Culture

One ride away: bikes of their own

"It’s independence. I know it’s mine, and I can take care of it.”

January 13, 2023

Mark Padun and Lachlan Morton wondered what more they could do for the young Ukrainian bike racers that Lachlan had met in Poland at the end of One Ride Away.

They kept coming back to the thing that had been most powerful in their own young lives: a bike of their own.

Lachlan had ridden over 1000 kilometres from Munich to the Ukrainian border and been humbled by the support he had encountered on his way, as people came out to ride with him and cheer him on and donated to his effort. Together, they have raised $300,000 and counting for Ukrainian refugees (You can still donate). But Lachlan could not stop thinking about the stories he had heard from those kids. They had escaped to Poland with their cycling coach and were being housed by cycling clubs with the help of the Polish cycling federation, but were still separated from their families and nearly everything they owned, bikes included.

Mark knows all too well what that is like. He had to flee his hometown of Donetsk in 2014 to escape a Russian attack. The same cycling coach who brought the kids Lachlan met to safety took him in. He could still ride his bike. During those difficult years, cycling gave Mark purpose and an escape.

“There were not many ways to escape all the stuff that happened,” he says. “I would just jump on the bike, go on a ride, do my training. With a bike, this routine, it would take me away from everything that was happening. This still helps me quite a lot.”

“Having a bike of your own is incredibly powerful,” Lachlan adds. “You can choose what you want to do with it, whether that's racing, whether that's commuting, whatever it is you're going to do on your bike. To have that for yourself is, for me, the most simple and most powerful thing that you can have.”

Lachlan and Mark spoke to Cannondale. CAAD 13s for each of the kids were soon on their way.

This fall, Mark and Lachlan travelled to Warsaw to help distribute them to the young Ukrainian bike racers that Lachlan had met in Poland.

They were taken aback by what the bikes meant to the kids.

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Featured Event

One ride away
Distance
1,063-KM
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Lachlan Morton

Lachlan Morton’s cycling career has been anything but traditional. Though he got his start in road cycling, the thirty-one-year-old is best known for the alternative calendar and his long-distance rides. In recent years, he has taken his love of cycling and used it to benefit others.

In early 2022, he rode in a single push from Munich to Korczowa-Krakovets on the Polish-Ukrainian border, covering 1,064 kilometers in 42 hours and raising over $250,000 for Ukrainian refugees. The previous year, Lachlan rode the Alt Tour which saw him ride every stage of the Tour de France, plus transfers, unsupported. He tallied 5,500 kilometers, beat the Tour de France peloton to Paris by five days and, most significantly, raised over $700,000 for World Bicycle Relief.

Over the years, the Australian has joined forces with his brother Gus in the “Thereabouts” documentary series. Their films are dedicated to exploring new perspectives on the world — and their place in it — from their bikes.

Lachlan has ridden bikes for as long as he can remember. As a high school student, he regularly rose at 4:30 a.m. to train before going to class. While most teenagers would be put off by such an early start, Lachlan cherished the time on his own. He still does.

In 2022, he completed the 530-mile high-altitude Colorado Trail mountain-bike route solo in just three days, ten hours, and 15 minutes, and raised $12,000 for his late friend Sule Kangangi’s family. He set the fastest known time on Menorca’s Camí de Cavalls 360º solo.

Last year, Lachlan rode the Divide, a trail stretching from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico on the U.S.-Mexico border in 12 days, 12 hours, and 21 minutes. He approached this endurance effort differently than other ultra rides he's done. This time, Lachlan made himself stop for 12 hours out of every 48 hours, giving him about six hours of sleep a night, rather than push through and resting only from the occasional power nap. The Divide, EF Pro Cycling's first full-length film, documents the highs and lows (and the gas station snacks) that Lachlan experienced along the way.

This year, Lachlan will have more freedom than ever before. Who knows what adventures he is going to get up to…

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