Lachlan Morton was in Spain, racing the Gran Camiño, when he heard the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. He was sitting with his teammate Mark Padun at the breakfast table. Mark is from Ukraine. His friends and family were now living in a war zone.

“That made it hit closer to home, having a teammate who is directly impacted by it,” Lachlan says. “I found it hard to focus on trying to get ready for a race when something so significant was happening in the world. I’m a pretty optimistic person generally, but in the past couple of weeks, I’ve just felt that there has been very little to be excited about. It’s hard to get your head around. It’s surreal in a way. You watch the news, and the news is so heavy that you almost just disengage from it, because it is too much.”

To remind himself just how close the war in Ukraine is, Lachlan kept opening Google Maps.

“I kept thinking, wow, I could actually do that in one ride,” he says. “So that was my idea. I’m not an overly political person. I’m not an expert in any of this. I’m just trying to do the one thing I know how to do and engage the bike-riding community to help. My idea is to highlight the fact that war is not a far-off problem. Conflicts are a bike ride away, all over the world. That’s the intention behind it, and to try and raise as much money as we can to help out people who have been displaced.”

On Saturday, Lachlan will set out from Munich and ride 1,063 kilometers in one push, heading northeast through Czechia and into Poland on his way to his destination, the Korczowa - Krakovets border crossing. Lachlan’s goal is to raise $50,000 for Ukrainian refugees.

“It feels like it is some far-off, distant terrible thing that is going on, that is almost a world away. But the reality is that it is not. So, I hope that covering that distance on a bike, and interacting with people on the way, will help to cement the reality of it a bit more.”

Mark Padun still has close family and friends in Ukraine, and the last few weeks have left him with a feeling of helplessness.

“Honestly, I don’t know what people should do. I don’t know what I personally can do,” he says. “It is difficult to fully concentrate because you are aware that a war is still happening in your country. What the people of Ukraine need is for the war to be stopped. But what Lachlan is doing is good. The more people who are speaking about this, the better. It is great that he is raising money for Ukrainian refugees, too.”

GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund is raising money to help Ukrainians who have had to flee the Russian invasion. The fund works with local partners to provide Ukrainian refugees with the aid they need most right now. Donations will help to provide Ukrainians with shelter, food, clean water, as well as health and psychological support and access to education and economic assistance. To further Lachlan’s efforts, EF Education First, Cannondale, and Rapha have combined to donate $100,000 to the relief fund.

Lachlan hopes that you will contribute to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund’s efforts. Everything counts.

You can learn more about GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund and donate here.