Lachlan Morton completes 1,063 km ride to Ukraine border, raises $200,000
Lachlan Morton completes 1,063 km ride to Ukraine border, raises $200,000
Lachlan Morton completed his 1,063km ride from Munich to the Ukraine border, raising more than $200,000 for the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund along the way.
The Australian rode for 42 hours after setting off from Germany at 5 am on Saturday, March 19, passing through the Czech Republic before eventually arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border at Korczowa-Krakovets early Monday morning.
As he rode non-stop, Morton had to deal with the cold weather and a lack of sleep, thankfully people along the route provided him with hot meals and showers to keep him going and other cyclists joined him as he made his way east.
The 30-year-old started his ride with the fundraising target of $50,000 in mind but climbed off nearly two days later to find that the goal had been quadrupled with donations pouring in. The fundraising page is still currently open. Morton said the idea behind the ride was to highlight that conflict was so close it was only a bike ride away.
“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,” Morton said after the ride. “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.”
Morton was also fuelled by the fact he was sitting across the breakfast table from his Ukrainian team-mate Mark Padun when he learnt Russia had invaded Ukraine.
“I’m not an overly political person. I’m not an expert in any of this,” Morton continued. “I’m just trying to do the one thing I know how to do and engage the bike-riding community to help. 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.
“I want to try and raise as much money as we can to help out all of the people who have been displaced.”
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