Thirty-two-year-old professional cyclist Lachlan Morton holds the record for the fastest lap of the Australian mainland by bike. The previous record holder rode the entire 14,210km coastal route in 37 days. Last year, Morton completed the same circuit in only 30 days, riding an average of 450km each day for a month.
The Great Southern Country is a film about the process — and struggle — of setting that record.
Morton approaches the finish line after 30 days of cycling. Photo: Screenshot
While the biking effort was Morton’s alone, a small group of family and friends drove a little blue RV alongside him to provide support.
His wife, Rachel Peck, embraced her husband’s newest and most ambitious adventure with cautious enthusiasm. Tom Hopper served as Morton’s dedicated bike mechanic, and Athalee Brown as Morton’s masseuse.
Morton’s wife, Rachel Peck, was excited to be more involved with her husband’s cycling. Photo: Screenshot
Morton’s elder brother Angus, with videographer Scott Donald Mitchell, filmed it all. Angus had cycled professionally himself, but in the past decade, he has turned to the camera. Finally, Graham Seers, Morton’s coach since childhood, rounded out the team.
Morton had a team of family and friends who supported him. Left to right: mechanic Tom Hopper, coach Graham Seers, Morton, and his wife Rachel.
Ice baths
The timeline was incredibly ambitious, even if nothing went wrong. So, of course, things went wrong. Only days into the journey, Morton became ill with food poisoning. Undeterred, he continued cycling that day without eating, determined to maintain his daily goals.
The team gently attempted to convince him to slow down, but Morton kept to the schedule.
Luckily, Morton bounced back quickly. But as the days went by, even the best-conditioned body and the most determined mind began to falter. His legs became red and swollen, and increasingly, he spent his time off the bike in ice baths. When heat and strong headwinds made conditions untenable, the team struggled to convince Morton to stop.
Less than halfway through the journey, Morton already felt the strain. It is painful to watch him hobble, stiff and sore, from bike to tub. Photo: Screenshot
“You always want to push… to see what you’re capable of,” says Morton. “That’s the whole point of doing it.”
More immediate dangers also arose. The most notable was from traffic. In one harrowing moment, a truck drove Morton off the road. After several close calls, they altered the route to avoid major highways.
While he sometimes didn’t stop even to eat, Morton did once pause to help an injured bird off the road.
Morton often rode late into the night. Photo: Screenshot
Understanding the land
The journey wasn’t just a test of endurance. For Morton, born and raised in Australia, it was as much about the land he would be covering as it was the distance. The ride is about “understanding where I’m from.”
‘Aunty’ Sonda Nampijina Turner is an Aboriginal Walpiri artist interviewed in the film. Photo: Screenshot
This meant engaging with the indigenous people. The film includes several sections of narration in Indigenous Australian languages and highlights the people and cultures of each region.
