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He had to ride it as an ITT as he couldn't make the Grand Depart. Decided to ride it with a decent amount of sleep to see if he could still be competitive. Turns out he could.
12;12;21. 2,670 miles (4,296 KM) ridden. 192,000 Feet (58,521 meters) climbed. Two countries visited. Five states and 1 province crossed. Four storms weathered. Wild horses, wolves, elk, moose, deer, eagles, antelope, chinchillas and coyotes spotted. Unknown amounts of candy bars and gallons of milk consumed.
Lachlan unclipped from his pedals at the US border with Mexico in Antelope Wells at 9:24pm Mountain Time. 12 days 12 hours 21 minutes was his time. His time from Canada to Mexico along the Divide will be talked about for a long, long time. To own a record, though, was never the point.
Lachlan wanted to experience the big point-to-point in a mentally and physically sustainable way, at least for him. He pushed massive days in the saddle, but he also stopped to sleep and rest for 12 hours out of every 48. He was curious how fast he could go with such a plan. Now we know: Fast.
Thank you to those along the way who cheered and who helped Lachy out when he rolled through town. And thank you to those who donated to Adventure for All — we’re at $20,050 raised, and you can still contribute.
There’s more to come from this journey in the form of a full film with @hereorthereabouts , so stay tuned. Thank you for following the dot. We hope Lachlan’s ride inspires you to explore the world on two wheels.
Now, time to get some rest.
Head to the link in bio to catch up on Lachlan’s ride and to make a donation to Adventure For All.
I'll be keeping my eye out for that film and I hope and expect that that $20K will grow a fair bit!
More on the prep: https://velo.outsideonline.com/gravel/gravel-culture/lachlan-morton-tour-divide-bikepacking-race/
Wow, that’s quick
That's incredibly quick! Not just shaving a few minutes off, but 1 day 10 hours! And he's a rookie on the course!
Will it count for "official" purposes? By the sounds of it there was a film crew following him.
To a greater extent every year I think the "official" view is becoming increasingly irrelevant. As long as people are open and honest about what interactions they had and were expecting with their crew, and as long as they didn't break the basic rules of receiving any physical support we can all judge for ourselves whether we think it should count.
unsupported but followed by a film crew? ask Lael Wilcox how that panned out. event the mental advantage of knowing someone is their for support if in difficulties, even if they didn't even hand hime a jelly baby shouldn't be underestimated
ask Lael Wilcox how that panned out.
That was my thoughts when I first heard about EF /Lachy doing it too.
Even being visited by friends or family is a DQ according to the tourdivide website…
Hell of a ride anyway…
As long as people are open and honest about what interactions they had and were expecting with their crew, and as long as they didn’t break the basic rules of receiving any physical support we can all judge for ourselves whether we think it should count.
Totally agree. I like the way they nicely side-step the issue in the write up:
To own a record, though, was never the point.
They're fundraising, awareness raising, Lachlan's good on camera. A better compromise for their goals is to film, show, don't claim anything, just state facts, let people decide. Even the discussion: supported or not, record or not, is bringing more hits to the pages.
I also like the fact that Lachlan has established that a sensible approach to rest and sleep is worth exploring in races like these, not just red-lining into extreme sleep deprivation.
Looking forward ro that on YouTube.
Lachlan and Lael riding it as a pair would be a great watch
Lachlan discounted himself from any "record books" before he set off on account of the film crew
Lachlan discounted himself from any “record books” before he set off on account of the film crew
It's a pity most of the headlines are about the speed/time with a small piece about the charity then
Yes. It is.
There's a nice video by Josh Ibbett talking through it from a racers perspective.
Smart move to head off all the whining about film crews by not trying for the record. He has ridden it under his own terms, and hopefully the impressive success of his sleep strategy is the beginning of the end of these events being partly a test of who is prepared to endure the damage caused by excessive sleep deprivation.
Anyone know where the film will be available?
Doesn't feel quite right to me - the route, and record in particular, is famous because of the no external support 'rule'. Seems like cake and eat it.
And it's definitely a bit supported.
Thing is, it's clear that that top pros are there for a reason - when they have a go at the amateur stuff they (usually) show that they're another level.
The route is done all the time by people who are truly supported. There are a few companies who do it.
If you ride all the way from Banff to Antelope Wells, it's still a big achievement.
Pretending things haven't moved on like the TD website is naive.
Pretending things haven’t moved on like the TD website is naive.
Yep it's. A bit like when after being in the adventure show folk started having sag wagons driving round on the snow roads audax with them.
Glad that nonsense got quashed quickly. What the world needs is more cars following cyclists.
I'm sure the film will be good though and I'm a big advocate of enforced sleep periods in these events so it's not a war of who can sleep least/who's lucky enough to survive.
