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the dot. lachlan morton. rapha editions/bluetrain publishing softback.132pp illus. £20

my saturday bike ride took me to upper killeyan on the oa, from which point it's an interesting trek across the moor to the american monument. this tall pencil-like construction was erected by the american military in commemoration of those who died in two sinkings during the first world war; the otranto and tuscania. the oa is a large peninsula at the southern end of islay, featuring vertiginous cliffs and some grovelling ascents on the way to the monument car/bike park. it's also one of two rspb reserves on the island, the other at loch gruinart on the west coast.

following my return and the upload of saturday's post, my e-mail inbox featured a missive from a resident of the neighbouring isle of jura, enquiring after details of next sunday's ride of the falling rain. she informed me that she planned to raise funds for the british heart foundation in memory of gerry fleming, a lovely fellow who ran a bike hire business on jura and who died suddenly quite recently. gerry was one of the nicest guys you could meet.

cycling, along with other sporting endeavours, is often seen as the ideal way to raise funds for various charities, predominantly on the basis that chosen events are frequently seen as a challenge. one hundred miles around a hebridean island surely qualifies as just such a challenge for regular mortals such as you and i. for the more intrepid professional, such a distance would scarcely qualify as a training ride, particularly for the inimitable ef/easypost rider, lachlan morton. when he opted to raise funds, in this case, for world bicycle relief, the parcours was a tad greater than 162km. in fact, it was 5,510 kilometres, the route of the 2021 tour de france, including all transfers.

as if that were scarcely sufficient, the route also presented 65,500 metres of climbing, and required morton to take care of his own nutritional needs, accommodation and mechanical duties, such as punctures and difficulties with pedals and a knee.

"...but here I was, day one, pushing into the night, ignoring the increasing pain in my knee."

though cyclefit's phil cavell would doubtless point out that knee pain on day one was likely the result of an incorrect bike-fit/cleat position, that particular grain of knowledge would only be of use to those with an honours degree in hindsight. ever resourceful, lachie morton opted to ride in open-toed sandals on a pair of cheap, bog standard pedals culled from a cheap, bog standard, supermarket bike.

having first ridden with shoes "...on top, triathlon style... I realised that the pain was less severe that my foot was self-selecting its position. [...] it became apparent that this store didn't sell pedals, it sold bikes. About 50 euros later, I pedalled back to the campsite with two bikes." though this fix played havoc with his feet, it pretty much cured his knee pain.

the book's title originates from the slowly moving dot on a map of france that allowed followers of morton's extraordinary exploits to see his progress. it also allowed those living nearby to figure out where he was, and perhaps join his happy throng of one for a few kilometres. the ride also brought the realisation that his judgment of regions of france may have been based more on his racing experience than the reality of riding without the need for speed. with the tour having begun its perambulations in brittany, lachlan had to follow suit, leading him to admit, "Personally, I've always hated racing in this part of the world. [...] I mistook this dislike for racing as a dislike for the place. This was a mistake."

aside from the encouraging possibility that morton would reach paris ahead of the peloton, the guiding light behind his extraordinary adventure, was to raise as much money as possible for world bicycle relief, a purpose never far from his mind, en-route. and while many of us will moan incessantly that it's still a few dozen kilometres to the coffee stop, that is several levels of discomfort removed from having ridden an entire stage of le tour unassisted, only to discover that his chosen campsite was nowhere near any food supply. this elementary mistake almost derailed the entire assault. "I fell asleep dreaming of warm baguettes."

naturally enough, many individuals and media organisations wanted a piece of the action, but all requests originating from education first headquarters, were filtered through the rapha van following his progress, filming from a distance but ensuring that they never interfered in his solo efforts. "All requests from the team went to (Rapha film producer, Sam Craven). He had to be the bad guy..."

in truth, the dot is a physically small book that easily fits into a jersey rear pocket, but in terms of what it says, it is enormous. lachlan morton effectively returned to the days in which the tour de france began, when riders covered the distances unsupported, often seen with tubular tyres wrapped about their torso. his views and insights along the way are, as the americans would say, awesome, in the true sense of that word. and though it may sound like an overused cliché, this little book is inspiring way beyond its compact and bijou format.

lachlan's story is exceptionally well written, well illustrated and is truly compulsive (i read it in a single sitting). additionally, the book's production by bluetrain publishing on behalf of rapha editions, is subtly impressive. morton reached paris well ahead of the race 'proper', in the process, raising over £550,000 for world bicycle relief. never again will i complain that i'm tired on the sunday ride, or even the 'ride of the falling rain'.

"It was an opportunity I'm so grateful for. I'm even more grateful that I believe I made the most of it."

brilliantly conceived; beautifully realised.

sunday 31 july 2022