The K4

27^th/28^th October 2006

Jason Kelly

This is a long story with a fairy tale type ending so it might as well start with a fairy tale start …….

A long, long time ago, well December 2005 actually, while in Waihi for the 130km Individual Time Trial, some “kind” person put a big orange flyer on my car about the K1/K2/K4 event with a big circle around the K4 event. Yeah right I thought. Who wants to ride through the night and into the next day for a distance of 384km? You would have to be mad!! Accordingly, the flyer lay buried on my desk for several months.

After some ill health in March / April of this year and after a myriad of medical tests, all that was concluded was that I had an extra large, but perfectly normal, heart with a correspondingly low resting heart rate (less than 40 bpm – the heart specialist decided to dispense with the standard treadmill test as he thought we would both just get bored doing it) and the illness had probably just been viral in nature. With that behind me, I decided I had better aim to complete a long term one off goal of the Taupo Super Enduro this year. As such, the K4 event with its length and timing would make an ideal training ride. Out came the bright orange flyer and the start of a little research into the event.

The K4 event consisted of two laps of a 192km course. Each lap contained around 2,300m of vertical climbing which is approximately the equivalent of six Te Mata Peak climbs. The race started at sea level in the township of Coromandel. It then traveled 53km to Thames with two major climbs on the way - the first climb is after 6km (Manaia Hill, 181 metres) and the second climb is the Kereta after 14km which reaches a height of 228 metres. After the Kereta Hill, the road hugs the coastline for 30kms all the way to Thames. From there, a steady rise up a hill starts about 10km into the stage after riders have turned left onto the Kopu-Hikuai Road. This is a 14km climb which reaches the highest point on the course at the top - 425 metres above sea level. A series of small up hill and down hill sections is followed by a gradual drop through farmland and along the Tairua River which takes the riders into Tairua. Straight after Tairua is the next major hill climb, Pumpkin Hill, which rises to 240 metres. A winding descent is followed by gentle undulating and winding roads all the way to Whitianga. From there is the toughest part of the course and, as such, provides the name for the race. It is named after the sleepy community of Kuaotunu on the wild east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. In Maori “Kuao” means young animals while “Tunu” means to inspire with fear. This part starts with a cycle along the beach front and over a small hill to Simpson Beach. This is followed with a climb up the Kuaotunu Hill rising to 170m and back down again to sea level and the township of Kuaotunu. The ride continues on towards Coromandel with three shorter steep climbs before reaching the big one, the Whangapoua Hill – a hors category, 3.4km long hill with 480m of vertical climbing. From the top there is a steep downhill with a wicked hairpin bend at the bottom known as Devil’s Elbow (15km/h warning sign!) with the finish line on the straight just before reaching Coromandel Township. After having been around once, there is just one lap of 192km and the equivalent of another six Te Mata Peak climbs to go to complete the K4 …….

With the decision to enter made and the entry form posted off, several months of training followed. During this time I discovered that the trip meter on my speedo on my GT training bike resets after 10 hours and the altimeter resets after 3,000m of vertical climbing. I also obtained some useful endurance nutrition advice from Bridget Robertshaw while Rob Oliver, Dan Warren and Gavin Povey all graciously agreed to lend me their lights and batteries.

The big night came and we arrived at registration on the Friday evening in Coromandel where I had an inauspicious beginning – my race number was 911!! The first “emergency” was that I had no laminated name race plates that were given to all the other 23 registered K4 riders! When I returned later that evening at about 9.20pm with my support crew of my parents (Brian and Roxanne), my brother Richard and my nephew Daniel, we were greeted by “inspirational” music from one of the other riders’ vehicles – Knock Knock Knocking on Heavens Door. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign! However, I was given a “personalised” hand written name race plate so perhaps it was a good sign.

With the bike prepared, food and drinks loaded, green reflective vest on (which looks white like a ghost at night when lights are shone on it), I re-tested the lights. After a bit of a fiddle, all seemed to go o.k. so I turned them off to conserve battery power and lined up on the start line.

