Decades later, Dr Lachlan Soper’s enjoyment of cycling hasn’t diminished one bit. On average, he rides three to five times a week and approximately 10k kilometres per year. He loves that, unlike walking or riding in a car, cycling trips can be taken at one’s own pace and, when participating in group rides, he has the opportunity to meet so many others and hear their stories. To date, his bike has taken him all over the country, including through the Victorian Alps, the New South Wales Snowy Mountains, and from Melbourne to Sydney twice. In addition to cycling for personal goals, Lachlan has also participated in a myriad of charity rides. 

Lachlan Soper also appreciates that cycling affords him another way to stay active and healthy for his family—it even provides another way to spend time with his children. His three children, aged six to ten, are an active bunch. They spend the majority of their days jumping on the trampoline, perfecting their flips, playing tennis, swimming, and generally doing anything they can as long as it’s outside. As a group, Lachlan and his children take regular rides through bike paths around Sydney Harbour, around it’s lakes and coastline. 

Family is, hands down, the most important part of Lachlan’s life. As a parent, he believes in being firm, fun, and fair. He stays firm when setting boundaries for the sake of his children’s safety but likes to infuse as much fun into their lives as much as possible. Most importantly, however, Lachlan Soper stresses the importance of a foundation of authenticity in parenting. Rather than present himself as perfect or always right, he makes sure to model that he is a fellow human being—one that will occasionally get things wrong. When that does occur, he models a quick apology and sincere forgiveness. As a devoted Christian, Lachlan Soper also fuses his faith into his parenting when applicable so that his children understand how to deal with life’s challenges in a Christ-like manner. 

Professionally, Lachlan Soper is a general practitioner and is currently working at Avenue Road Medical Practice. Soper also worked as a VMO in emergency medicine, general medicine, and paediatrics as the sole doctor in the hospital in rural communities. He graduated with his medical degree in 2000 and earned his FRACGP (Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners) in 2006. As a father three times over, he enjoys the full spectrum of patients that being a general practitioner offers. He works with newborns and their parents to patients in their golden years of life. For Dr Lachlan Soper, being referred to by a client as, “My family’s GP,” is a great honour and blessing.