Cycling Pilgrimage

Robert de Berry (B2 1956-60)

‘I now refer to these bike rides as pilgrimages, in that, integral to our journeys, there are times of prayer.’

When I came to A House in January 1956, I came with a brand-new Raleigh bike – a reward for passing Common Entrance. That bike was a godsend and has kept me in the saddle for the rest of my life. For those of us poor at any kind of sport, there was joy in cycling around Marlborough and into that wonderful Wiltshire countryside. People from my time will remember that each house had three teams for each sport, but there were always ‘the nerds’ such as myself drafted into Remnants. I was a rugby, hockey and cricket Remnant, so cycling, devoid of any competitive elements, was a wonderful relief. Every five years of my life, I have done a sponsored bike ride; latterly for persecuted Christians. I now refer to these bike rides as pilgrimages, in that, integral to our journeys, there are times of prayer. During my lifetime, I have travelled to many countries: Pakistan, northern Nigeria, Syria, South Sudan, being a few of the countries where to be a Christian, especially if converted from another faith, is incredibly dangerous. It isn’t only Christians who have suffered; for instance, the murders of atheistic Bangladeshi journalists, the vile treatment of the mainly Muslim Rohingya people of Myanmar, and the murderous massacres by IS against the Yazidi people of Iraq. I have cried in a Kano Street in northern Nigeria where every church was burnt down; I have cried when meeting with Eritrean Christians (many of them incredibly courageous women) who have been incarcerated for years in shipping containers, ovens by day but refrigerators by night. Approximately, a tenth of the world’s Christians are harassed, imprisoned, targeted and killed just for being Christian. In 2017, I recruited cyclists to bike with me from Cape Wrath in Scotland to Peacehaven in Sussex, appropriately called from Wrath to Peace. It took 32 days and we covered 900 miles. Churches hosted us for times of prayer and their members gave us overnight hospitality. We raised £60,000. From 14th May to the end of June 2022, I am organising another pilgrimage, this time from North Foreland lighthouse in east Kent to Land’s End, then back to east Kent by an alternative route. Total distance will again be about 900 miles. We will be hosted by churches along the route; within those churches, we will gather people to pray for persecuted Christians across the world.

I am looking for many more sponsored cyclists. Half the money raised will go to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which has representation at the UN, the EU and within our own parliament. The other half of the money will go to Release International, which provides direct aid to churches and individuals targeted by extremist repression. It would be wonderful to have OM cyclists join us for as much or as little of this journey as he or she can manage. I shall be 80 in 2022, so age does not matter! There is a holiness of purpose in this pilgrimage, but, in addition to the prayer, there will be a lot of banter and sheer good fun, and our hosts will feed us well. I live in Pewsey and I still bike past the College. I always glance at the window under which I slept. It was not the gracious living that it is today: one lavatory for 63 boys was underdoing it a bit! It was, though, at Marlborough, with those three half-days a week, that I had time to bike. If anyone would like to come as a cyclist or a back-up driver, please contact me: Robert de Berry on 01672 562 907 or robertdeberry42@gmail.com