Jason Kelly loves cycling, in fact he loves cycling so much he cycled up Te Mata Peak from the bottom, 28 times! Warren Buckland asked him why.
A Hawke's Bay man has pedalled himself into the Mount Everest Hall of Fame, after completing 28 climbs of Te Mata Peak – the equivalent height of the world's highest mountain.
Jason Kelly, a keen cyclist, completed the "Everesting" challenge in less than 13 hours.
The concept of Everesting issimple - pick any hill, anywhere in the world, and repeatedly climb it until you reach 8848m.
Kelly first heard about Everesting four years ago, when he completed 10 virtual climbs of Alpe du Zwift (over 10,000m) in training for the "One Day Ahead Tour de France" – one of many endurance cycling challenges undertaken by the Havelock North resident.
But without the worries of road and weather conditions, Kelly said the challenge "felt like cheating" and "the itch remained unscratched".
He said the idea was dreamt up after Covid-19 restrictions limited him to cycling within 19kms of his home – which conveniently encompassed Te Mata Peak.
"Te Mata Peak became a simple, default ride for the year for me," he said. "With the announcement that the official height of Mount Everest had been re-measured, it seemed like the perfect time."
Kelly arrived at the foot of the peak at 4.30am on December 17 with the aim of completing the mammoth ride in between 15 and 17 hours.
"I started my final preparations at 3.42am – it was certainly still dark outside, but the temperature seemed quite reasonable," he said.
"I drove to the start line in Havelock North and was on the road ready half an hour before schedule – it was a good sign for what would be a long day."
Jason Kelly, a keen cyclist, completed the "Everesting" challenge in less than 13 hours. Photo / Warren Buckland
After the first climb and descent was completed in darkness, lit only by the lights of Kelly's support vehicle, the sun rose over the famous Hawke's Bay landmark on Kelly's second climb.
"Dehydration was always a concern, but the coolness meant I completed nine climbs before getting more drink on the bike," he said.
"By the time of my second feed and drink stop, I had completed 14 climbs. I snuck a peek at my timer and was stunned to see a riding time of less than seven hours – 30 minutes ahead of schedule."
Kelly, who was joined by his brother, Patrick, and nephew, Nicholas, from the 23rd climb, sneaked just a second look at his timer on his 25th ascent to see he had clicked over the 8849m mark in a time of 12 hours 48 minutes meaning the Everest challenge was complete.
But, Kelly was not satisfied with that.
During the calculations of the event, the cyclist realised another three climbs would take the total distance to over 10,000m.
"In the immortal words of the late Sir Edmund Hillary, I had knocked the bastard off. This left just three and a bit more climbs to go to complete 10,000m-plus for the day," Kelly said.
"Into the final climbs, another rider tagged on behind Patrick and I. When he asked how many climbs I had done, he was rather disbelieving when told 27 or so with 28 planned."
The 28th and final climb, which was completed in a time of 25 minutes and 48 seconds, was Kelly's 902nd Te Mata Peak ascent of 2020.
Kelly had ridden for 14 hours and 57 minutes in total, covering 307.24kms and climbing 10,215m. He had pedalled over 50,000 times, while expending 10,955kJ.
"With that itch well and truly scratched, my next challenge may include some tandem cycling adventures," he said.
"Once the world returns to normal, a leisurely coast to coast in the US also has an appeal."
