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Australian professional cyclist Lachlan Morton completed the historic Pony Express route last week in 6 days, 21 hours and 15 minutes. His effort surpassed the 1861 mark set by riders relaying Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address to California by 19 hours and 45 minutes. The 1,966-mile journey served as Morton's farewell from EF Education-EasyPost, the only American squad competing in the UCI World Tour.

The Pony Express functioned as a mail service transporting letters between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California in ten days or fewer by horseback relays. Founded in 1860, St. Joseph marked the westernmost rail-accessible point, forcing travelers to continue overland by foot, horse or stagecoach beyond the Missouri River.

California's population growth after the 1848 gold rush fueled demand for swift coast-to-coast communication. The service never turned a profit. The Smithsonian records that the original $5.00 per half-ounce fee plus standard postage was viewed as expensive. After 18 months the Pony Express became obsolete and declared bankruptcy upon completion of the first transcontinental telegraph line in October 1861, having delivered just 35,000 letters.

Switching bikes across changing landscapes

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The Pony Express legend endures because of the dangerous conditions riders faced across the rugged American West. Young men and teenagers earned respect for their bravery and stamina. Morton explained: "The appeal for me is the history of it. It's wild to get into that mindset - you're a kid trying to make some money, and there's this opportunity to ride a horse with a mochila full of mail through the night for 75 miles flat out, across remote, gnarly terrain that no one else has been crossing. It's quite a courageous thing. It's hard to imagine, and that's why I want to go out there and try to get a better understanding of what that would have been like, and the difficulties they faced doing it over 150 years ago."

Morton followed a similar relay system to the original operation, which maintained stations roughly a dozen miles apart for fresh horses. Because the historic route is not fully paved, he switched between road, gravel and mountain bikes to match the terrain. EF Education-EasyPost supported him with a truck carrying replacement bikes.

The journey mattered more than the finish line

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The ride to Sacramento brought expected difficulties. Morton avoided mud in Nebraska, battled headwinds in Wyoming, stayed clear of freezing passes in the Rockies and pedaled through fine "moon dust" in Nevada. Worries that Hurricane Rachel might strengthen winds or flood his final Sierra Nevada crossing proved unnecessary as the weather stayed dry and he reached the Pony Express Terminal in Sacramento.

Morton valued the historical challenges and enjoyed conversations with locals proud of their communities. EF Education-EasyPost shared the rider's GPS location so fans could follow the attempt, and "dot-watchers" joined sections of the route, including a Dutch supporter studying at the University of Wyoming. The original Pony Express and this new record both demonstrate how community has helped bridge vast distances in the American experience for more than 160 years.