Heads up! The Garmin Enduro 3 is down to $829, some $70 off. That’s the lowest price to date on this new device. The Enduro 3 is notable though because it’s basically a Fenix 8 Solar minus the dive/voice features (and the Fenix 8 Solar/MIP starts at $1,099). Everything else is there, and it gets all Fenix 8 software features (and, insane battery life). Meanwhile, the Fenix 7 down to $429! Or Epix at $429. There’s a bunch more sports tech deals listed here too!
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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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 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.
Last workout was in my basement on my trainer. A short 45 minute cycle, but I managed to take out 17 squirrels and a badger.
Missed you at the Army Ten Miler, kinda bummed not to get a (small) chance to meet you among the 30,000 plus folks. Sad panda indeed!
But that will be perfect as I am moving to Kansas and riding a trainer a lot more, but I still have a few “epic” (over 40 miles) rides here at Fort Bragg! So NEXT workout is today (69 miles of hills)
Hope I win!
Andrew
My last cycling workout was the 13 mi. leg of a sprint tri–my first tri!
It wasn’t a training ride, but I feel I should pass it on so that others don’t make the same mistake that I made. I was on the bike path downtown and just came around a turn. There was a group of people crossing the path so I slowed to a stop. While waiting I spit in to the bushes. That’s when I heard it “THEY CAN TRACK YOU THAT WAY”! I turned around to see an older man with what i’ll assume was all of his belongings in a shopping cart. I said excuse me. He then went on to tell me if I ever wanted to “stay gone”, that I should keep my spit in my mouth. The group had now passed, so I thanked him for the information and went on my way. So – if you find yourself on the run or you just don’t want to be found, keep your spit in your mouth.
Century ride on the New England Seacoast. Started out in the rain but got much better as the day went on. The sixth time that I have done this particular ride and it gets better each year. This was the first year with my new bike and I wasn’t dyeing to get off of it at the end!
Count me in Ray. Plus who would not read your posts daily. You have one of the best blogs I’ve ever read….and I read a LOT of them! Thanks for doing yet another awesome giveaway!
The awesome hills of Arlington with a skeleton crew this past Tuesday was my last bike workout. With the threat of rain and dusk settling in early, it was a thrilling and fast ride. 27 bonus points were awarded during the ride to various cyclists for leveling off squirrel population levels in the area.
My last training ride was a 50 miler from my house to the only hill in the DFW area and back.
Just competed in my first road race this morning – 50k, flat as a pancake. Met my goal – which was simply to finish with the main group!
I’m currently looking for a bike to begin some real workout, meanwhile i’m using my wife’s mountainbike to go left and right for a run.
No squirrels were harmed for now, only a few unlucky flies in my unlucky eyes.
I’m usually riding a few kms (2 to 10) and enjoy those ride as an early warm up before my run :)
Next one ? This afternoon after work ! Yay !
My last ride was at the Westchester Toughman Triathlon. 56 miles and I hit a top speed of 52 a PR. Which is the only PR I set that day!
Last weekend ride: Gaithersburg to DC and back. Approximately 50 miles.
I volunteered to help out at a local half marathon, so was on my bike patrolling an area, making sure traffic was moving smoothly etc. Turned out to be a relatively decent workout, in a 5km radius I cycled 40km. Good fun.
Last ride was 15mi, sprint triathlon. Was a quick ride, had the fastest time. I’m now taking a week or two off to recoup and slowly start to gear up for 3 1/2 IMs and IM next year.
Last Sunday. 80miles. ~5h. What’s a squirrel?
Easy 45 min trainer ride using Trainer Road (big thanks for that one!). Racing on Sunday so nothing too strenuous. No squirrels to hit in Australia, do rabbits count?.
Oh God! Finally an opprtunity to win a DC Maker sticker… (the rest is just icing on the cake!)
Thanks for all ur hard work for us!
:)
My last cycling workout was the bike portion of a sprint triathlon relay back in September. It wasn’t a fast ride but it was the fastest I’ve ever done :) Unfortunately I haven’t done any cycling since then, but I am looking forward to train indoors all winter.
I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather last week to get a 25 mile training ride in.
Last workout was actually not that long, I was at my SpinClass!!! Put in an awesome 90 minutes of blood, sweat and tears! The only thing I hit was my knee getting on the bike. Doh!
My last ride was commute to work1 No squirrels but first puncture in months.
