Coast To Coast

TigerBlog has been living vicariously through Charlie Bagin and Maddie Plank the last few weeks.

He would have loved to have done what they recently finished doing. The two Princeton basketball players made their way from New Jersey to Washington State, all on their bicycles.

It's one of the coolest things TB has ever heard of. Think about that. You get on your bicycle on April 10 at the Jersey Shore. You touch the Pacific Ocean in Washington State on June 17.

In between, you have a lifetime of memories. It's incredible.

TigerBlog didn't realize they were keeping a daily blog on their trip until the middle of May. Since then, he's checked in on them regularly. 

They're not the first people to ride ocean-to-ocean. In fact they're not the first Princeton athletes to do so this year. Men's swimmer Matt Marquardt, who recently graduated and is headed to medical school, did his own trip, going from San Diego to Jacksonville.

As you are probably aware, TigerBlog is a regular bike rider. He can't imagine what it would be like to have covered that distance in that amount of time. 

There are certain things you'll always be able to say, no matter what happens. For the three Princeton athletes, they'll always be able to say they rode a bike across the country. Very, very few people can make that claim, TB supposes.

Because of the blog that Plank and Bagin were keeping, it felt like TB was riding along with them. The way they spoke about winds and hills and weather and backroads and more dangerous highways is something he could definitely relate to, and at the same time he can comprehend how daunting a task it is. 

Marquardt averaged more than 130 miles per day. Bagin and Plank averaged about half of that, but those are still extraordinary distances to cover day after day after day. 

Bagin and Plank rode for the fun of it and the adventure of it during their year away from Princeton due to the pandemic. They also rode for a bigger cause. This is from their blog, before they left:

We have also decided that we will be riding in support of NAMI and mental health awareness. The covid pandemic has only exacerbated the growing mental health pandemic that plagues hundreds of millions of people worldwide. A commonly quoted fact from 2019 states that about 1 in every 5 adults in the US had some sort of mental health illness, and about 1 in every 10 struggled with anxiety or depression specifically. Surveys taken in January 2021 show that about 4 in every 10 adults now struggle with anxiety or depression. SAMSHA, a mental health national hotline, saw their call volume surge almost 900% over the summer of 2020. 90% of suicides are due to mental illness.The stats go on...

I, Maddie, having struggled with eating disorder symptoms over the past few years, used the free time provided by quarantine to focus on resolving my body dysmorphia, excessive stress surrounding food, and unhealthy eating habits. I am eternally grateful to my family and friends, who gave me the confidence, love, patience, and support as I worked on my mental health. I relied heavily on the help of a dietician (who served more as a psychologist and friend) and sports psychologist to manage my symptoms and improve my quality of life.

I, Charlie, was not even aware of the concept of “mental health” until I got to college. Over the last four years I’ve learned a lot on the subject. I’ve read articles, watched videos, and attended lectures that addressed the topic. Most importantly, and most impactfully, I’ve listened to close friends and family describe their various battles with mental health. This is an issue that I hope can be discussed more openly in everyday discourse so that we can break down the borders of stigma and help people work through their struggles.

It was a great cause. And they did a lot to get the word out and to help raise some money along the way.

Whether they know it or not, they also are great storytellers. Their blog reads a bit like a John McPhee book, with first person accounts of their travels, the people they met along the way and the observations of what they saw. They talked about obstacles they faced. They talked about what they got out of it. 

Here is what Bagin had to say about the finish, at Rialto Beach in Washington:

It’s so hard to describe how I was feeling as we came to the end and reached the beach. Mostly thrilled, and a little relieved. It was also weirdly normal, too. This was the expected the outcome, basically never in doubt. It’s not like winning a big basketball game, where you dont feel the joy of victory until the final buzzer sounds. For the entire trip we felt joy. Each and every day was a minor victory in itself. By the time we reached the beach, we were used to winning. But wow, actually rolling the bikes onto the beach and touching the water was such a great feeling. I felt like I was in a dream.

They were more accurately in a dream come true. They had in fact finished their ride, and it was real.

He emailed them congratulations and jokingly asked if they were going to turn around a ride back now. Of course, their return was via airplane (Bagin has already flown back). That too must be fascinating. Imagine looking out the window knowing you had just ridden all that way. 

It is amazing.

TigerBlog couldn't be more impressed with them.