Second isn't so bad

On Thursday morning, the scoreboard reflected what Sheila and I already suspected. We finished second in the race across Europe with Competitours. But "As Seen on TV" (Lanthy and Rad) brought their A-game and it paid off. We're very happy for them.

"We fell short of first place by 21 points, but in our minds we are very much winners - in many ways," Sheila says. "This adventure and the new friendship was great."

Doing something like this trip can test a relationship, but throughout the week, Sheila and I were rarely, if ever, at odds. We seem to like to do the same things. We always looked deep into what worked, what didn't and how we could improve our game, but never took constructive criticism personally. We were flexible enough to change on a dime and try something else if it was necessary. And most importantly, we kept our head in the game, but had a lot of fun, too.

This trip may not be for most people, but it's well suited for someone who likes to be on the go, is willing to try new things and isn't afraid to talk to people. From the moment I heard of Competitours, I knew I wanted to do the trip and I want to give a shout out to Fran Belkin, who told me all about it.

It's been an amazing race.