Day -3 (Sun 13 NZ)

The harsh cell phone alarm call at 3.20 am woke us with "the time is 3.20 - time to get up" repeated several times before Stephanie managed to silence it. Our next cycling adventure was about to begin - this time following the Tour of California - the taxi would arrive in 30 minutes. A quick shower to wake us up, final packing of gear and we were on our way to Wellington airport. A mojo coffee and a quiet seat in the pumpkin shells lessened Stephanie's anxiety - had we forgotten anything and would she be able  to handle some of the challenging climbs ahead. I'm sure she will cope well given her efforts in the Pyrenees last year. A few uncomfortable hours in non reclining seats and we were at Sydney Airport. A lone american voice in the concourse reminds us that we will be hearing a lot more of this over the coming 3 weeks. Another coffee and a muffin and we are on the leg to LA touching down 19 hours after leaving Wellington at 6.10 am, but it is still 6.10 am - did Einstein have something to say about this?! Great to find our friend Mark Duffield from San Diego waiting for us and our American holiday begins.