The last entry had me thinking about whether I should do this or not. We've been talking a lot about it at home. The morning after I got the initial announcement, Sally called me on the phone and said she wanted me to do it because she knows how much this means to me. That made me feel really great. What an awesome wife. I am a lucky guy to have her.

But still I went out and started asking some of the other rally riders with young kids how they are approaching it. Basically their thought process is the same as mine. When you have that family waiting back home, your first priority always has to be to get home alive. Even if it means you don't finish the event, or you don't place as highly as you could if you took more risks. That's how I've always managed it too. There was one one rally when I rode with another guy for awhile. We were under the gun time-wise, and had to ride pretty briskly to beat the deadline. There were one or two spots where I held back because the margin of safety wasn't quite big enough for me. I remember thinking at the time, I don't want to risk crashing just to earn this bonus. How horrible would Sally feel if she knew I crashed because of a bad choice. My friend made the pass that I didn't. He got to the next location sooner than I did, but not by much. I knew I had done the right thing for me. He did the right thing for him, and that's totally fine.

On other rallies I've had to pause to rest or even sleep. Again, it's because I promised Sally I'd take care of myself and not ride fatigued. I can't put myself into a position where I cause my own downfall due to poor judgment.

There are enough risks just swinging a leg over a bike. The usual ones are car drivers who don't see you, deer running in front of you, and something slippery on the road (ice, oil, gravel.) For those you use your standard risk mitigation: wearing safety gear at all times, not riding too fast for conditions, being aware and anticipating the other drivers. Those are the normal risks that are always in my mind, but I don't worry too much about them. It's the special rally risks that are on the table right now.

Last night at dinner, it was Claire who sealed the deal. I was talking about how my rally priorities would be 1. Get home safely. 2. Finish the rally. 3. Place well in the rally. Claire said, "No, Daddy. It should be 1. Get home safely. 2. HAVE FUN. 3. Finish the rally. 4. Place well." My seven year old daughter is a very smart girl. I feel really good about sending in my rally fee now.

The rally is ON!