrounds. There were several from the Northeast, but there were also riders from New Mexico, Dubai and Mexico.
”When I look back on the ride,” Rodrigues said, “the main thing I see is how disciplined all of us were, waking up every day at 4 a.m. and going through the fairly rigorous trials of the trip.”
It helped to have a friend there. Friends since seventh grade, Podgalsky and Rodrigues were happy to go on the ride together.
”I definitely think it improved the experience,” Rodrigues said. “I would suggest having at least one person you know if you consider biking across the country. It’s challenging. It’s helpful to have someone you’re good friends with.”
An adventuresome soul and fitness background help as well. Rodrigues used to run with the Princeton High cross country team, and running twice a day with the Little Tigers was a comparable challenge to biking across the country, he said.
Podgalsky has been a biking enthusiast for years. He followed in his father’s footsteps, and he continues to find new and interesting rides. He rides three or four times per week, upwards of 25 miles every time. A week and a half ago, he went out for a 70-mile ride for fun. The mileage was nothing compared to biking across the country.
”You get used to it after a couple days,” Podgalsky said. “I’d see everyone doing the same thing. You want to do the same thing. You get used to it.”
He had some initial misgivings after he started the trip sick. It compounded the difficulty of the daily rides in the beginning.
”I knew I could do it,” Podgalsky said. “When I got off the plane, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The trip last year was significantly less mileage. I thought maybe I’m in over my head, but I figured I’d get used to it.”
Podgalsky started out going to mountain biking camps run through Princeton Day School before moving to the longer cycling rides that he has enjoyed the last two years. When he’s not biking, twice per week he’s at the Princeton Airport practicing flying Cessna 152s and 172s. He expects to earn his license in January when he turns 17.
”I’ve always liked flying,” Podgalsky said. “I started when I was 14 when I had my first flight lesson.”
Podgalsky hasn’t slowed down since then. His adventures in the air are sure to come, and so are more on the bike.
”Maybe I’ll bike through Europe,” Podgalsky said.
Rodrigues caught the bug too with his first significant trip. He saw the excitement in Podgalsky when his friend announced he was going to ride across the country and he jumped at the chance.
”I want to have more adventures in the future,” Rodrigues said. “I think this is a good start, but I should branch out and see what other ventures are out there.
”If you have the time, the money and the dedication, this is definitely something I’d recommend,” he added. “It’s challenging and time consuming, but definitely very rewarding.”