Day 4: Woke up at 2:45am in the motel to what I thought was the sound of an airstrike that decimated the roof. I jumped to check on the kids and K, thank God all was ok.

In my wakening mind, I realized that the sound was THUNDER! It was absolutely the loudest, longest, and closest thunder I have ever heard in my entire life and it scared the sleep right out of me. Praise God the storm passed, but its effects caused havoc through the entire planned area of the Day 4 race course.

So, race committee wisely cancelled the race for today due to heavy rains, hail, and dangerous conditions. I must say that there were not many complaints from the riders (especially me!), having experienced the explosive noise last night and nursing muscles from many miles on the bike this week.

Day 5 turned out to be an amazing day, starting at the amazing Franz Josef glacier and ending at Greymouth. It was a rolling 60km and speeds were creeping up as folks getting into a groove and looking to place well in the competitions.

We finished at the Trans-Alpine railroad where we took a 5 hour scenic train tour to Christchurch. Checked in the rooms, grabbed some BurgerFuel for the family and all in bed early. 100km planned for tomorrow!

There are some great video links on Facebook if you'd like to follow starting with this a few days ago.....

https://m.facebook.com/TourofNZ/videos/291035732463844/?vh=e&d=n