Full Circle

In a follow-up to my post from last August, I’ve been following Matt Broshat’s journey around the perimeter of the United States with interest. 

We had hosted him at our house on his second night, and he put in over 100 miles that day to our place just a couple miles off his planned route between Portland and Seattle. He kept getting further ahead of schedule with the passing days…

 

And so it was that late last week we were estimating his arrival back in Portland, some 11,000 miles after his start, making his way clockwise around the borders and coasts.

We thought early on that it would be fun to meet up with him at the finish, but the logistics of scheduling were… well, impossible. It just had to happen whenever it did. We had him join our Life360 family group just a few days from the finish so we could see where he was, and get close estimates of his arrival. My plan was to find him in Portland, take him out to dinner, maybe have some of the local cycling community meet up with us.

The day arrived, sunny and bright, and a bit cold. It is winter, after all. Matt had already started off with just a little over 40 miles to go. I imagine he was savoring the day a bit. We drove down to Portland, did a little shopping, and then contacted Matt. He said he had an interview at 2, but was free after that.

An interview? We wondered if he was applying for local work…

We traced him down to the riverside and drove out. When we were close, my wife said, “There he is. With a news camera.”

Ah, not a job interview…

Turns out it was the local news doing a spot for their evening broadcast.

We parked and walked back, then met up with him. The smile was as wide as day two, and we were greeted with hugs. A short talk there, then Matt headed to the airport for the full circle – where he assembled his bike and started the journey. We met up again near the airport, then went to the Hopworks Bike Bar for dinner.

There were so many stories of the adventure, talk of the future, his involvement with Young Life Capernaum… Just a fun evening.

After that, we drove him out to where he was spending the night. Dropping him off, we wished him well, though we knew that life will be no boring thing for Matt. 

It was special to be able to share in such a feat. In many ways we felt like we were a part of it, though it was some one else turning the pedals.

What’s next? He says the next adventure will likely be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with his brother.

(NOTE: All photos except the group dinner photo are Matt's.)