About Donald
Welcome to Donald’s Daily Draft… not beer… cycling. It’s how I shift gears from anchoring our morning show, NBC 17 Today. My Daily Draft is just that: training, nutrition, rides, mechanics and whatever spins out of my mind. Cycle through anytime and send me your comments or suggestions. I’ll give a little background on how I became a pedaling fanatic. I ran a little track and cross country in high school. It was a good way for me to burn teenage energy as well as stay in shape. During college, I tried running for exercise but not only found it boring, it was hurting my knees. That’s when I decided to try cycling. I bought my first road bike (Specialized) and took off. I pedaled a lot through college but my riding time slowed during my early years in the news business. My poor bike, tires flat and computer dead, hung on the garage wall for six years. But then we moved to North Carolina. I was getting older, my metabolism slowing and a jog to the mailbox left me panting. Thankfully, I found the great back country roads of Wake, Chatham, Lee and Harnett Counties. It was time to pull the old machine off the wall.
Comments
What’s the date and mileage of the Grandfather Mountain race up in Blowing Rock? We pplan to be there and want to cheer you on!
Hi Leslie… Thanks so much again for the invite. I’m sorry I’ll miss out. But leeve me on the rain chekc list… I’ll certainly be there next time.
Hi W & C… Bridge to Bridge is set for Sept. 21st… It’s a little over a hundred miles and I’m in training now. I’m looking forward to having a larger cheering group to help get me up Grandfather! Thanks, Duck
Hello Donald we miss Janet Jones and “Keeping up with The Jones” segment on NBC., My 12 year son loved to watch you and your wife on TV. You both have a gorgeous smile and look so happy. I plan to support your ride all the way through. Tonight I am going to show your page to both my boys 8y and 12 yr old who are both fasinated by you. Will you be at the State Fair this year? They would love to meet you in person.
Hi Don(ald),
I had a great time riding with you, Jeff, Leslie, and Ralph at training camp. Photos will be coming. I tried to upload the Garmin files last night but was not successful because the files were “too large.” I guess that’s what happens when you go too far and, yes, I have been accused of that before. I’ll try to upload them again tonight.
Tim
Hey Donald–met Barry Leffler at the Optimist Meeting tonight and he told me about your blog–good stuff. Thought you might like to see one that I contribute to regularly: Research Trailer Park (ncrandonneur.blogspot.com). It’s managed by Mike Dayton, a riding buddy, but several people contribute regularly.
If you’re ever interested in taking your cycling to the “next level,” give randonneuring a try. Our rides start at 200km and go much higher. There will be about 20 folks riding a 400km brevet on Saturday. Several of us are training for various 1200 km events this summer including a ride through the Shenandoah Valley, the Gold Rush Randonnee that starts/finishes in Davis, CA, and the Endless Mountains 1240 in PA in late September. Mike is going to England to ride London-Edinburgh-London; 1400km with a 105 hour time limit.
I enjoyed meeting Barry and thanks for encouraging him to speak to our club–the members were very interested in hearing about the station and its business plan.
Jerry Phelps
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Hello, Donald. I am going to be in Roanoke, VA, arriving late on Friday, April 25 and leaving on Tuesday, April 29, and plan to do a bunch of training. My wife is coming but she is not a very serious rider so I thought that one day I could do a more challenging ride. If you would like to ride together, maybe we could meet halfway between Raleigh and Roanoke–say, Danville area–or if you have not ridden in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area before you might consider it. The riding is absolutely superb, particularly around Blacksburg. And Roanoke has the Mill Mountain Coffee Shop.
I know that you probably have your hands full with childcare at the moment but if you could take a day off it would be fun!
I use the term “serious” not to promise more than I can–I have ridden less than 200 miles outdoors in 2008!
All the best,
Leslie