Not Superman Rally Withdraw

I managed to do what I have read of others doing and didn't see how--I lost my wallet.

I was going strong on leg 1 and was about 50 minutes ahead of plan when I stopped at the GA welcome center for a hygiene break. As I dismounted I felt for my wallet and, not finding it in my pocket, proceeded to turn the world upside down searching. It was definitely missing in action! Talk about discouraging, after some consultation with my wife and rallymaster Jim Pucket I headed back to my last 2 stops (one for fuel where I knew I had last used the wallet) in the hopes of finding it on the ground. 100 miles later, no joy.

I still had my cash, another credit card, and my drivers license (thanks to the bonus that required us to seal it up--it was tucked in with my paperwork) but two factors influenced my decision to drop out. Tough to say which was most discouraging; losing a valuable piece of ID (with my SSN) and the sickening thoughts of identity theft, or the fact that the additional 100 miles and loss of 2+ hours ruined any chance of a good finish.

I opted to head home via my daughters house in Columbus, GA.

Later that night, resting at my daughters, I came to a startling revelation about myself. I am so competitive that once a top finish was out of the picture I no longer wanted to play. I think I need to seriously rethink this rallying hobby and make sure I have my priorities straight.

Now that a couple of days have passed I am rethinking my decision. I missed out on the true reason for rallying--coming into the finish, tired and whipped, and sharing the experience with the other riders. The camaraderie is the true joy of this sport!

To those of you who may have been tracking my progress on SPoT, I apologize for the late report and hope no one was as concerned as my mom.