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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pair find journey life-changing

This is a story about how summer adventures can change lives, be it able-bodied college men or young children suffering from debilitating illnesses.

Michael Podobnik, 22, and Chase Odgen, 21, both from Spokane and representing the University of Washington, completed a 3,900 mile bike trek across America that ended Sunday in Charleston, S.C. They were greeted by more than 1,000 rain-soaked friends and family, including Podobnik and Odgen’s parents.

Podobnik, a 2000 Ferris High graduate, and Odgen, a 2001 Gonzaga Prep graduate, rode in the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity’s Push America’s Journey of Hope. The purpose of the journey, which is the largest fraternal fund-raising and awareness event of its kind, is to serve people with disabilities.

Riders also raise a minimum of $5,000 each for Push America, a nonprofit organization founded in 1977.

From morning friendship visits at community centers to spending afternoons with campers at water parks, the men were constantly on the go.

The cyclists averaged 75 miles a day, through the dry heat of Arizona, to the two-shower-a-day humidity of the Carolinas. They slept in high school gyms, churches and in motels and hotels, thanks to the donations of sponsors.

The Journey of Hope began on June 13 when the fraternity brothers gathered in San Francisco. Podobnik and Odgen were among the 35 men assigned to the south team. The others traveled a northern route.

After a week on the same route, the two went their separate ways in Fallon, Nev. They reunited on the campus of the College of Charleston this past weekend.

Although Washington, D.C., is the usual finish line for the 16-year-old Journey of Hope, it moved to the College of Charleston this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pi Kappa Phi’s origin.

Podobnik, a 2004 UW graduate, and Odgen, a senior this fall, were not diehard cyclists while growing up on the South Hill.

“From the moment I came into the chapter in Seattle, Journey of Hope is something that has been emphasized,” said Podobnik, who plans on going to law school. “The bike riding came with the trip.”

The first day on the journey, the group rode 60 miles from San Francisco to Napa, Calif. The longest ride on the trip was 135 miles in Texas.

“For myself, the first day was longer than my longest training ride,” said Podobnik, who was an already slender 5-foot-9 before leaving and shedding 15 pounds. Odgen, 5-foot-8, lost 8 pounds.

While friendships were made along every stage of the route, Podobnik said he has a soft spot for a 9-year-old girl he met at the Alabama Special Camp for Children and Adults in Jackson’s Gap. Fittingly, her name is Hope.

“We were there for campers moving in for the week,” Podobnik said. “Hope was in a wheelchair. She was the just the cutest thing, a chatterbox.

“There was going to be a swimming party, and she said ‘I’d love to go, but I can’t swim.’ “

That was before Podobnik and his frat brothers came along.

“We told her, ‘You come down there, and all night long you can kick and swim,’ ” said Podobnik, who helped her swim.

The summer, Odgen said, were filled with these kinds of stories.

“It’s one of those things you can’t describe,” he said. “You mark your life in two parts — before and after (the trip). Every man on this trip becomes a better man because of it.”