Fundraisers for the Norfolk Churches Trust have already given more than £90,000 as donations are still arriving.
Organisers are confident that last year’s total of £91,495.77 will be beaten, said trustee Charlie Inglis, as more than £2,500 was received in the second week of December to boost the overall total.
There has been a tremendous response to the latest September annual Bike Ride, which has raised more than £2.8m for churches of all denominations in the part 33 years, he added.
A total of 280 churches or chapels are set to benefit from the proceeds of the fund-raising efforts by volunteers, either cycling, walking or driving in September.
The preliminary returns indicate that 3,149 “visits” were made to more than 220 churches or chapels. Norwich Cathedral topped the list as the most popular with 81 visits recorded. One cyclist clocked up 58 churches and one walker managed to visit 51 churches.
The Just Giving site has also proved popular with more than £9,700 received, including one-off donations. It is just £850 short of the overall record set in 2017.
Mr Inglis said that with several more weeks for “Bike Riders” to collect and return final sums, there should be more welcome news to report soon.
