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I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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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!
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.
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!
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.
Great pictures. Man, that’s a century ride you can actually gain weight on! But Ray, you get penalty points for wearing an Ironman jersey on a road bike ride! You need a good ‘ol roadie jersey and bib shorts (to say nothing of a road bike!)
This looks a really cool ride, I got to find if there is some rides like that where I am (Paris, France)
@Chmouel
Unfortunately it seems to me very difficult to organize such a ride here in France but you can experience something equivalent riding the “cyclotouriste” rides.
It is very interesting to see the volunteers and how they are involved in the ride/race (this one but also for triathlons).
It is very difficult here in France to have enough volounteers to organize big events. For example, the Tristar 111 in Lyon,FR (where I am living) last July was looking for volounteers until the race’s day…
Nice pics anyway and what an amazing cake ;-)
Man, that cherry pie looked awesome, Asia for the last 14 years – haven’t had anything like that in years.
This sounds so great-not competing but just enjoying!!! :) Sounds like a great day w/ dad.
that sounded like an awesome time. And the birthday cake looked great too.
“Being the first time I’ve ever done a group ride”
Really?! You need to get out more. This century looks awesome! So scenic and the food looks delicious. Very cool idea to pair your watch with your dad’s HR and cadence.
Sounds like a great day in the saddle, and what a better way to spend it than with your Dad and pie!
So I also wore the Garmin FR610, but paired it to my Dad’s heart rate strap and cadence sensor. This allowed me to keep an eye on things and pace both the flats and the hills appropriately by his effort.
Legit LOL when I read that. Genius idea!
Thoroughly enjoyed the report Ray. You should have joined us for RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day) last Thursday. Not nearly as many photographs, but maybe my report will inspire you to plan a trip home again next year at this time. Also check out the course flyover on a prior post from last week. Finally, the Girl is to cake making, what you are to ride photography. Belated congrats on the nuptials. You two are a creative-tech force.
link to pressingpause.com
awesome pics Ray! I’ve actually been in Seattle for work and during my Saturday ride I came upon people in the middle of the 50 miler. Very fun. Seattle is a gorgeous city!
Great thing to do a ride like this, priceless to be able to do it with your old man! Enjoy life and its precious moments….
Cheers
Andre Dias
This is an incredible ride overview! Thanks for putting it all together, so fun to read.
If you liked the Seattle Century, you’ll love the other events from Good Sport Promotion. See our full calendar here:
link to GoodSportPromotion.com
We look forward to seeing you on the road!
Team Good Sport Promotion
Hi ray, thats great that you got to spend time with your dad on an awesome ride like that. I’m sure you’ll both remember it for a long time.
OMG, how I miss Seattle :( I used to live there, for a couple of months, but still. This is my first time posting a comment in your site, which I love by the way. You are too much fun, and this looks like an awesome time with your family. Keep up the great site, and congrats on being married, you guys look like the perfect couple!
He Ray, is it possible that I can invite you for the “Ronde van Vlaanderen”-century ride. Imagine 20.000 people the day before the real “Ronde” around Belgium’s cycling hotspot. For pics see here. I’ll make sure you have a ticket, hotel, bed and company. Saturday 31th of March is the century, a day later the real race for the pros.
Interested?
That pie must’ve been darn good to bike 50 miles to get it.
I just started reading your blog and I’m glad I found it. I saw that you take your camera with you on your rides and runs and so it inspired me to go ahead and do it. Glad I did–I got some nice pics this weekend on my bike.
Also, liked this: So I also wore the Garmin FR610, but paired it to my Dad’s heart rate strap and cadence sensor.
My boyfriend needs to pair one of these to my heart rate! He’s a much stronger rider than I!
Thanks for posting–I’ll be tuning in!
Great ride report! We were there, too, and enjoyed the great day, scenery, and most importantly – the food!
This was one of our group rides for our “Ride for LIVESTRONG Seattle” fundraising group – where we raise money and awareness for LIVESTRONG and its cancer survivorship-supporting programs. You can check us out at http://rideforlivestrongseattle.blogspot.com –
Glad to see you enjoying quality time with your Dad. It’s plan to see that he’s proud of you, and had a great time beside you (behind you!?) on the road.
See you on the road – maybe next year …!?
that looks like the best ride ever!
mm cherry pie! way better than gels!
Great report on a great day with Dad Ray! Very nice read as usual, I know you have a lot of fans, just wanted to tell you to keep it up!!
I used to cycle with my dad and large groups for years when I was younger, like from my 9th till 16th, enjoyed it ever so much! Sadly I found out about going out and alcohol hehe..
Little over 18 months ago, at age 37 now I started running and few months ago decided to buy a bike again, enjoying myself every single minute.. Unfortunatly dad’s health is not up for cyclcing anymore (sad to see for someone who used to ride 12.000 miles a season (7/8 months).. He does have a scooter (small motorcysle, not mobility / invalids type yet) now though, so had my very first “derny-like” training with dad a week or two ago hehe, sure there’s more to follow!
On a sidenote: been training the wife running for about 7 weeks now, had her wear my back-up Sigma HR strap while wearring the watch on the opposite arm of my own FR60 to check her health before teaching her how to use it herself :)
This was a great ride report! I also did Seattle century last weekend and your report amd pictures do a great job and showing ihow well organized and fun it was and … All that wonderful food. No way to consume that many calories on this ride. I found your blog following a friends’s recommendation and since I do tris also, I found it very informative and inspiring. Funny enough, I was also in Boise this year. My first half IM. Dreaming of full ironman next year or the next. Any recommendation for a specific race? I live in Seattle.
Great ride! Did it last year too. Very well organized and super food and support. Many thanks to ride support volunteer Tracy who helped us fix a flat in record time.
“One thing that I was most concerned with was ensuring that we were going a pace that we were both confortable with. So I also wore the Garmin FR610, but paired it to my Dad’s heart rate strap and cadence sensor.”
That’s brilliant! I wish I had thought/seen/knew this was possible. My riding partner is a bit slower than me and if I had her metrics readily available, I would know if she’s struggling to keep up. It would have been really nice for the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride.