by In 1899, a cyclist left Perth with the aim of circumnavigating mainland Australia. It took him 245 days. Over the next century, this record was slowly lowered. On Saturday, Australian professional cyclist Lachlan Morton broke a new record: He completed the 14,200 kilometer journey around the continent in just 30 days, nine hours and 59 minutes
Related: “It takes a lot of pedaling, mate”: cyclist Lachlan Morton achieves record speed on the 14,200km journey through Australia
It’s a remarkable achievement. The previous best time, set by Queenslander David Alley in 2011, was almost 38 days. But by averaging more than 450km a day, Morton completed a lap of the country in just a month – and raised $130,000, more than $130,000 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Morton finished in his hometown of Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of New South Wales on Saturday afternoon. “I’m pretty smoked up, mate,” he told Guardian Australia a few hours later. “Of course it’s nice to do it. I definitely feel it.”
Every day for the past month, Morton has risen late in the evening to begin another day in the saddle on his journey across the country. The EF Education EasyPost driver drove all night and much of the day before sleeping for six or seven hours. Rinse and repeat.
But when Morton woke up from his nap in a dazed panic on Saturday, he had no miles left to go. “I woke up in a sweat and thought I was late [for another day of cycling]” he said. “I think it will be a bit of an adjustment. Once that happens, it will be nice to catch up on some rest.”
The rules governing the record do not specify an official route – cyclists simply have to cover at least 14,200 km (Morton ended up riding 10 km more than required) and cycle through eight locations: Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Broome, Perth, Esperance, Adelaide and Melbourne . Morton left Port Macquarie in early September and rode counter-clockwise across the country. He started and finished training on the streets he trained on as a child – on Saturday he passed his parents’ house. “It brought back a lot of memories,” he said.
For Morton, who has undertaken a number of similar epic journeys and competed in professional World Tour races such as the Vuelta a España and the Giro d’Italia, this would be the biggest challenge of his career.
“I would say over the last 10 days I’ve gone physically and mentally to places I’ve never been before – and spent quite a long time there,” he said. “I definitely made the pain cavity a little bigger. I’ve never been more relieved to finish something than I am today.”
Aside from the immense physical and mental challenge, the trip went relatively smoothly – only three punctures, a small mechanical problem on the final day and a collision with a kangaroo. However, he got into conflict with other road users a few times – eventually veering off course on the way to Adelaide and then through Victoria to Sydney.
“I think there were a few moments where I doubted the security of my job,” Morton recalled. “I guess it’s a test that takes place on public roads and it’s probably one of the more dangerous things I’ve ever done.” (In recent years, two people have died in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race from Perth to Sydney .)
“It felt like a low point at the time when I gave up part of my original route to get further away from the highways,” he added. “But that actually ended up being a blessing and led to some incredible, different days on the bike.”
Morton has a long break ahead of him – but not before he takes part in a race in just over a week. “I’ll try not to think about it for at least one night,” he laughed. But then the cyclist has time to think and consider what might come next. “I’m going to take some time, reconsider and start thinking about another project that excites me,” he said.
Morton’s ride raised significant funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which provides books for First Nations children living in remote communities. “The opportunity to have an impact on some of the places we have traveled means a lot to me,” he said.
When Morton was asked to name a highlight of his month-long trip around Australia, he chose an unexpected choice. Much of his journey through Western Australia and into South Australia, including crossing the Nullarbor, was undertaken with the wind blowing directly on him. But in adversity, Morton found strength.
“As hard as it was, the big, long days with headwinds were probably what I was most afraid of and intimidated by,” he said. “To be able to ride straight into the headwind for 16, 17 hours and know that nothing is going to change, you just have to keep going in and try to cover as much distance as possible. For me personally, it was a highlight to be able to do that.”
Around Australia in 30 days – despite headwinds.
