LOCKED & LOADED
ALL TOO OFTEN YOU HAVE TO WRITE A LONG AND detailed intro when penning an interview with a professional bike racer, although with Lachlan Morton there really is no need, as he’s so uniquely quirky and gifted that his actions and philosophy transcend any need for that.
Along with his older brother Gus, Lachlan started racing at a very young age, guided very much by the Port Macquarie (NSW) cycling community. His ability to ride fast was clear from the outset, and like many other Aussies he made his own way to the World Tour—but then dipped back out of it, deciding that the system was not right for him.
His love for racing soon returned, and he got a second crack at the whip, only this time it was on his own terms, which meant mixing up his racing with the growing number of extreme events out here, which no other top pro was doing, or was able to do.
The rest, as they say, is history in the making. In July he took on a mammoth self-supported challenge to ride the entire Tour de France route, plus the transfers, some 5,509km all in.
Here’s the story of his ride..
“…Even when it was really hurting and I was having a very bad day, I KNEW THAT IT WAS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE I WAS HAVING, and one I would reflect on for the rest of my life...”
ST: ON REFLECTION, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ALTTOUR RIDE?
LM: I’m pretty content with how it went. I think I was able to get out of what I was personally looking to get out of it, which was to push myself every day and to find some sort of limit of mine every day.
I never had a full meltdown, which was my goal. I sort of managed myself physically and emotionally and was able to do that.
Looking back on it, our goal was to sort of celebrate the original Tour and the origins of
