Australian cyclist Lachlan Morton made history by riding 648 kilometres from Auckland to Wellington in just 18-and-a-half hours.
He began his journey at 4:09 a.m. in Auckland and reached New Zealand’s capital at 10:36 p.m., breaking a record set in 1983. Morton, known for his ultra-endurance cycling, completed the ride to honour the original record-holder, Brian Fleck.
Fleck, a New Zealander who trained while working as a post office employee, set the record over 20 hours on a steel bike. Inspired by his story, Morton decided to take on the challenge while trying to replicate similar conditions. Though he used modern equipment, he avoided high-tech strategies and focused on the raw effort of cycling the distance.
The ride was physically demanding. Morton rode for nearly 19 hours, stopping only once for less than a minute. As he neared Wellington, strong headwinds made the final 200 kilometres even tougher. Still, he pushed through and finished 90 minutes faster than Fleck’s time.
This achievement came just months after Morton completed a 14,200-kilometre ride around Australia. Now, he is set to compete in a bike packing race in Colombia and has a full season of international races ahead.
