A FATHER-of-two paid homage to the founder of the art gallery where he works by tackling some of Scandinavia's most treacherous roads - on a folding bicycle.

Picture framer Tim Balchin took a fortnight off work from the Heaton Cooper Studio in Grasmere to take on the epic 1,500 mile challenge which saw him travel through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland before a long ride from Suffolk back to the Lake District.

The 50-year-old began the journey at the Cooperhus studio in Balstrand, Norway, which was bought by Alfred Heaton Cooper, who established the family business in 1905.

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He then visited many of sights illustrated by Alfred in Blacks guidebooks in the 1920s.

"Alfred painted a lot around Norway, Sweden and Denmark so that's why I followed that route down," he explained. "There was nothing much in Germany so I knuckled on down there.

"It was a rough coverage of the countries he was in. The illustrations were all very iconic country areas which have been completely built upon over the years so it was interesting to see how it has changed."

Mr Balchin often spent around 20 hours in the saddle as he raced against the clock to get back to Grasmere within a fortnight so often had to ride through darkness and take risks.

"I was cycling through some of the highest passes in Europe," he said. "The mountains of the fjords are treacherous this time of the year, there was blizzard-like conditions and avalanches were quite common.

"There were two fairly dramatic high speed crashes. I was cycling at night and very tired so was not gauging the road very well. I thought there was a snow bank in front, skidded and the bike went under. There was no snow bank but I was so tired I thought there was!"

He said one of the highlights of the trip was the support he received from strangers along the way.

"I collapsed at one point in Holland and woke up to a couple who took me in, gave me a sandwich, coffee, shower and took me back to where I was," he said.

"In many ways that was the best thing about the journey. The kindness and support of complete strangers along the route and the ability of people without second thought to lend a hand was incredible."

As well as the personal challenge, Mr Balchin hopes to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society, Cancer Research, The British Heart Foundation, Motor Neurone Disease and the RSPCA. He asked anyone wanting to donate to send money directly to the charities.