Lachlan Morton’s Alt Tour

Has this been done?
I realise its not mountain biking, but its bike packing right?
Lachlan Morton, Pro team rider but also general super endurance weapon, rides the TdF route, including all the transfers between the stages (the last of which is Bordeaux to Paris, which the teams will fly) unsupported, and aims to beat the Peloton to paris.

C’est impossible non?

Impossible or not, it’s definitely an impressive effort!

There’s more about the tech he’s using here:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/lachlan-mortons-tour-de-france-alt-tour-how-the-tracking-device-site-works.html

Were can I follow what he is doing?

https://www2.followmychallenge.com/live/thealttour/

Cool link, Mogrim.

Follow Lachlan here: https://www2.followmychallenge.com/live/thealttour/

didn’t Rich and mini Pips do something similar, on a tandem?

https://alpkit.com/blogs/deeds/pips-tour-de-france

There’s more about the tech he’s using here:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/lachlan-mortons-tour-de-france-alt-tour-how-the-tracking-device-site-works.html

Thanks that was a fascinating read.

If you are following Lachlan, chip in a tenner to the excellent cause he is riding for.

He’s got some good earlier adventures on YouTube as well

I rode with him today for a bit. What an absolute machine and just a lovely bloke.

I rode with him today for a bit. What an absolute machine and just a lovely bloke.

tell us more……

ginger beard and tiger socks, god?

If you are following Lachlan, chip in a tenner to the excellent cause he is riding for.

Where / how?

Where / how?

https://alttour.ef.com/

Nedrapier: yes, that’s me. The very pale-looking one 😉

I live in Bourges on the TdF route and was stuck in a meeting as he came through town. I left the meeting as quickly as I could, he was about 2km ahead of me and I chased him down over the next 30km. Turned myself inside out to catch him! I’ve ridden LEJOG off road and done an Everesting, so we had some stuff to chat about. Really nice bloke and he’d done something like 360km at that point in the day. Wearing flipflops! He said that he was enjoying the ride. We had a chat in a small village, I watched his bike whilst he popped into a shop and he re-emerged with a mountain of food, including a squeezy jar of honey tucked into a mesh pocket on his bib shorts. Brilliant.

Really nice bloke and he’d done something like 360km at that point in the day. Wearing flipflops!

I was wondering about that. Has he had a pedal issue or foot issues?

He had a knee issue so is wearing flip flops until it settles down.

This thread is so cool!

This is an epic ride, flip-flops!

Never underestimate someone riding in flip-flops – I did once and it hurt! Charity sportive thing, I caned it for 60 miles chasing a guy on a brompton in flip flops, absolutely turned myself inside out. This was back when I was racing too. Turns out he’d just rowed/pedaloed across the atlantic and had some residual fitness.

Good luck Lachlan!

I think EF are the coolest team , they have done some cracking videos of alternative events in the past. Lachlans GBduro and the race across spain where he was hallucinating as he hadn’t slept were epic.
A grand tour for him must be really easy compared to what he does in these videos.

Lachlan’s “Riding Fixed, Up Mountains, with Pros” video/interview is good, too.

And the latest of that video series with Leo Rogers is definitely worth watching. One-legged fixed gear madness.

Was fortunate to ride with him from Dunsop Bridge over Salter Fell pre-pandemic. Classic Lachy terrain.

WYSIWYG! Very affable. Was able to chat about the meltdown on GBDURO and future adventures.

Very impressive to watch riding gravel uphill on a road bike with 33mm tyres. I was on a XC MTB with 2.2″ tyres 🙂

Hope his feet hold out!!

podcast with Lachlan from yesterday (?). should be on itunes too

ooh look, it embeds 🤣

Nice one!

Blokes running 34-32 as his smallest gear, and talked like it was ridiculously small 😳

He’s over the mountains and on his way back to Paris.

I reckon he could have a couple of days by the pool on his way back and still beat them back…

Less than 500km to Paris.

Oh and apart from the tracker website you can se his daily stages on Strava.

Less than 500km to Paris.

In most contexts this seems like a long way, but it’s just a couple of days riding for Lachlan.

just checked in on his dot this morning.

He’ll be watching the peloton hit the Champs Elysee at home in his pants with his feet up at this rate.

There’s more about the tech he’s using here:

Good read!

160km to Paris and he’s still riding at 10pm local time…

Does anyone know how far he’s ridden today? Must be a pretty large number.

Says on ef that he’s going to ride through tonight with the aim to be done tomorrow. Done the whole thing, not just the transition.

That is nuts

That is nuts

When the end is in sight, you just want to get it done 🙂

Finished this morning

Could have taken the rest days and still been 3 days ahead!

I hope this gets the coverage and kudos it deserves. I guess the Rapha film that will be out soon will be brilliant viewing again.

In most contexts this seems like a long way, but it’s just a couple of days riding for Lachlan.

Looks like I called that wrong.

I guess the Rapha film that will be out soon will be brilliant viewing again.

Can’t wait for it to come out, their previous films have been great

I love that riders like Lachlan and Tom Pidcock, as well as MVdP and WVA are challenging the ‘norm’ of road cycling by doing what they love rather than just funnelling straight into the World Tour scene.