After two century rides in 6 weeks–the Redbud Ride and the Horsey Hundred–I approached the Preservation Pedal with a cautious optimism. At the Redbud Ride, I suffered a nasty crash at mile 16, but managed to get up and ride the remaining 84 miles to finish well. 6 weeks later, at the Horsey Hundred, my neck was still a little sore from the whiplash injury.

The Horsey Hundred was no easy ride, either: the two most critical rest stops ran out of food due to loss of phone coverage and a supply truck getting lost. As a result, I rode 64 miles with little more than Gatorade. But I still finished well.

Given the fact that I ran into issues at both prior rides, I knew The Preservation Pedal would have its share of challenges. The hill profile was similar to the Horsey Hundred, and the weather forecast had the temperature getting higher than Cheech and Chong with a fresh crop of pot. The worst hills were on the front 50, but the weather would make the back 50 difficult.

I decided that my strategy was going to be to go slow enjoy the ride, and save my strength for the back 50.

Thankfully, MrsLarijani was looking out for her husband: she learned that a group with the Bluegrass Cycling Club–of which I am a member–had a “slowpokes group” leaving 90 minutes early. I decided I’d go with that group.

That turned out to be a very smart move.

The folks in that group were very laid-back, and the leader said the plan was to make every effort to stay together. Most of the people in the group–like myself–were vying for the Kentucky Century Challenge. Like myself, most of them had done the first two–The Redbud Ride and the Horsey Hundred–and needed this one to notch their qualification for the jersey.

(Completing three allows you to purchase the jersey for $30; completing all four gets you a free jersey. At the same time, it costs more to do all four than it does to do only three and pay out $30, so most folks only do three.)

Ok…back to the Preservation Pedal…

Starting at 6:30 was a great move.

On the negative side: the first rest stop had not yet opened, but that didn’t matter, as all of us had plenty of water bottles and carb/electrolyte replacers.

On the positive side: the temperature for most of the front 50 was quite mild. There was humidity, but it was bearable. Riding with a group provided great camaraderie. We were all pretty laid-back, focusing on enjoying the ride.

The hills were tough, but not that bad. They were more long than they were steep, and–in a sinister way–I enjoyed them more than the downhills. There had been a nasty thunderstorm the night before, and–as a result–there were downed branches and other debris on the course that made downhills tough. Also, there were lots of hard turns and gravel-laded portions on the course, which, again, made it hard to really let go on the downhills. As a result, I was very conservative on downhills.

The rest stops were excellent: well-stocked and well-staffed. Lots of Gatorade, powerbars, fig bars, PB&J, cookies, bananas, oranges, watermelons, orangutangs, and breakfast cereals, and fruitbats…

At mile 50, the leader said, “Congratulations, folks, this was the worst part of the ride.” But honestly, it didn’t seem that bad. I actually felt pretty good.

After mile 50, the weather made a nasty turn, as the clouds disappeared, the temperature began to rise, and we began to face the headwinds.

Still, even with the heat, it wasn’t that bad. The rest stops on the back 50 were well-placed, allowing for good hydration and carb replenishment. The course was not quite as challenging as the front 50, but it still required a toughness factor. One person in our group dropped out, apparently from heat exhaustion.

We had one lady–Marianne–who earned the Badass Award. At mile 91, some idiot took a downhill too hard and sideswiped Marianne, causing her to hit a guard rail. She received some minor cuts, and her front brake was out of commission, but she still was able to finish well.

At the end, we were happy to be done. As far as courses go, this one was tough but not that bad. The weather was the biggest challenge in this ride.

In terms of endurance, I felt pretty good, although I had some minor knee and joint pain. My butt also hurt from being in the seat.

Still, as far as rides go, this was the more enjoyable of the three. Riding in a group was a smart move, and I picked a good group.

I’m glad I’ve earned my jersey, but I may still do that fourth ride for the bragging rights.

So far, looking upon the three century rides, it seems that they are a snapshot of why I like endurance events: they represent life.

At the Redbud Ride, the conditions were just about perfect, but I had a bad wreck at mile 16.

At the Horsey Hundred, I had no crashes, and the conditions were excellent, but two key rest stops were out of food.

At the Preservation Pedal, I had no crashes, and there was no shortage of food at the rest stops, but the weather was brutal.

In every endurance event–marathon, ultra-marathon, century ride–there is always going to be a “suck factor” that complicates things. Maybe you run into a hydration issue, maybe you crash for reasons outside your control, maybe it’s hotter than ideal, maybe you “hit the wall” sooner than you were planning.

When those things happen, you have two choices: you can suck it up, grind it out, and go the distance, or you can pack it in.

Just remember, though: life is like that, too. No matter how well you prepare, no matter how hard you work, no matter how well you deserve it, things will not always go as you planned. When that happens, you have two choices: you can adjust and give yourself a chance to succeed, or you can give up.

Endurance teaches you the benefits of embracing the suck.