K2

8 weeks to go - Win a Ploar CS500

Andy — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:18:46 +0000

Polar, one of our key sponsors for this years K2 has kindly donated one of their state of the art cycling heart rate monitors, the CS500 worth $600.

So we are going to put it into a draw for all those of you who have entered one of the K2 events by the end of September.

The new Polar CS500 is designed for serious riders with a passion for cycling and an aim to improve. With unique rocker switch operation, oversized display and new bike mount, the CS500 allows effortless operation event at high speeds. Stay ahead of the field at www.polarheart.co.nz

9 weeks to go - Groups and Accommodation

Andy — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:41:50 +0000

Only 9 weeks to go until this years K2 event on Saturday 30th October.

Entries are pouring in including many from overseas - at this stage over 5% of entries are from overseas including Australia, Canada, USA and the UK.

If you are planning to enter its best to do so as soon as possible so that you can ensure you get in the group that you would like to. These begin to fill up in the 4 weeks before the event.

Also we would also strongly recommend that you organise your accommodation as soon as possible. As well as the accommodation listed on the homepage of our website, you can visit www.thecoromandel.com

or contact one of the following I-sites:

Coromandel - 07-866-8598
Thames - 07-866-7284
Tairua - 07-864-7575
Whitianga - 07-866-5555

Overseas Competitors

Andy — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:40:19 +0000

It’s great to see so many overseas competitors taking part in this years K2. At this stage over 5% of our entries are from overseas with great representation from Australia and also cyclists from Canada, the US and the UK.

Car Pooling

Andy — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:38:05 +0000

If you are competing in one of this years K2 events you may want to think about car pooling. If you are interested in car pooling let us know your details and which race you are taking part in. We will be setting up a register on the web so that you can contact one another to arrange. It’s a great way to share costs, reduce pollution and reduce traffic on the roads.

Ride the K2 and help us achieve our goals

Andy — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:26:53 +0000

The net proceeds from the K2 event and all other ARC events go to the Spirit of Coromandel Trust. The aim of the trust is to establish a not for profit Outdoor Education Centre on the Coromandel Peninsula. To achieve this we need to raise close to $2m over the next 5 years.

If you feel inclined to help us one way would be to get yourself sponsored to do one of the K2 events.

Its very easy to set up. Simply go to the following website - www.fundraiseonline.co.nz - and set up an account and select either the Spirit of Coromandel Trust or the K2 event as your charity. Then ask your friends and colleagues to sponsor you

Thanks for helping out

Andy, Keith and Rita

The ARC Team

Orca Cycle Compression K2 Specials

Andy — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:49:03 +0000

Orca has been a supporter of the K2 for the last 3 years. To help you prepare for this years event Orca are offering some exclusive deals on Orca Killa Kompression and Cycling gear. Simply go to www.orca.com, select the items in the deal you want, then enter the discount code when prompted in the shopping cart.

See attached for list of deals

Orca K2 Deals

Water and Fuel Stops and Toilets on course

Andy — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:41:36 +0000

This year we will be providing more filled water bottles on the course

Stop 1 - Tararu Cultural Centre - Thames - distance 50km

water only - no bottle swaps

Toilets available

Stop 2 - ¾ of the way up Kopu Hikuai Hill - distance 75km

Bottle swap (500 bottles) – can also stop for water and electrolytes

Toilets available

Stop 3 – Tairua - Reserve after one- way bridge - distance – 106km

Water only – plus ½ way food stop (you can have named food parcels dropped off by organisers – give to us at start of race – clearly marked and we will take them to Tairua) - Toilets available

Stop 4 - Pumpkin Hill - ½ way up - distance – 112km

Bottle swap (500 bottles) – can also stop for water and electrolytes

Stop 5 – Kuaotunu Hill - ¾ of way up – distance – 159km

Bottle swap (1,000 bottles) – can also stop for water and electrolytes

Toilets available

Stop 6 – Top of Gentle Annie – distance – 176km

Bottle swap (1,000 bottles) – can also stop for water and electrolytes

Bananas and Jelly beans will also be available at each of the above stops

There will be a bottle net to discard old bottles at the beginning of each bottle swap - so please make sure you throw your old bottles in the vicinity of the net.

All discarded bottles will be taken back to the finish line and in the interests of recycling you are welcome to take a few home with you.

New EMC K150 Start Time

Andy — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:57:26 +0000

We have decided to change the EMC K150 start time to 10.00am ( instead of 8.00am). The race starts in Thames.

The bus will now leave Coromandel at 7.30am instead of 6.00am

K2 Video and Early Bird

Andy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:05:06 +0000

Most of you will now be suffering withdrawal symptoms after 3 weeks of glorious viewing of this years Tour de France. Some of you will wonder what it is like to ride in such an event or what it might be like to ride in one of the stages. Some of you will have experienced the mountain legs of the Tour de France and know exactly what they are like.

Chatting to 4 times Tour De France rider Eric McKenzie (and producer of the fantastic EMC bikes) the other day, he reflected that there are very few stages on the Tour de France that would be difficult as the K2.

So to help you with your withdrawal symptoms we have a couple of options for you.

You can watch some great video footage from the 2009 K2 which has just been put up on www.sportzvibes.com and/or;
You can actually enter this years K2 ( or one of the 3 shorter options, the EMC 150, the Orca K1 or the Nicholas Browne Challenge) and come and see what it is actually like to ride in the equivalent of a challenging stage of the Tour de France.

Just to help you along the way we are offering a $10 discount on entries to any K2 event before the end of this month (Saturday 31^st July).

New K150 distance

Andy — Sun, 16 May 2010 03:20:27 +0000

Following our survey of past competitors there was overwhelming support for the option of riding 3 stages of the K2 (over 80% of the 400 replies we received liked the idea).

Many of you thought it would be an ideal stepping stone between the Orca K1 and the K2 and others felt that it provided a good alternative between the relatively fast Orca K1 and the long distance K2.

We have decided to trial this distance at this years K2 event and will be calling it the K150. The distance varies between 139km and 149km depending on the start. This years K150 will start in Thames and finish in Coromandel. If the distance proves popular and successful we will retain it as a regular feature in the K2.