In May, we wrote of Geoff and Will Sherwood (from St Luke's, Parkstone, Poole) fundraising challenge to complete a 3,400-mile ‘reverse pilgrimage’ from Cyprus to Canterbury. You can read all about this here.
They have returned having raised nearly £5,000. The pair spent 58 days cycling, covering 5,571km in total, in support of Christian Aid and its appeal to help people recovering from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Geoff, explained: “We started in Paphos and cycled back via Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Italy, Switzerland and France.
“We knew we’d be in Turkey for around three weeks, visiting many places preached at, or passed through, by St Paul on his three missionary journeys. Among the locations were many close to those impacted by the earthquakes last year - we were closest on our first day in Turkey, landing in Tasucu and passing through Silifke on our way to Magara. Because of this, we thought it would be appropriate to use our journey to raise money to assist the continuing support for those affected by the disaster.”
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake and the aftershocks which followed killed 58,000 people, and flattened buildings, schools, and hospitals. One year on from the Earthquake, Christian Aid reports two million people still need help, having lost their homes and suffered through severe flooding and storms.
Geoff said his and Will’s epic journey went well without too many mishaps, with the exception of a minor fall for Will towards the end.
“He was determined to continue to the finish, despite having to cycle slowly for the remaining four days effectively using just one leg,” Geoff added.
The pair found places to camp or sleep via a cyclists’ accommodation website, but were also helped out by strangers they met along the way.
“On one occasion in Turkey,” Geoff said. “We arrived at the large grassy mound which is all that’s left of biblical Lystra - it was getting dark and cold, it had just started to rain, and Will’s bike had a puncture. I noticed there were a couple of people in an orchard opposite us, and decided to ask if we might camp on their property. The husband tried to shoo me away at first but with the use of signs and then Google Translate, this retired couple opened their gates and their home to us, with supper made exclusively from what they had grown themselves.
“Also in Turkey, two of the hosts we contacted via the WarmShowers website were impressed enough by our fundraising, they got journalists to come and interview us, with at least one story making it on to the local online news.”
Geoff and Will have been fundraising via a JustGiving page which will be open for a while longer if anyone would like to support their efforts: https://www.justgiving.com/page/g-sherwood-earthquake.
To find out more about Christian Aid and how you can get involved, please visit www.christianaid.org.uk.