Lachlan Morton is Attempting the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

Photos by Sean Greene/EF Pro Cycling

Tomorrow morning, pro cyclist Lachlan Morton is heading out to take on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) aboard his Cannondale Scalpel HT. Lachlan will be riding to raise funds for Adventure For All, a national non-profit organization that empowers individuals with exceptionalities (Down Syndrome, Autism, and other intellectual and developmental exceptionalities) through outdoor adventures.

Rather than setting out with the goal of breaking the late Mike Hall’s longstanding 2016 record of 13 days, 22 hours, and 51 minutes, Lachlan is imposing a rule of resting for 12 hours in every 48-hour stretch, a ratio that he hopes will allow him to push through certain sections to reach hotels and campsites for more restorative sleep. This self-imposed priority on rest comes from a desire to find a more sustainable way to push his mental and physical limits without going past the point of exhaustion—something he’s experienced first hand on prior undertakings.

On the subject of sleep, Lachlan said: “I want to do this on a pretty good amount of sleep every night for a few reasons. The main one: I want to enjoy the riding, and it becomes increasingly difficult to enjoy what you are doing when you are running on minimal sleep, for me anyways, because you are not as present and aware. I don’t want to enter that space. Also just to be safe, I think that your decision-making and general awareness are pretty diminished if you are running on minimal sleep. I have never ridden this route before. It is a big undertaking, and to try and do all of that while pushing on minimal sleep, I think would be kind of reckless for me. But I still enjoy pushing big distances and mileage, so I am going to be — while I am riding — trying to cover as much distance as I can and trying to do it in a time that is as fast as I can while still sleeping.”

Despite his focus on rest, Lachlan said he hopes to complete the route in “around two weeks,” so there’s still a chance we’ll see new fastest time. However, there will be a media crew documenting Lachlan’s ride, which means his finish time would not be in contention for the official course record according to the Tour Divide “visitation” rule, which has been the subject of intense online debate and scrutiny in recent years.

Anticipating the conversation about having a media crew on route, Lachlan said: “I think everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have done long rides with a camera crew and without a camera crew, and I know how it impacts me personally. So I don’t really feel like there is an advantage in having the crew around, but to me it comes down to this idea of validating an official record. What counts and what doesn’t? And ultimately I don’t really care. In terms of whether the Colorado Trail record belongs to me, I still know how I approached it, the way I have done it and had the experience that I have had and that is what I am after. It’s not about whether a record will get broken. It’s about seeing how fast I can do it in a way that is mentally and physically sustainable, and people can decide. I am not so fussed.”

You can follow Lachlan over at EFProCycling.com.

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