Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list here!
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
1
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.
2
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!
3
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.
4
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!
5
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 2023 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.
Will be relaxing, watching the French Open tennis and the Giro d’Italia (on TV) on Saturday and Sunday. Have a 70 mile cycle planned for Monday taking in a 30% hill along the way (Millook, Cornwall, England) just for fun!
Normaly we’ll have a nice weather this weekend around Paris and it will be bbq, run, bbq, mountain bike, bbq, run, bbq, mountain bike, bbq…
Sport sessions to compensate for bbqs and bbqs to compensate for sport sessions :-)
Best regards from France.
I’ll be running intervals on Friday. Saturday will be rest day which includes BBQing with my parents. On Sunday there’s two 30k bike rides to work and back.
Cycling on friday, running on saturday, cycling on sunday.. Just a regular weekend.
Ray u r the king of gadgets!
Like always an in depth analysis and a perfect way to get a deep analysis before spending money. thanks again dc! BBQ all weekend along with training in the sunny greek beaches!
Thanks for the website, read it every day.
Friday Resting. Saturday Hiking. Sunday Long Distance Cycling. Night Time during these days watching Giro dItalia.
Kia ora Ray
This weekend in Aotearoa (New Zealand) I’ll be hoping that the torrential rain we’ve had for the last 2 days stops for my ride on Saturday and my run on Sunday.
Great blog. Enjoy your BBQ.
Since the weather is fantastic right now, the plans are simple, long runs and bbq :-)
We are off to Locarno (Ticino, Switzerland), to do some hiking with our dog Toni (www.zappatoni.com). To get there, we have to drive through the Gotardo-tunnel – which is 10 miles in length.
In my country (Austria) the long weekend is 2 to 5 June. I will go cycling to the mountains and have a family gathering there (and hopefully BBQ opportunities).
Greetings from Denmark!
My first marathon-first race of any kind-is 3 weeks away. This weekend I’ll run the final long run (20 miles) along the tundra here in Bethel, Alaska. It’s finally warm enough for enjoyable outdoor running (snow & ice only departed a few weeks ago). Time to make final decisions on clothing, fuel and target pace. Nervous and can’t wait at the same time!
Gotta work all weekend so no BBQ for me.
I’ll be spending the weekend training for my upcoming sprint triathlon next month. Core exercises for Saturday. Swim (AM) and long run (PM) for Sunday.
Preparing for my 2nd ultra marathon.
10 km run on Friday
8km run on Sunday
Unfortunatly we do not have a 3 days weekend here in Germany… so I work on Friday and Monday…
Keep you Blog as it is…we love it here
Can I still comment if I don’t like BBQ? I’m a make a terrible Kansas City resident!
Editing some cycling videos and hitting the excellent local park of Hampstead Heath for a bit of mountain biking
Racing today, tomorrow, saturday and sunday…..
I would LOVE to win one! :-)
Hi.
I have to go to school on friday and saturday.
But sunday is “relax”-day. That means that there is maybe some time to jump on my bike and after that a BBQ if the weather is fine.
Yeah!
Thanks Ray, great post :o)
In my agenda: run 90K untill Tuesday.
No long weekend in Brisbane Australia, but I am riding Saturday then racing the 25km “Damn Run” from a bayside pier to the top of a dam wall.
A holiday for BBQ? I’d do it 12 months a year! Right now I am finishing school and planning my next training phase. Woo hoo!
Not much planned but I’ll definitely watch the formula 1 race from Monaco.
Have to work on day time on Fri & Sat, and overnight duty on Sun night! Plan a Interval run while off duty on Sat. Go church with my family in the Sunday morning & 1-hour open water swim in the afternoon.
I hope the upcoming weekend will be quite productive in many ways. Need to do some pretty tough stuff for university while recovering from tomorrow’s exam. But this weekend will also include the final key workouts prior to qualification for German regionals (800 m).
We got hit by the first major cold front of winter. I think I’ll spend the weekend huddling under the blankets. Brrrr. Also missing one of my favourite races due to injury.
My weekend same as my week. Swim – Eat – Sleep – Run – Eat – Sleep – Bike Eat – Sleep and repeat and repeat and repeat
:)
miriam
Hope to do three trainings
I’ll be doing my long run first thing in the weekend. I have palans to do a little bit of shopping too. Then next week I’ll be on my taper for my very first race.
Cheers..!
Weekend = Racing time and it implies a quite standard template:
– Friday: Travel time towards the “battlefield”
– Saturday: Racing time (this time, a sprint triathlon).
