I’m DC RAINMAKER…
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:
Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
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Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
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Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
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My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
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The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2024 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Yearly Archives: 2013
3 Ways to Automatically Copy Your Garmin Training Data to Other Fitness Sites
With the rise of connected devices that automatically upload your rides and runs upon completion to Garmin Connect, there’s been a corresponding rise in usage of 3rd party sites that synchronize that data to other training log platforms such as … Read More Here
So you just got a GPS fitness device for Christmas? Start here: 2013 Edition
Congrats! So you’ve just unboxed a new GPS watch/device? Good deal, here’s how you can get started in understanding how best to take advantage of your newfound toy. Of course, unlike that dessert you’ll eat later on tonight (or, perhaps, … Read More Here
The last flight of the year, and other antics of the weekend
Finally, home. After over 250,000 miles of travelling this year – almost all for work – I took my last flight this year and go onto enjoying some time back at home. I was (back) in Mexico for a few … Read More Here
Garmin VIRB & VIRB Elite In-Depth Review
When Garmin announced the VIRB action camera late this past summer, it represented further expansion into the outdoor market, due to it’s significant product tie-ins with other Garmin products. Most notable however, is that they’re squaring off directly against the … Read More Here
The Santa Corrida de Noël 10K Race Report (2013)
I eagerly signed up to once again race the Corrida de Noel 10K, just like we did the last year. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we knocked out packet pickup the night before – one of the last to … Read More Here
A weekend preparing for Christmas…and Santa Runs
Before we get to the Santa costume 10K race (where I actually ran hard despite the costume), we’ve gotta get through the weekend. Some folks have commented that I’ve been lacking some food and Parisian posts lately, thus, we’ll cover … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 14th, 2013
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Check it out! The exclusive DCR branded Safer Swimmer openwater swim buoy!
Remember last summer when I did a product review of the safer swimmer swim buoy? It’s the swim buoy that keeps you from getting run over by wandering boats while out on openwater swims. It also gives you a dry … Read More Here
Adidas Smart Run GPS In-Depth Review
This past October Adidas announced their Smart Run GPS unit to the world, introducing the first optical heart rate watch with a GPS sensor combined into it. While Adidas has been in the sports technology arena for some time with … Read More Here
A Rio de Janeiro Runaround
I arrived into Sao Paulo, Brazil early on Thursday morning, directly from Europe. With meetings on Thursday and Friday taking up all daylight hours, I didn’t see much of Sao Paulo by time I was back at the airport Friday … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 8th, 2013
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Huge Garmin Fenix Firmware Update: The Beginning of GPS Fitness Watches Becoming True Smart Watches
Yesterday, Garmin quietly rolled out a ‘beta’ update to their Fenix & Tactix lineup, which are their watches previously/primarily aimed at ultra-runners and those wanting hiking/navigational capabilities. For Garmin, firmware updates – let alone beta ones, rarely have massive new … Read More Here
Florence Marathon Race Report: Perhaps not my cup of ‘THE’
I wasn’t exactly ignoring writing this race report. Not entirely anyway. It’s of course a bit hard to ignore such a downer of a race result, as well as to ignore the 18.4 requests per day via three social media … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 4th, 2013
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Polar Loop In-Depth Review
The Polar Loop is the very first daily activity tracker on the market that not only counts steps, but also connects to a separate heart rate strap – providing you with heart-rate based calorie information for activities. This changes the … Read More Here
A weekend skiing in Switzerland and running at home
After my Ukrainian foray ended early Friday morning (a painful 5:55AM to be exact), I caught a flight to Frankfurt and then onto Zurich, touching down late-morning. From there I’d drive 75 minutes into the alps where I was headed … Read More Here
A Thanksgiving Kiev (Ukraine) Runaround
I found myself on Thanksgiving Eve cruising east towards Kiev, Ukraine – for meetings on Thanksgiving in the capital city. The plane was pretty much empty, and in an ironic twist, the airplane food that was served was actually turkey. … Read More Here
2013 Sports Technology Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals!
Updated as of Dec 10th 8:10AM Eastern NOTE: At this point all these deals are expired! Hope you enjoyed! Perhaps one of the most anticipated shopping days of the year – at least for US folks, but these days many … Read More Here
My 2013 Sports Gadgets Recommendations
(Update: My Summer 2014 Recommendations are now available! Go check that out instead!) Each year around this time I put together my recommendations on sports gadgets. Some consider this a bit of a holiday pick-list, and others just use it … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 23rd, 2013
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Florence Marathon Packet Pickup Complete!
Our aircraft landed at the Florence airport last night with the same grace and thrust of Miley Cyrus and a giant foam finger. The weather…not so hot. So windy and rainy in fact that the airport’s power/electricity immediately shut off … Read More Here
What the acquisition of MapMyFitness by Under Armour really means for the industry
The company behind the platform: Despite most Internet apps running small operations, MapMyFitness is hardly small from an employee standpoint. As of Tuesday it counted 101 employees, with 31 employees in Denver, and another 70 employees at its headquarters in … Read More Here
Withings Pulse In-Depth Review
Almost a year ago Withings announced the Withings Pulse activity tracker at CES 2013. However, it wasn’t made available until this past summer, when I started testing it. Like most activity trackers it did all the usual items – steps, … Read More Here
Swimming, Riding, and Running (and sightseeing) our way around Israel
After wrapping up work late Thursday evening, I was ready to join The Girl in enjoying the rest of the weekend wandering around Israel and checking out the country. It would of course be a bit of a whirlwind tour, … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 18th, 2013
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here