Have you ever set a big goal, trained hard, planned ahead—and despite all your prep, still came up short? Did you feel like you let yourself down, maybe even dropping that dreaded “F-word”: failure? It can be easy to do. You spent hours pedaling hard, hitting the gym, eating right, getting plenty of rest—and then, on race day, it all just unraveled.

That’s when the self-doubt can creep in, making you wonder if you are good enough to try

tough challenges that push the limits of your comfort zone. Why even try?

I recently had one of those days. I’ve raced the Broken Record Six-Hour Challenge in Caliente, Nevada, for several years now, and I’ve always felt good about my efforts. This year, I set my sights on my biggest mileage yet. I was shooting for eight laps. That would put me at about fifty-four miles. In a six-hour race, if you finish a lap before the six-hour cut off, you can start another lap. I did seven laps last year (six within the time limit), and I knew that I would have to up my pace to fit seven laps into six hours. Even with a lot of training, I probably wouldn’t be too much faster than I was last year; I knew the leeway on time each lap would be razor thin.

Things started out really well. The day was beautiful, and I was jazzed when the flag

dropped. I was feeling good and was pacing with a person I knew to be fast and strong. For the

first three laps, I was banking time, coming in under the maximum lap times to hit my goal. “Make hay while the sun shines,” I thought. I could cash in those extra minutes later.

But lap four hit hard. Cramps crept into my legs.  By lap five, I had to stop

and put my legs up in a desperate move to find relief. And just like that, all the time I’d banked evaporated. That eighth lap vanished into the void of time.

Lap six was tough. My buddy Terry passed me and offered me his back wheel to follow.

There’s a small aerodynamic advantage to this, but it’s mostly a psychological boost to pace off

someone. Alas, I couldn’t hang on and had to tough out the lap solo, even walking part of the last climb when the cramps in my legs made pedaling almost impossible.

I willed myself over the start/finish line in under six hours, giving me the opportunity to at least salvage a tie with last year’s total of seven laps. I sat down to eat a sandwich before heading back out, but when I stood up…cramps struck again. That was it. I called it a day. Yes, I came up short of my goal. But honestly? I was okay with it. These things happen. Even professional riders have bad days.

Most goals need to have all things align to complete them.To expect to reach every goal you set for yourself is unrealistic. So why get down on yourself for not succeeding? I wish my day  would have gone better, but I still rode forty miles—and I’m happy that I managed a bad day as well as I did.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll analyze the heck out of this day to see what I can learn, but some days just go awry. So, set a big goal. Go after it. Push yourself. And if it doesn’t work out, pat yourself on the back for trying. And never forget—riding bikes is supposed to be fun.