Tubantia, 7 September 1963
AALTEN — At half past one on Friday afternoon, 24-year-old Theo Megens got off his bicycle outside his parents’ home at Patrimoniumstraat 6 in Aalten. For Theo, this marked the end of a 6,000-kilometre cycling journey that had begun on 29 May.
Theo, who clearly had cycling in his blood, had achieved his goal. He had set out to reach the Arctic Circle and to see the midnight sun. It had made a deep impression on him, although naturally he had encountered many other sights during such a long journey.
The hundreds of colour slides Theo made during the trip bore witness to that and were certainly worth seeing.
He was happy to talk about his experiences in Scandinavia. He had great appreciation for the hospitality of people in the north.
“Naturally, I was largely dependent on myself: sleeping in a little tent and cooking my own food. But the support of local people was extremely welcome,” Theo said.
In Narvik, Norway, he met several fellow Dutch travellers who were touring by car.
There had of course been difficulties as well, mostly technical. In total he wore out six bicycle tyres: four rear tyres and two front tyres. Replacements had to be sent from the Netherlands because he could not obtain them in the far north.
Among the many souvenirs he spread out on his mother’s table was a genuine reindeer skin.
Theo had no definite plans for another journey yet, but one thing seemed certain: this would not be his last.