David Mills. UK
Free stuff on Friday. What could be better (already supplied bagels to my team here at work).
Right in the thick of Cross season here in New England. Was out on Wednesday in the woods on my cx bike. 1/2 warmup followed by one solid hr of twisty tempo riding on trails and climbs in Rocky Meadows. Sweet stuff. Had the desire effect as my roady upper body is still sore from working the bike through the turns and climbs.
VO2max workout on rollers while watching Alien Hunter via my Roku. Just getting to the good part the movie, maybe I’ll hit an alien.
I watched a movie while training on my cycletrainer. No squirrels were hit, I didn’t even swallow a bug.
Deep in the thick of my first full-on Cyclocross season. Was out in the woods on Wednesday for 1 1/2 hrs of hard charging through trails and climbs in Rocky Meadows, Belmont, MA. Sweet riding on my cross bike. Had the desired effect as my upper body is still sore from the effort.
Great stuff and look forward to heading back there again today. Lancaster Cross this Sunday.
2 hour Zone 2 training ride with 15min warm up and warm down. Not so easy getting the HR up on the way out because of a HUGE tail wind but on the way back was pretty easy.. Gotta love winter miles..
My last ride was at lunch time with some colleagues, easy 10 miles. Taking advantage of the nice weather before Winter.
No squirrels but may have nearly hit a chipmunk. Went for an short but quick 20+ miler hitting some of the bigger hills in the area. It was a good ride but after 3 days of going hard my legs were shot.
4x10min harder effort to get the legs for my first race back this weekend. Have been out from an accident since June and am looking forward to getting in one last duathlon before the season ends.
Last ride was Poconos Ironman 70.3 two weeks ago – haven’t had the will to get back on the bike yet! Next week is start of winter training so that will have to be the next one.
Great give away as always.
Keith.
My last cycling workout was Fatty’s 100 miles to nowhere. Right after that, I found out I broke my foot and was non weight bearing the whole rest of the summer. I’m hoping to get a couple rides in before the snow falls.
Last cycling workout was my second ride on my brand new road bike. No more hauling myself on rides on my mountain bike! I’m so excited!
No animal activity, though I did see four deer while running through the rain this week.
vw: desurio. I very much desurio the jersey and Garmin!
My last bike work out was in July! I’m a runner now!
Last workout was a road ride with a local mountain bike racer who is in ridiculous shape and destroyed me for only 30 miles. It felt as though we had completed man many more. As usual, this was to simply supplement the run training.
Last workout was a fun fide on my hybrid.
It was an easy hourish ride around the “river” down here in Melbourne, FL. Since it’s pancake flat, the bridges at 60ish feet tall are the biggest hills available for … a long ways.
Will
Hmmm… last cycling “workout”… I rode a 2 person bike with my husband up the Greenbriar River Rail Trail to a swimming hole complete with rope swing… no squirrels were harmed.
Riding to the train station for my MARC commute saw me dodge squirrels, rats, and cars. Oh Baltimore.
Hi,
today 45 Km great , in Tel Aviv
doron from tel aviv
Last ride was 12 miles of some rather technical single track, preparing for a “dirty” duathlon next weekend.
My last bike involved a flat tire in the first 4 miles. The same thing happened the last week, same bike, same wheel, same route. What a pain.
Last ride was the bike in Kona. 112 miles…5:05:xx.
No squirrels on the fluid trainer :( I’d move it outside but right now it’s set up for watching hockey. 30min with a GSC10 unit and a 310xt.
My last cycling workout was a post-work ride with a couple of co-workers around Rock Creek Park in DC and Maryland, with some added hills thrown in around the Mormon Temple! Fun times, until it got dark! We were out for just under 2hr and 32 miles. No squirrels were injured but saw some deer run out into the street!
My last ride was in a sprint tri in Palm Cast, FL thi past weekend. We has a crazy storm rolling through and the swim was cancelled (due to raging ocean conditions) and replaced with a 5k. Needless to say, the bike was a bit windy and nearly took me off the road a few times! My next ride is as soon as I stop reding your blog!!
Hi – cycle to work this morning ;D. More seriously though, 120km on Wednesday, enjoying glorious weather before it gets cold and wet in UK!
My last workout was the Aust. Masters Road Champs, last weekend – I’ve been lucky enough to have had put my feet up since then..
I’m itching to get back on the bike again already.
Not sure I say any squirrels though.
I hit the pavement pretty hard on my last workout. Currently recovering.
Love the blog!
Just did a 13km bike ride this evening… Haven’t been riding for a long time due to school! Feels good to be back on the bike but was having a headache though..
My last ride was my last 100+ journey before my 1st ever IM. Was a gruesome day at the beach as riding out I was pedaling at a 23mph effort, yet only going 16mph. Talk about a head game for a few hours! Luckily the wind held on the turnaround and gave me turbos for my ride in. Bring it on IMFL!!!
As it was a trainer session in the garage (have an agitated wife and a 3.5 half week baby at home, what do you mean “I could have ridden outside”!!!!), I did not hit any squirrels. It was a boring trainer session of ~35 minutes.
Ihsan,
Silver Spring, MD
My last ride was the bike portion of the Kerville 70.3 in the hill country West of Austin, TX. Its a fun, relatively fast course put on by the great folks at Jack and Adam’s bike shop (hey, how about a tour of bike shops one of these days?) and well worth the trip. I left the wildlife alone, but could see at least 3 deer who didn’t make it, sad to say.
Last training ride was on the KKinetic trainer for an hour. Prepping for the Seagull Century this weekend!
Brim + Edge. Love it!
My last workout was last Sunday through the foothills of North Central, GA – Roswell and Marietta – trying to keep up with fellows who were faster. Ouch.
One squirrel threatened, and I thought we were going mano y mano, but it backed down after a well-timed scowl.
My last workout was a recovery ride after I completed a charity ride the day before. I rode easy for 1 hour at 85 RPM.
Thank you for all that you do. I read your blog every day.
Biking home from work, through the national mall, dodging tourists. No tourists or squirrels hit!
My last cycling session was back in August. It was a brick prior to the Cayuga Lake Tri in NY. Thanks for a great blog, you inspire me.
Last training ride was the course for an upcoming half Iron. It rained most of the ride which was really good since we are in a severe drought in Tx. most rain we have gotten in a day since Sept of last year.
My last workout was on my trainer, an easy 30 minutes to loosen up the stiff legs from playing a soccer game after not touching a ball for 3 years before that! Really shows the importance of cross training for the body!
my last cycling workout was umm…. in a sprint triathlon last month where i came in 2nd age group and 9th woman overall!
My last ride was the bike part in my local sprint tri .. in early July. Only running since then.
Love the blog
Thorsten
Last workout was on an easy course, with plenty of short-ish hills. Was supposed to be about an hour, but met a friend on the way and an hour turned into almost two and roughly 50 km. Good times !
Now, the weather is turning grey and cold. At this rythm, we’ll have snow in a few weeks, so out comes the indoor trainer.
I’m only in because I WANT THAT STICKER! My last cycling workout was Tri the Mountains Sprint Triathlon on July 24th. I rode 18 miles in about 55 minutes.
A nice casual 30 mile ride with some smooth rollers!
My last ride was 45km long, on a beautiful sunday morning here in Brazil.
Hi Ray,
My last ride was in augusto, a 56mile long on Ironman 70.3 Brazil. Not as funny as yours, no squirrels, but I made my PR on this distance on tri rides!
Cheers,
Antonio
Hi,
I’m from Germany and yesterday I finished off my cycling-season with a nice four hour ride in the Black forest.
My ride stretched over a distance of approx. 115 km featuring two massive climbs in the black forest one of them the Schwarzmiss ( link to kette-links.de ). Was rather cold and windy up there, but a really cool ride because there were hardly any cars or other people there disturbing the silence…
Well, I did not hit any squirrels on my way but apparently some cars did…
My last training ride was a blast! I just put new rubber on my bike and that always makes me a little more confident in the grip so I push it even harder in the corners. That confidence will no doubt be shaken after the inevitable first slip in a wet corner and i again will be reminded that indeed the laws of physics apply to me and my bike. Thanks for the giveaway.
Last bike session was a 2hour Turbo session – 2x 1hour ‘RIDES’ DVDs SoCal & North Carolina. The garage floor was a sweaty mess
The last I. Was on a bike I rode about 40 miles. The only problem with that is the last ride before that was about a year before that ride. It felt good to ride again but need more time on the bike.
Thanks for all the contests.
KAG
Just had enough daylight yesterday evening for an easy ride around the loop on the Guthrie Corridor highway just outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Unfortunately, my last ride was an hour long trainer session. But things look good for a ride outside on Sunday.
