After 42 hours of riding, Lachlan Morton reached the Korczowa - Krakovets border crossing in eastern Poland. Along the way, he rode with people through the days and nights and raised more than $190,000 for Ukrainian refugees.
The ride wasn’t always easy. Cold weather, and lack of sleep made for a challenging effort, but he was pushed on by the abundance of kindness and generosity from the people out on the streets and at home. When Lachy got tired, friends on the road pushed him on. When he was cold and hungry, people along the way opened their doors, offered him a warm meal and a hot shower. He was encouraged every kilometer – on social media and on the side of the road.
On March 19 at 5 am, Lachlan set out from Munich, Germany and rode 1,063 kilometers through Czechia and into Poland on his way to his destination, the Korczowa - Krakovets border crossing. His goal was to raise $50,000 for Ukrainian GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. By the time he arrived at the Ukrainian border, he had raised $193,334 and counting.
Lachlan 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.
So Lachlan decided he would do the one thing he knew how to do.
“I’m just trying to do the one thing I know how to do and engage the bike-riding community to help,” said Lachlan. “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.”
A huge thank you to everyone that has supported the ride, donated and followed along.