Some spectators had made a special trip out at night, in a balmy 14°C, to see the “nutters” start and after a few condolences from some of the spectators about the mental state of the riders, it was time for the race briefing. With this over, I turned my lights on, the start banner was lifted and we rolled across the start line. My front light immediately decided to stop working just as a rider attacked! Realising that stopping would cost me plenty of time, I continued to ride in the bunch while trying various options to make the light work again. It soon became apparent that it wouldn’t go but, with the other riders’ lights, the sliver of a moon and following cars, there was ample light for safety and visibility as long as I sat in the middle of the bunch.

Continuing on, we soon hit the first hill and a couple more riders disappeared up the road. I still couldn’t see my support crew so carried on in the bunch. The second hill was climbed and a possum decided to play with the front of the bunch on the descent. Luckily all survived to live another day. A few riders dropped off the pace up these hills before the remaining bunch starting cruising along the relatively flat sections of road.

Approaching the first street lights, I thought I could check my heart rate and speed. It was then that I realised I had forgotten to reset the speedo so it was not to be. It had also cooled down so my heart rate was not transmitting. A complete electronics failure!

After passing through Thames and turning onto the Kopu-Hikuai Road, the 14km climb began. One rider decided to go up the road for a comfort stop and other riders quickly started all diving into the bushes as well. This gave me the opportunity to drop back to my support crew and ask for a new light to be made available further up the hill. After having to sit up and wait for riders with lights, further up the hill my crew had stopped and I stopped to grab another light and battery. After a couple of minutes of fiddling in torch light against a pitch black background, all seemed o.k. and I had a front light! By this time, the bunch I had been with was up the road, still climbing the hill. This was at about the 65km mark and 12.33am!

The short rest and gradient of the hill suited me and I started off with avengeance after the bunch which had since split. The tail enders were soon caught, then the convoy of support vehicles, then more riders, then the front of the bunch. By then, I was in a good rhythm climbing the hill so just carried on off the front of the bunch. No one tried to come with me. My crew recorded the time as 12.42am.

At around 1am, I was still riding solo and was at about the 79km mark. Way in the distance in front of me, the tail lights of riders occasionally came into view. I guesstimated they had a gap of at least five minutes. At 1.38am I had completed the first 100km with the temperature having fallen to less than 8°C.

Carrying on at a modest tempo, I wondered if I would catch the riders in front of me or if those behind would catch me. The lights in front seemed to come closer on any rises but race away on the flats – the riders must be working together I thought. Soon after, riding down into one valley, the STI levers felt like ice and I was tempted to stop and get some winter gloves on. However, I wanted to catch the riders in front so pushed on.

Straight after Tairua, on the next major hill climb, Pumpkin Hill, I again settled into a good rhythm and started climbing. Coming around a corner, I was quite surprised to see three support vehicles and three cyclists only a few hundred metres in front of me! Carrying on, I quickly caught them and for a nano second wondered if I should sit and work with them. I decided “no” and rode straight past them on the outside as one rider exclaimed, “Who the hell was that guy??!!” Further on up the hill, I thought of events the previous morning when I had picked up Gavin’s (a.k.a. Lance Armstrong’s) light and battery from his workplace - the secretary had told me I must be Gavin’s brother. The answer to the exclamation must be that I was Lance’s brother! I didn’t see the colony of wild roosters and promised amazing views down on to The Sailors Grave from the top as I was too busy pedaling and it was pitch black.

Meanwhile, as it was 1.55am and 107km into the race, my support crew was hoping I would join the bunch so they could stop briefly. They were then stunned as I “ghosted” up the road and appeared to float straight through the leading riders like an apparition in the night. One rider apparently stood to chase me but flagged this as quickly as he started. My crew was then let past the other support vehicles and we all carried on into the darkness.