No squirrels for me this year! Actually it has been two months since my last ride as I have been in full marathon mode…but with that behind me I cant wait to get some riding in this fall!
Thanks for the great blog and another awesome giveaway!!
Last workout was at the local Wattbike studio for 1 hour.
Clair
My last serious time on the bike was a duathlon last year (!). No squirrels were hit, but I lost 3 places during the bike leg (which I re-gained on the second run leg).
Since then I’ve been tempted numerous times to dust up the trainer whenever the weather was particularly bad, but in the end I always went out running instead.
Eric V.
Last ride was a wonderful early morning 50 miler along the gulf coast in SW Florida, one week before I moved to Chicago.
Last one was in the gym in Dubai… still to hot to hit the road!
I rode for an hour on my bike hooked to my Kurt Kinectic trainer on Saturday, on Sunday I went for gas for the grill, and promptly dropped the tank out of the back of my Jeep onto my foot. Now I have a broken toe, and a mandatory cessation of athletic workouts. Sad Panda!
20 miles, 1500 ft ascent. Good times
Last time on the bike i fell into a giant puddle of mud…..not very happy… :))
From Chevy Chase, down the Rock Creek Park Trail, across the 14th Street Bridge, down the Mt. Vernon Trail and back! Fifty miles total in 2.5 hours. Almost ate it twice because of squirrels, which I believe are the same squirrels that tried to trip me up last time.
Squirrel conspiracy? I think so…
From Chevy Chase, down the Rock Creek Park Trail, across the 14th Street Bridge, down the Mt. Vernon Trail and back! Fifty miles total in 2.5 hours. Almost ate it twice because of squirrels, which I believe are the same squirrels that tried to trip me up last time.
Squirrel conspiracy? I think so…
Got to ride at PWFP with some friends. I loved the newly paved roads.
Great writeup on the new 910. Gotta get me one of them!
I always see squirrels, but so far haven’t hit any. However, while it wasn’t technically on my last workout, a couple weeks ago I came across some chickens on the trail. I had to stop and take a picture of it!
Last hard ride was in my first triathlon a week or so ago. Riding my near 30 lb Giant Cypress for 18 miles after the canoe and run was not speedy, but respectable. And I had a blast! I could get hooked on this triathlon thing…
6 hours on an indoor trainer, in Chicago ….prepping for my first ironman in Arizona in 5 weeks.
30 minutes on the trainer, therefore no animals were casualties of my ride.
It has actually been *forever* since I’ve been outside on my bike, since I wasn’t allowed to ride outside while pregnant (pesky potential to fall and upset the spawn into an early appearance), and since the baby trainer rides are easier for time reasons. But I can’t wait to hit the road again, probably in the spring!
My last cycling workout? On the trainer watching a movie in the basement.
Yesterday night I re-tested my FTP for offseason training, lets see if I can bump it at least 10% at the end of it, trainer months are almost here!
Dousman Duathlon, Dousman, WI. 9-18-11. Got the win w/ 24.6mph ave over 21miles plus sub 6pace runs. No squirrels, but I almost stepped on one the other day on a run. From here till spring it’s going to be mostly running, maybe a new jersey and gps will get me back on two wheels!!! Thanks for the reviews!
12 mile taper run for my first marathon coming up….getting nervous!
My last training ride was indoor using Trainer Road (thanks for the recommendation). Did one of their 60 minute pre-programmed workout.
Awesome giveaway as always! I just got home from a tri sprint – 22.5km on a closed highway – always the best rides! it was the inaugural triathlon in Askelon, Israel. They did a great job and I scored with a PB! Very excited about it!
Hi Ray,
My last ride was home from work last Friday. Had to find a way to enjoy the 80 degree October weather in Minnesota.
Thanks!
Mountain biking for one hour fifteen with my 8 year old son and the neighbor kid. No squirrels hit, but that 8-pt buck was pretty close.
Did 15 miles ride last Sunday. Super flat…….
A ~50 miler. The plan calls for Zone 2, so I got a chance to enjoy the scenery for a change.
I keep meaning to try out TrainerRoad, but whilst the autumnal weather is holding out the turbo can stay in it’s bag.
Exciting! I was saving squirrels on my last bike w/o, as I was cooped up on the trainer watching bad re-runs on A&E.
one entrie, Jorge