Side Roads: Lachlan Rides the Pony Express, Miguel at Gravel Worlds, Cheap E-Pumps, and More

Side Roads collects gravel-related discoveries that caught my attention and deserve a little of yours. Get it and other Gravelogue stories delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the newsletter.

• Lachlan Morton has begun what will be his final adventure ride for EF Pro Cycling — retracing the route of the fabled Pony Express in an attempt to beat the horseback relay’s fastest known time for carrying mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California in the mid-1800s. The record for the 1,966-mile route is seven days and 17 hours. EF is posting updates along the way and you can track Lachlan’s real-time progress here. 5280 was the original sponsor of what’s now EF Pro Cycling and I first met Lachlan at an early USA Pro Challenge when he looked more like a boy-band heartthrob than the ultra-endurance shaman he’s become today. It’s been an amazing run, Lachy. Best of luck with whatever comes next.
• David Arthur of Just Ride Bikes tested inexpensive e-pumps and comes to the same conclusion I did: The cheap models compare quite favorably to their pricier counterparts.
• Writer Ailsa Sheldon explores Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park by gravel bike following July’s devastating wildfire. She discovers a painful contradiction: much of the landscape remains beautiful and accessible, yet the fire has left economic and emotional scars on communities whose livelihoods depend on visitors. These are challenges that those of us in Colorado know only too well.
• And finally, having ridden with Miguel Ovalles at last year’s FoCo Fondo, I was thrilled to see his recent fourth-place finish at Gravel Worlds. As if racing 300 miles across Nebraska wasn’t tough enough, Miguel added significantly to the weekend’s degree of difficulty by bringing his wife and very young kids along in a tricked-out camper van. His charming video report combines first-rate race footage with searching for Pokémon cards in Walmarts along the way. Check it out here.