Photo via Cyclingnews

'The scale of it blows me away' - Lachlan Morton eclipses 160-year-old Pony Express record by more than 19 hours in adventure across eight US states

Lachlan Morton rode from St. Joseph, Missouri on October 5, traversing eight western states and covering the 1,998‑mile Pony Express route in six days, 21 hours and 15 minutes. His finish in Sacramento, California at 11:19 p.m. PDT marked a new record, beating the 160‑year‑old horse‑relay time by 19 hours 45 minutes.

Morton used a mix of a Cannondale TopStone gravel bike, a SuperSix road bike and a Scalpel full‑suspension mountain bike, swapping mounts as needed. He averaged 17.3 kph on the first 500 km and maintained speeds comparable to the historic horse relays, while confronting cold, darkness and a tropical storm on the final 120 km through the Sierra Nevada.

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