Lachlan Bike Packing the Tour De France

[Verena]

2021-07-07_11-08-57 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

[Richard G]

Ha, now he's definitely not self supported.

He really is smashing it out though. Really amazed by how far ahead he is right now.

[sean_iow]

His feet look sore, must be bad when you have to cut away bits of your sandals! Has he got carbon fibre insoles?

I'm surprised he's had such bad shoe/feet issues. I know he's riding long days but as a pro cyclist he probably does 30 to 40 hrs+ a week on the bike and has done for years so you'd expect him to have his shoe fit dialed in, perhaps they are supplied by a sponsor so doesn't get to choose his favorite brand/style?

[Richard G]

I think it was initially a knee issue, which became a foot issue as he was wearing sandals, then flipflops (so he could use flats to work around the knee problem).

[sean_iow]

I think it was initially a knee issue, which became a foot issue as he was wearing sandals, then flipflops (so he could use flats to work around the knee problem).

Ahh, that makes more sense. He's also gotten behind with shaving his legs looking at the stubble

[Richard G]

What a beast...

A 350-kilometers ride which includes over 5000-meters of elevation gain would be unthinkable for most bike riders. Even most professional riders would probably say that Milano-Sanremo, a bike race that takes place in the spring and is usually the longest bike race of the year, is their longest ever bike ride and even that ride “only” boasts 4,000-meters of elevation gain.

However, today, after two weeks of riding 300-kilometer days, after 4,000-kilometers of riding and 50,000m of climbing, Lachlan did just that. He rode 350-kilometers and climbed over 5,000-meters. He had to dig deep to get there. Maybe he was reinvigorated by yesterday’s reunion with family and friends. Maybe it was the thought of soon making the final push to Paris that is kept the pedals turning. Maybe it was a bit of both. Either way, one thing is for sure, Lachlan’s ride is nothing short of inspiring.

[Verena]

Have you seen the idea of people all over the world riding the last stage of 108.4 km with him (in spirit) on Sunday 18th July, and raising even more money for world bicycle relief?

Ideally in sandals of course

Sounds like an excellent idea to me....

[thenorthwind]

Have you seen the idea of people all over the world riding the last stage of 108.4 km with him (in spirit) on Sunday 18th July, and raising even more money for world bicycle relief?

Ideally in sandals of course

Sounds like an excellent idea to me....

Me too. I hadn't, where did you read about that?

[trogladytes]

Have you seen the idea of people all over the world riding the last stage of 108.4 km with him (in spirit) on Sunday 18th July, and raising even more money for world bicycle relief?

Ideally in sandals of course

Sounds like an excellent idea to me....

That is a great idea

[trogladytes]

...and for today

"The Col du Tourmalet has been feared since the very first time it was used in the 1910 Tour...

On the day of the infamous stage, the riders faced a 326-km slog over the Col de Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, and the Col d’Aubisque. On dirt roads, riding single-speed bikes, they would have to suffer through more than 6,000-meters of climbing....
Today, 111 years later, Lachlan is taking on the climb by himself and will pay homage to Octave Lapize’s memorial at the top of the climb."

but with electronic gears and tarmac

[Shewie]

Good to see him get a bit of coverage on mainstream tv on Thursday

[Richard G]

All the big hills are done. What an effort!

[GregMay]

Quite a chunk of gain time as well. I've been wondering if he'll take a few longer nights to prep for the last chunk.

[Richard G]

Wow, he has already made it into the massive transfer stage that's going to take him to Paris. The rate he's going he'll be able to have a nice day off and some beers before the race catches him.

[voodoo_simon]

Wow, he has already made it into the massive transfer stage that's going to take him to Paris. The rate he's going he'll be able to have a nice day off and some beers before the race catches him.

I thought that too, plenty of time for him to reach Paris. Also noted that he does like a beer too, seen a few restaurant meals with a beer in the pictures

[voodoo_simon]

For those without other forms of social media

[Verena]

Have you seen the idea of people all over the world riding the last stage of 108.4 km with him (in spirit) on Sunday 18th July, and raising even more money for world bicycle relief?

Ideally in sandals of course

Sounds like an excellent idea to me....

Me too. I hadn't, where did you read about that?

https://www.Crikey, how much.cc/gb/en/stories/the-alt-tour

We've got visitors next weekend so I doubt I'll manage that distance even if they leave not long after lunch. But I'll definitely do a ride in sandals/flip flops and make a donation.

[Richard G]

If you’ve ever smelt someone doing an ultra-race, anyone who’s pushing, they usually stink pretty bad. Well, I do anyway, I don’t want to speak for everyone. Normally I smell really horrible. It’s like a very specific smell. Somewhere between a dead animal and feet. A wet warm smell. There’ll be a day when you catch a little bit of tailwind and you’re like ‘what is that smell?’ ‘Oh, it’s me.’“

Also...

At the time of writing, Morton is sleeping under the stars at a riverside campsite in central France. When he wakes, he will tackle the final leg to Paris, without sleep, riding 579 km in an anticipated 24 hours.

All going well, he’ll arrive on the Champs-Élysées on Tuesday morning CEST – five days ahead of the Tour de France peloton, who won’t even have started stage 16 yet.

Batsh*t.

[thenorthwind]

Not far to go now. And with the peloton taking it easy in Andorra for the day

What surprises me (y'know, apart from how that's even possible), is how only just over half of his total time he's been moving. I guess with something this long, you can't sustain the lack of sleep and general stoppages in the same way the top racers do over shorter routes.

[Richard G]

He's in Paris now, and supposedly finishing it off before he sleeps. Hopefully no incidents with traffic, and honestly, probably safer to do Arc de Triomphe roundabout in the middle of the night!

[Taylor]

Finished

[jobro]

I hope it gets the coverage and applause this deserves. The inevitable Crikey, how much film should be interesting.
I wonder how he would do in the Transcontinental against Fiona Kolbinger

[thenorthwind]

Pretty astonishing, even in a world where astonishing things seem to happen on a weekly basis

[Lazarus]

chapeau

[Charliecres]

Chapeau indeed. He’s quite good at this stuff, it seems