Ethel’s bike ride was already on the stocks in her mind. But inspired by our response to Cyclone IDAI, our long standing friend and supporter decided to stretch herself a bit, for us!
Not all plain sailing, or bike riding!
Ethel’s bike had one broken spoke & that was very close to a bike shop in Denmark. The owner & fixer, it turned out, rode in Le Tour de France & had the cassette side spoke fixed in 10 minutes with no gadgets! A stiff front gearshift in Narvik, where two lads in the Intersport shop did their best! And thirdly, a chattering chain, again a bike shop very close where the mechanic not only got rid of the chattering but definitely improved the front shifter.
My little tent was a warm & dry place of refuge during thunder, lightning & torrential rain.
Reporting Ethel’s bike ride
“Met friends of 15 years whom I had never seen face to face. Met two couples, total strangers, who ‘took me in’ & treated me royally.
Visited a number of churches, didn’t understand a word but it’s easy to recognise when The Lord’s Prayer & The Creed are being said & to know that God is being worshipped.
The weather was cold for a month (2C-8C) with mostly a northerly wind which was more than a breeze!
I went across a moonscape on my way to Kjollefjord & onto the ‘Hurti boat’ as it’s affectionately known. Seemed as though there was nothing living just rocks & snow & ice.
North Cape was good to get to on an emotional basis but it is not somewhere I would not recommend as a tourist destination.
Saw the midnight sun for a month mostly shining into the tent!
Cycled down south of Narvik through & over wonderful fjords & mountains but the weather was set to be bad for two weeks so instead of seeing nothing of the Lofoten Islands I headed by ferry & train to Oslo where I also had to put my wet proofs on!
The sun came out & the final ride from Oslo to Westerstede, Germany 🇩🇪 took me to 5,200 kms.
The ride is over & I am now sitting with my feet up in the Netherlands 🇳🇱. It has been good & I am so glad that I made the tour. ”
I would like to thank everyone for their prayers & support.
As I was writing in my diary last night ‘I have felt strong & never disheartened & I have had a physical strength which has been a gift’. Then I read Word for Today & the quote was ‘ The Lord is the strength of my life’.
Again thanks to all my wonderful friends.
We thank God for Christian friend Ethel’s bike ride, and for all she has done.
This is great! We thank God for your safety and for so much more! I keep thinking “what a sense of achievement”, but then I think you have done similar things before! Not many would cycle and tent in those latitudes, but there are amazing signs of God’s grace in your words. A blessing alone!
The furthest north I have been is Narvik, but I went by ship with a Minister of State for company. Not like your experience! Heated all the way!
Just as an idea, the total funds raised via our site was £2,167.50 without Gift Aid, and we received a total of £1,408.72, so I assume the Scout troop received the same amount! We had a friend climb Kilimanjaro for us a few years ago, but this is Wings’ most successful individual fundraise ever. Thank you so much!
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