From there to the finish line was all solo riding out the front of the race. A further stop for another light change as the battery expired was my only other stop on the first lap. Climbing the hors category Whangapoua Hill in the dark was quite good – the rising road and top can’t be seen so I just settled into a rhythm and climbed up. By the top, I could still feel that it had taken more edge off my legs though!  I was later told I had a lead of around 8 minutes at the end of the first lap which I had completed in 6hrs 49m.

The dawn was a disappointment as the sun rose behind the hills into a grey, overcast morning. Luckily, all the rain showers passed in front of me but the first two downhills were on very wet roads with the front tyre pumping water off the road in bucket loads. The day cleared up nicely as it progressed and the roads soon dried.

Riding towards Thames saw the first major traffic as riders for the K2 started to drive towards Coromandel for their start. I’m not sure if the constant horn honking was a sign of encouragement or otherwise! Just out of Thames, my crew told me they thought I might have a shadow of chasing riders behind me. I told them there was not much I could do about it except keep riding at my own pace. So I carried on around the course with the knowledge of plenty of hill climbing to come.

After more kilometres and the temperature gradually climbing to 18°C, I reached the bottom of the Whangapoua Hill with less than 10km to go but with the first 3.4km steeply upwards. Climbing up, my crew decided to wait for me at the top so I told them I would be at least 20 minutes! After around 22 minutes I hit the summit with no riders in sight behind me and only a fast downhill to the finish line. I raced down the hill around 25km/h signposted corners with the last one signposted at 15km/h before exiting the hill with the finish line in sight. With only my crew chasing me, I crossed the finish line after 14hrs 21m 14s.

I turned around and rode back to have a bit of chat with the officials on the finish line. It turned out I had to bike further down the road and around the corner to the prize giving area to hand in the transponder. It was announced after about 20 minutes that the second K4 rider had crossed the finish line. I waited a while but no one else appeared so we headed back to the motel for a shower, lunch and a rest.

Returning later for prize giving, they announced the times with the second place rider actually 1hr 23m 11s in arrears. It sounded unbelievable to me! While all other event winners i.e. of the Half K (50km), K1 (100km) and K2 (192km) received a trophy and cycling jersey for their efforts, my prize was a women’s specific fit camelbak! Later, they called for “Justin”, the K4 winner, to come back for his winner’s jersey. However, when I got there, they said well actually, we haven’t got one for you but we’ll get you one. This arrived a few weeks later. So, endurance riding does not lead to insanity – just gender and name changes!!

The top ten results from the 2006 K4, 384km race were:

1^st Jason Kelly, Hastings, 14hrs 21m 14s 

2^nd Sean Wright, Auckland, 15hrs 44m 25s 
3^rd Alastair Borwick, Auckland, 15hrs 46m 42s 
4^th Justin Price, Hamilton, 15hrs 53m 53s 
5^th Lorien Hicksen, Whakatane, 16hrs 11m 39s
6^th “Crunchie” Donaldson, 16hrs 25m 27s 
7^th Colin (Wal) Anderson, Manawatu, 16hrs 25m 28s 
8^th John Woodward, Eltham, 16hrs 33m 03s 
9^th Mark Longstaff, Papakura, 16hrs 49m 25s 
10^th Peter Elbourn, Auckland, 17hrs 42m 58s

Later that evening while in the local supermarket buying food, my brother mentioned to the checkout operator that I had won the K4. The small town nature of Coromandel showed with literally the whole store stopping, staring and listening. Being world famous in Coromandel for 30 seconds was the reward for the ride!!

The following day on the way home, Colin (Wal) Anderson, one of the gurus of endurance riding in New Zealand, met up with us. He said he was quite surprised at the number of entries in the K4 as when he and “Crunchie” Donaldson had suggested to the organisers that the K4 be held as a K2 5^th anniversary special event, they thought about 7-10 riders would front up. The 24 registered starters lead him to wonder where they had all come from and if they knew what they were letting themselves in for. They do now and it is certainly no walk in the park or fairy tale!!