– Sunday: Come back home.
Hi,
hope for the best ;-)
helping a friend move…
My perfect weekend:
Friday: run 7k in my new hometown
Saturday: run 10k in my old hometown
Sunday: Relax! BBQ!
No long weekend here in New Zealand, and no barbeques either, seeing as it’s early winter. I have a muddy trail run planned for Saturday and, weather permitting, a fast, flat bike ride for Sunday. In between there will be lots of sleeping and eating!
I will go with my family (wife, son & daughter) on holidays in Brittany for one week. A house just in front of the sea ! Perfect place for a BBQ !
Marc from France
Thanks Ray. Saturday short bike ride, Sunday Woodland Half Marathon & Monday is my day of rest.
Gareth
(sadly too cold for a BBQ)
My plans for the weekend are to do a 10k race (first one for me) and keep training for next year IM :)
no special plans, just resting with the wife and kids
The wife and I are taking 30 kids from our church youth group on an overnight backpacking trip in Rancho Cuyamaca State Park. Should be a blast!
Thanks, Ray!
10k race coming up this weekend. Hopefully a nice new PR will come out. Looking forward to it!
biking in the austrian alps!
This weekend I will visit Oviedo in Spain, and I want to run on saturday if I can
Will be flying back from Crotia:@)
Sveiks!
Altough I would prefer having a century (km, not miles) ride on my road bike, I will spend my weekend doing other stuff. First, it will be 18-hour car-orienteering event, starting at 2AM. This will leave me quite exhausted. Sunday will be spent with dinner with my GF family and a watching a theatre play in the evening.
Saturday will be spent watching either Pirates or Kung Fu Panda II.
Sunday will be reserved for the 5th Sunday Run of Adination – Tiendesitas.
BBQ will be squeezed in between :P
Doing easy on friday and than a hard weekend before going to the Challenge Kraichgau! My first middle distance this year.
Group ride on Saturday, long run Sunday. Cheers :)
I’m planning on doing the Capital of Texas Tri this Memorial Day. I have a slight fever, but I hope to get better. Awesome blog Ray!
We’ll be watching my daugther’s ballet recital on Sunday
I will be running Stockholm Marathon. It is my first marathon and I am really excited about it! Hopefully I will get some BBQ after I finish.
My answer will probably surprise everyone reading this comment. For this weekend I plan three beautiful runs ;)
Cheers!!!
i don’t have plans for weekend
On Saturday 120km road cycling race :)
heading for Stockholm Marathon, Sweden, this weekend. might do a bbq if all goes well :-)
Read your blog every day. It is the best!
I plan to get a run in Saturday and Monday, then eat well!
foe me the week end is full !
Friday : check up my stuff for the course
Saturday : Half ironman in france ( BELFORT )
and sunday : a big BBQ for mother day in France
i think sunday will be the hardest day ( lighting the BBQ with only one hand because in the other i’ll have a wineglass ! )
Saturday I hope for 100 km bike.
I have on Saturday a 15k cycling tour and on sunday I’m going to run 20k. In the evenings I’ll be lazy and watch some TV I guess :)
BBQ and the beach!
Well, I have a MTB race. So, thats my plan.
Thanks.
AC
No long weekend in Australia. A 32km marathon training run Sat morning followed by quick bike ride to the beach for a 2km ocean swim.
Weekend plan,running, swimming and being a driver sending children….
My sons 7th birthday party saturday 1pm – 3.30pm then the rugby game of the season Magners League Grand Final 5.05pm Munster vs Leinster, hoping for a huge win and a trophy for the Munster Guys
Hi
This weekend the plans are a early long bike trip in the forrest saturday and just family fun the rest of the weekend. The summer is comming to Norway slowly now, and everything is green and beautiful. The rest of the Saturday we probably take a trip out in the forrest and just play and hike around for fun. Sunday will most likely be spent on a farm/museum nearby with wife and kids (link to bogstad.no) for some playing, BQ and just relaxing.
Planning to go to Norway soon DC? This one is popular link to nxtri.com :-)
Thanx for a good site. Take care.
Best Regards
Henning
Err… training, training and more training. With perhaps watching the Champions League Final thrown in. And I think you SHOULD give away a case of BBQ sauce!
on friday i have my rest day, so no practice and running. on saturday i will start the day with a 60min run followed by shopping on the farmers market (i love that place, so much fresh fruits and vegetables).
At 11 am i have baseball practice for the BBQ Cup. The BBQ Cup is a small tournament for local businesses.