TD website hasn't been updated in nearly 10 years! Don't think it's pretending to be up to date or relevant to anything in particular. I guess it's more of a historical curiosity now.
As long as people are open and honest about what interactions they had and were expecting with their crew, and as long as they didn’t break the basic rules of receiving any physical support we can all judge for ourselves whether we think it should count.
Agreed. Basic rules and good style count. Totally solo on something that long is hard but I think people overestimate what having a crew following or even contact with them means, or at least in the case of riders like Lael Wilcox who's got nothing to prove in terms of solo racing resilience. Expect Lachlan Morton is made of the same stuff.
An incredible ride, particularly with his approach to rest.
Just seen a post from Tailfin saying he was "closely following the TD route" which I thought was an odd phrase.
Amazing achievement, amazing athlete, great that he's being sensible with his rest policy.
Just seen a post from Tailfin saying he was “closely following the TD route” which I thought was an odd phrase.
Maybe referring to the fact that he had to take a couple of detours to avoid fires etc. (as mentioned in the video posted above).
Still an epic achievement whichever way you look at it. I really enjoy the EF alt-tour type stuff as holistic approach to riding / racing bikes.
I really enjoy the EF alt-tour type stuff as holistic approach to riding / racing bikes.
Definitely, and Lachlan is the ideal front man for it
It's all a game. Like life. It's up to the individual to decide what game he wants to play. The essay 'The Games climbers Play' reminds me how to think about these things.
If anyone isn't sure what Lachlan Morton is capable off, just go watch his Alt Tour from a few years ago. IIRC supported purely by whatever boulangeries he found en route. Man is an absolute monster, I'm sure he could've smashed the TD record "properly" if he'd wanted to
Alt Tour from a few years ago. IIRC supported purely by whatever boulangeries he found en route
Did they also do the filming for the YouTube video?
Q&A posted on the EF pro cycling website:
https://efprocycling.com/culture/q-a-lachlan-s-tour-divide/
EF have released a film of Lachlan's Tour Divide ride, what an incredible guy he is. Not to spoil it for anyone but the issue he faced with hundreds of KM to go would have stopped most, if not all, mere mortals in their tracks. How he finished, and in that time, heaven only knows.
He wasn't much faster than the official race record, even with his camera team making it an FKT rather than a record, but those last few hundred kilometres make it clear why!
Wonder if anyone will try his "proper rest" strategy in the next race?
That was a great watch. His sheer pace was frightening. And it's not like he had easy conditions, or was mechanical free.
Wonder if anyone will try his “proper rest” strategy in the next race?
I guess you'd have to be as fast as him during the riding hours, which is no mean feat.
A great watch. Cheers.
The film makes the "record" status very clear.
Without a film crew he'd likely not raise as much for the chosen charity and we'd miss the insight into what riding such an event is like, much as Ride The Divide delivers.
I love the tangent he's taken with his career.
I love the tangent he’s taken with his career.
Definitely - i know its done for clicks, publicity, charity etc, but the various videos have introduced me to a variety of events i never knew existed.
Wonder how it would if he did one of Matts Cafe Rides for Sigma?
Watched the vid and enjoyed it, but he took more risks in that storm than (IMO) a truly unsupported rider would have done (he was close to pushing his SOS button… )
His final few hundred kms make a good case for cables.
Good job on the fundraising though.
Regarding the mechanical failure he had, in theory, would it have been possible to get new parts delivered to a Post Office or an Amazon drop off ahead of him?
Or is that against "the rules"?
As I understand it, riders can get help from bike shops and other places which are ordinarily available to the public so they don't need to be 100% self-sufficient.
https://tourdivide.org/the_rules
8a. Once a race clock begins, a rider may be assisted by a third party in receiving emergency repair/replacement items only. Food resupply is not considered an emergency. Emergency items must be shipped using a commercial shipper such as USPS, UPS, Fed-Ex, DHL, etc. Items may not be delivered privately by family, friends or even anonymous persons. Items may only be shipped to a commercial address (P.O., motel, bike shop, restaurant etc.), provided that address is equally available to all racers. Use of a private address (residence) along the route is forbidden. Use of the Race Updates blog to 'broadcast' for help (ie. conjure 'trail magic') is also forbidden. Item 5 FAQs
If I've read that correct he could have gone to a bike shop, if there was a suitable one in range?
So he could have ordered the parts off Jenson or Amazon (for instance) and had them shipped to a PO box/motel/bike shop somewhere along his route, or used a bike shop en route assuming they had parts in stock...
I think I would have done that rather than persevering with the almighty bodge he used! Fair plat to him and makes the time even more impressive.