Riding the Brake?

This morning I headed out for my bike ride early to try to beat the heat and wind. While it was still pretty darned hot with the typical breeze from the south, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been on Monday afternoon.  Nevertheless, I was surprised at how hard the going was.  Maybe I'm getting sick, I thought.  Or maybe I should have had a little more breakfast fuel...

By the time I'd finished my usual two loops, I was almost panting. Not good. On a whim,  I  swung by the bike shop on my way home. The news both good and bad; my tires were low and the front brake was rubbing the wheel.  I was relieved to know it wasn't really my fault, though some might say it was... But instead of beating myself up over what more experienced bikers might view as a silly oversight, I preferred to think "Hot-Diggety -just think how fast I'll go tomorrow!"

Riding with the brake half engaged has surely happened during this first year of MidChix too.  I had to learn how to blog, tweet, link articles, use the right key words, and a whole bunch of other new skills. There have been times when I've felt like smacking my head when I think about the mistakes we've made or the opportunities we've missed.  But that would hurt!  And what good would it do?

I prefer to think that like riding a bike with soft tires and a nagging brake pad increased my stamina, built my strength, and pushed me to pedal harder - launching a social networking site with a faulty PR strategy and an ornery software platform has increased my resilience, built my knowledge, and pushed me to peddle harder.  And when I hop on my tuned-up wheels tomorrow morning, the ride will be just as sweet as MidChix future is shaping up to be!