After that I will take a short stopp at home take a shower pick up my kids and straight back to the baseball arena to watch our local team play .
Sunday morning starts with a very slow 90min run.
The rest of my sunday is just chilling.
Long weekend is gone already for me as I am Canadian … But my plan was to head to Lake Placid for a training camp, which was really fun. This weekend, I am running the Ottawa half marathon.
Thanks for the giveaway Ray!
going to Walibi amusement park this weekend and intend to enjoy it to the max! :)
The only thing on the BBQ will be me… I’ll roast myself with, 3 run sessions, a long bike and a swim session. As sauce some core training will do!
mid distance triathlon race on sundday
Well in Denmark it’s a two-day weekend as usual. There’s carnival in my town with loads of dressed-up, drunk people running around, so that will be fun to watch. Weather should be good so perhaps mowing the lawn and getting 40-50 km of running done before it turns into june :-)
No holiday weekend in dusty Iraq so I will be heading to the DFAC for the typical trimmings and run the outer perimeter road that will give me about a 4-5 mile celebratory boost. In between coughs of dust from the non-potable water and sewage trucks driving by.
Better yet, send me the watch and I can tell you exactly how far it is. ;)
Saturday, long bike, then friend’s housewarming party. Sunday, long run, then dinner with mom; grilling some meat. Monday, 100 mile bike ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway through the mountains.
Weekend here in Denmark is going to be cheering for the misses running her first half marathon… and see if i can squeze some training in!
Keep up the great work!
Hi,
I’m from Latvia and we will have normal 2 day weekend. I’ll start training for my first half-marathon this saturday.
On Saturday I will be running building up my mileage for my first half marathon. Then my sister in laws birthday; which involved a BBQ at their house and then a night out in the city clubbing. Sunday will probably be a simple road ride. Monday will be a lovely day hitting up one of Wales’ mountain biking trail centres, which one is yet to be decided.
BBQ is the best preparation for a good long run.
doing first long run of my half marathon training.
Also a 3 day weekend here in the UK with spring bank holiday on Monday.
Saturday is a day shift at the local lifeboat station. Sunday some gentle cycling to ease out left over tiredness from last weekends half iron. Monday is a big swim, bike, run session with a mate.
Hoping for some good weather!
Loudoun Road Runners are having their annual potluck brunch, after a group run on the C&O towpath. Its almost like a BBQ.
Nothing major other than a couple of shortish runs. Recently stumbled across the blog – enjoying it.
Sat – Football (soccer) with my son and netball with my daughter.
Sun – Football tournament with my son.
Call me a taxi!!
only 2 days here in the Netherlande, but sat morning will be perfect: running 10k with my kids riding their bikes next to me, then pool and BBQ – will sneak in some beers also! and sunday means long bike ride to the beach – the family will go by car
just missing the 610 to make it better!
Just getting prepared for knee surgery on Monday. Damn meniscus :-)
Today I will have a 2:30 bike ride, followed by a 3h ride tomorrow. And on Sunday I will go for another 2h ride.
Thanks for the shot at a forerunner, Ray! On Saturday, I’m bringing my bike to the shop really early for a little checkup and then hopefully having an epic ride. Sunday, long swim (I’m going to try to find some open water since my first tri is the weekend after, but who knows how that will pan out) and on Sunday I’m going to run 7 to 13 miles in this awesome free trail marathon series here called the Holiday Marathons in Van Cortlandt Park. At some point there will be steak and corn on the cob. Have a great weekend yourself!
I will be running on friday, and probably out to a small piece of land I own 30km away from the city if there is good weather :)
just bought a trainer so definitely some indoor biking away from the humidity. then, of course, a bbq on monday
Hey DC!
Love the reviews; stumbled on the site by pure coincidence! Running my 3rd Marathon this weekend in Ottawa, Canada!
Keep up the good work.
K.
Spending this weekend celebrating my older daughters birthday!!! Will also do a brick this weekend as I enter peak phase for my A olympic at the end of June. And lots of BBQ
Eric A
Absolutely love your site :-)
Really looking forward to that RCX5 review :-)
I am doing a slow run trying to get back after an injury, and taking the kids to a themepark.
Kind regards Erik
Count me in
Ciaran rodgers Ireland
Swim, bike, run! What else is there to do?
nothing special..JUST RUN from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.Little bit holy,a bit of Sea.Nice view on the way and 7.5 hours of fantastic songs in MP3…
I spent this past weekend moving my stuff into storage as I am moving from Canada to Malaysia for two years!
Terry