Donald's Daily Draft

• No Sun At This Beech… But What A Climb!

  I mentioned in my post last week that I was headed back to the mountains for the weekend and a good training ride packed with climbing.  I pedaled the roads around Banner Elk.  The very roads on which Lance decided to make his comeback to cycling after cancer.  If you read his first book, “It’s Not [...] Posted May 12 2008, 08:42 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• “Cycling is King at Lees-McRae”… Where’s that you say?

  I wrote about my climbing in the Appalachian Mountains and The Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of posts back.  It’s the same area around Banner Elk, NC where Lance Armstrong made his comeback from cancer ten years ago.  He trained there rebuilding his body for the Tour de France.  Good news is, I’m headed back to the area for some more climbing this weekend.  [...] Posted May 07 2008, 09:12 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Cycling News

• What’s The Best Carb Source On The Bike?

  So we’ve talked about what our favorite food is on the bike.  But… Is there something to be said for the organic ingredients in Clif products (like organic brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup)? I thought this would be a good question for Dr. Chris Eschbach, Director of The Human Performance Lab at Meredith College.  Here’s the [...] Posted May 05 2008, 11:07 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Nutrition

• Climbing Hurts So Good!

  Ahhhh… the feeling is back.  Climbing… sure it can hurt… but I love it.  I’m training for a century in the mountains at the end of June.  It’s called Blood, Sweat & Gears.  This was my first ever mountain century last year and I loved it.   So, I’m back for more this year and my training in [...] Posted Apr 28 2008, 11:01 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• Saddle up! But which one?

  So, I’m thinking about a new saddle.  The one I have is sufficient.  But I’m wondering… “Is there something better out there?”  I think I get a little uncomfortable in the saddle a little too frequently.  Sure, I know it’s recommended to shift around a lot but I’m wondering if there’s something better for me.  [...] Posted Apr 25 2008, 08:18 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Equipment

• Cyclists Make Great Grape Stompers…

  I guess they do.  This past weekend, I was invited to a grape “stomp-off’ against other media representatives from around town.  It was a huge wine festival, “Great Grapes,” showcasing North Carolina’s growing wine industry.  So, for our efforts, we were told the person who stomped out the most grape juice after 5 minutes straight of stomping would [...] Posted Apr 21 2008, 08:20 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• What’s Best For The Bum?

  I’m determined to get to the bottom of this.  OK… no wise cracks about how many buns… I mean puns… I can fit into this post. But really… I have never used a chamois cream (creme) and I’m not sure I’ve ever really had a true saddle sore.  Don’t get me wrong… my bottom side has felt pretty cheeky [...] Posted Apr 16 2008, 09:37 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• S-T-R-E-T-C-H…

  Stretching…  How much should cyclists stretch and when?   I wonder about this every time I ride… I come home from a ride and relax. Sometimes I stretch… sometimes I don’t.  I have found I feel better with some basic Yoga… but I struggle with the time management.  So, I decided to ask Dr. Chris Eschbach, Director of The Human Performance Lab at [...] Posted Apr 07 2008, 08:04 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• Sweet News For My Cravings!

  Desserts are my weakness!  It seems as I get older… I’m craving that little something sweet after each meal… lunch or dinner.  I’m not a candy kind of person… but rather ice cream, cookies or cake.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll enjoy a Snickers every now and then.  Either way… this can’t be good for my [...] Posted Apr 02 2008, 10:22 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Nutrition

• Special Package from Dr. Ruth…

  As many of you may know, I work in the news business.  So, we get a lot of promotional items sent directly to us.  Organizations, public relations or marketing firms pitch their products and books hoping you’ll give them some coverage.  Well, here’s their coverage:  Today, I got a FedEx package in the newsroom and was [...] Posted Mar 25 2008, 11:10 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Cycle-arious

• Great Message… whoever created it?

  I found this in my weekly email from RoadBikeRider.com:  There’s a flap in England about an ingenious video called “Do the Test.” It was produced for Transport for London as a way to raise awareness of cyclists on the road. Nice idea, but it’s charged that the concept for the video was stolen. According to Carlton Reid at bikebiz.com, [...] Posted Mar 24 2008, 07:36 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Cycling News

• Save The Horseplay…

  Buffoonery, clowning, fooling around, high jinks, romping, roughhousing… all terms used to define horseplay. Horseplay can be had in a lot of places but I think we can all agree that road biking, escpecially a group ride, should not be one of them. We all have a lot of fun on rides and we all joke [...] Posted Mar 20 2008, 09:46 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• Future Tour Contender?

  Last week, we welcomed our second son Macauley.  Baby “Mac” is doing well and so is my hero, Jan, also known as my wife.  Many of you have asked about pictures.   So, here’s Mac with his big brother Troupe.  They are both miracles and we are truly blessed.  I’m loving the early days and certainly don’t want to rush [...] Posted Mar 17 2008, 09:57 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training

• I’m going to be a little busy…

  There’s a really good reason for me being a bit of a slacker lately on my blog.  I know I’ve been slow on posting as well as visting your sites. But I have a good excuse.  I’ve mentioned in comments on some of your blogs that we’re going to have a baby soon.  Well, the baby comes tomorrow! We are, of [...] Posted Mar 05 2008, 10:21 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Cycle-arious

• Somebody Stop Me…

  Welcome to Carb Load Central.  This is a great way to build will power… or a great way to work on being the next contestant on the Biggest Loser.  If you’ve never been in a newsroom this is what you will see… especially on Fridays.  I only had three cookies and one donut hole… ok [...] Posted Feb 29 2008, 10:39 AM by Donald's Daily Draft Filed under: Training, Nutrition