Matthew Huffman said there was really only one time he questioned if he and his companions would make it by bicycle from Raleigh to Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration.
That was about 8:30 p.m. last Friday when they rolled into Midlothian, Va.
It was 13 degrees and pitch black. The trio had been biking for 10 hours that day.
The wind chill factor was … well, it was cold.
“They were shivering and shaking like nothing I’d ever seen,” Matthew said of his riding companions, Matt Watts and Darryl Jones. “I seriously thought I was going to have to call 911.”
Matthew said it was about that time he wondered to what extremes the trio would go to make it to Washington.
“We never put any restrictions on ourselves,” he said. “We never discussed how bad it’d have to get before we’d quit.”
For the purpose of full disclosure, I need to point out that Matthew is my nephew. I wrote last Saturday about his trip. Several people asked for an update.
Here it is: They made it.
Matthew and his companions rolled into Washington about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. They parked their bikes in front of the Lincoln Memorial and strode into a concert on the National Mall that was part of the inauguration events.
“We walked in to see Bruce Springsteen,” Matthew said. “It was the perfect ending to our trip.”
Matthew is 26 and a graduate of N.C. State. He’s a fine young man, even if he is my brother’s son.
Matthew and his pals had been planning the bike trip since the day after Obama’s election.
What they hadn’t planned was the bitter cold that rolled into North Carolina and the rest of the East Coast last week. But they decided to continue the trip, regardless.
They left Raleigh last Thursday morning and spent the first night in South Hill, Va. From there they rode to Midlothian, just south of Richmond.
The trip to Washington covered 277 miles. It never cracked freezing the whole time. Matthew and his friends rode back roads and blogged (ncinaugbike ride.blogspot.com) about their journey.
Their support team included two friends, Cory Livengood and Scott Heath, who followed in a car. Cory is a documentary filmmaker and is making a movie about the trip.
Scott is a professional photographer and some of his excellent pictures can be seen here.
Matthew said he was surprised by the media attention their trip generated. A Raleigh television station reported on them last week as they were about to leave.
CNN picked up the coverage, reporting on the trio three times over the weekend. “Good Morning, America,” included them last Sunday and “Dateline NBC” even mentioned their exploits.
They were featured in plenty of newspapers along the way.
Matthew said that while in Washington, he, Matt and Darryl were included in the filming of a public service announcement.
Matthew was offered two jobs while in Washington, no small feat considering the current economic conditions and the fact he didn’t go there looking for work.
On Monday, the day Obama called for citizens to give back to their nation through volunteer efforts, Matthew helped clean an island not far from RFK Stadium.
The trio had numerous people sponsor them on their trip, with pledges going to the International Rescue Committee, an organization that provides food and medicine to residents of Third World countries.
“A little money can go a long ways in those places,” Matthew said.
(Anyone interested in making a donation can do so with a credit card at: Firstgiving.com/rideforchange.)
Matthew and his friends returned to Raleigh on Thursday via Amtrak.
“Everything about it was spectacular,” Matthew said of his trip to Washington.
But then he paused before continuing, “It was a tough ride, I’m not going to lie to you.”

Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.