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: 2011
New Zealand Part II: Glaciers, peaks, long hikes…and a lot more sheep.
We continue our exploration of New Zealand roughly in the same southerly region that we left off at, departing from Queenstown. From there we drove a couple hours deeper into the mountains towards the Milford Sound region, staying in Te … Read More Here
Pushing the envelope: Ultra-long time tests on Timex Run Trainer andFR910XT
Earlier last month someone on one of the various Internet Forums had asked how long the Garmin FR910XT and Timex Run Trainer would last if you turned off GPS, and instead let it just rely on ANT+ data (heart rate, … Read More Here
New Zealand Part I: Caves, cows, sheep and mountain biking
Most conventional itineraries to New Zealand from the United States usually fly across the Pacific from either LA or San Francisco, with a relatively short 11-13 hour flight straight to Auckland. But, as you’ve probably guessed by now, I usually … Read More Here
So you just got a Garmin Fitness watch? Start here: 2011 Edition
Last year I put together a post published on Christmas morning for all of those that may have found a Garmin (or similar) fitness watch under the tree. The goal was simply to provide a comprehensive list of resources to … Read More Here
Week in Review: Dec 24th, 2011
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
Why the New York Times GPS running article missed the boat
Yesterday the New York Times published in print and online a rather bizarre article on GPS running watches, one that essentially concluded that they were an “unreliable running partner”. Now my goal isn’t meant to defend GPS watches, but rather … Read More Here
Tidbits: Initial thoughts on LeMond Trainer, me being on TV Tuesday Night
Things have been pretty busy as of late – with trying to knock out some big ticket items for work before the holidays, so tonight’s post is going to a be a bit brief. First up was my first ride … Read More Here
Point to point long runs and unpacking the LeMond Revolution Trainer
Sunday I had my weekly long run, which this week stood at 15 miles, though, by next week it’ll be up to 18 miles. I’m still trying to figure out how I got conned into my long run changing from … Read More Here
Week in Review: December 18th, 2011
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
Significant updates to the Garmin GTU10 (Tracker), relevant for endurance athletes
This is a quick post, mostly informational as I happened to notice these things, and also happened to notice that nobody else seemed to notice. Thus, I figured I’d tell you. Make sense? Over the past few weeks Garmin’s been … Read More Here
Fun with Fartleks
The last few weeks The Girl and I have been enjoying the unstructured yet structured offseason running. What do I mean by that? Well, we’ve got a slew of runs to do weekly, a healthy mix with a long run, … Read More Here
Soleus GPS 1.0 $90 Running Watch In-Depth Review
I had heard about the Soleus GPS 1.0 watch a few times over the course of the fall, but with how busy things have been, I just didn’t have the chance to hit up the folks from Soleus and give … Read More Here
Moderating Health & Fitness Panel at CES 2012: Looking for your questions!
A month or so ago I was contacted and asked if I would like to moderate a panel at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, in Las Vegas. For those not familiar with CES – it’s one of … Read More Here
An In-Depth Swimming Comparison between the Garmin FR910XT and the FINIS Swimsense
Without question, the most common request I get these days related to the FR910XT has been about the swimming pieces. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until just recently that I’ve been able to fully dive into this area. While the FR910XT’s swimming … Read More Here
Week in Review: December 10th, 2011
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
Friday: Olympics, Presidents and everything else
For a Friday, I figure a couple of fun and random things are in order. Head Honcho Sightings: First up was a presidential sighting. Well, not ours. But rather another countries. So technically, it was a Prime Minister sighting. Thursday … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 910XT delayed until after the holidays
After quite a bit of public wrangling on dates over the past few weeks, the public availability of the Garmin FR910XT has been delayed temporarily. While there has been significant discussion by many retailers and distributors regarding the FR910XT’s date, … Read More Here
Tacx Bushido Trainer In-Depth Review
The Tacx Bushido Trainer has been on many of your minds over the past year. It represents the first significant and major competitor to the RacerMate CompuTrainer – which has long held the king of the hill position in the … Read More Here
At look at InsideTracker’s Nutrition Testing Service
About a month ago I was contacted by the folks from InsideTracker to do a run through of their newly unveiled nutrition testing service. The goal of this service was to allow athletes and non-athletes alike the ability to quickly … Read More Here
DC Hot Chocolate 15K 2011 Race Report (Alternate Title: How not to organize a race)
(I’m going to start this like any other race report…but fear not, I’ll get to my ‘suggestions’ section later on. It’s probably better to just sit back, and let it all unfold – rather than going straight into rant mode.) … Read More Here
A quick travel day, plus some new gadgets
The past week has been pretty crazy busy workwise, with the only saving grace being that training is on a ‘flexible’ schedule – which basically means I run, ride and swim when I want. Take for example today. Today started … Read More Here
The Great Swimming MP3 Player Shootout
This past summer I started a swimming MP3 player test, one that I feel I can finally conclude. I ended up buying just about every popular swimming MP3 player on the market, and then started testing them – one after … Read More Here
Behind the scenes: LeMond Fitness
The guys at LeMond Fitness offered a tour of their facility over a year ago, when I first met the at the 2010 ANT+ Symposium. Given I’m often in Seattle to visit family, it was just a matter of time … Read More Here
A Thanksgiving Weekend in Seattle
I flew out to Seattle Tuesday night, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US – to enjoy a bit of relaxation after a rather busy fall, with my family (it’s where I grew up). Of course, in the … Read More Here
The mother of all Triathlon/Endurance Sports Black Friday Deals listing
So the other night I started collecting some of the deal e-mails I was getting from various companies, intending on putting together a bit of a Friday post on Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals relating to endurance sports. But once I … Read More Here