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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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!
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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.
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.
14.3 miles in the lovely hills of Maine.
Hello, one entrie. patriciagarridolopez@yahoo.com
My last workout was a 20k TT, but it was really more of an excuse to try out my new race wheels! No squirrels, but we did have to dodge a combine and a grain truck!
My last cycling “workout” was Cycle North Carolina – 500 miles over 7 days from the Mountains to the Coast of the state. It was a recreational tour, not a race, but day after day it was both fun and challenging!
I just bought an Edge 500 based on your review, but boy does that jersey look sweet.
My last workout was a Capital Bikeshare sprint from the Hill to Mt. Pleasant. Full gas.
Hi Ray,
My last bike ride was two hours in the rain. Very cold but felt great afterwards!
/Andreas
3 hours – 50 miles – no squirrels. Nice ride through the NC mountains enjoying the fall foliage with the wife.
This is my last workout: Interval-tempo brick. Bike about 1 hour with 3 or 4 x 5 x 1k at race effort (2-minute recoveries) on a course that simulates your A-race course. Then quickly transition to a 20-minute run at 10k race pace. Walk for a few minutes afterwards to cool down.
Thanks Ray!
Hey Ray,
I am preparing the 26th edition of the Venice Marathon, which is due next Sunday 23rd, during my tapering period I do several cycling workout. The last one was on Wednesday, 18km, with 96rpm average. I am cycling with MTB closed to the place where we had the 2008 Cycling word championship (Varese, Italy). I did not see squirrels around. You should eventually be here.
Take care, Massi.
My last cycling workout was a 60 minute, indoor spin class…thus no dead squirrels.
No squirrels, but lots of donkeys (jackasses?) :). I was doing laps around the 2-mile state office campus here in Albany, NY. Every few laps I’d end up having one of those informal sprints to the line with a speed-skater who wanted to test his legs. Of course, I couldn’t let a glorified rollerblader have any glory so I put the hammer down each time!
Training for IMFL so while the middle of the week has had me on the trainer I did 100 mi up and around Sugarloaf Mtn to Whites Ferry and then did it again. Came close to a couple of squirrels but thankfully for them they got out of Dodge. Read you 09 Florida report a few times and will even be staying where you stayed so thanks for the reviews and keep up the great (I’d say work but seems more fun) Fun. cheers
Last cycling workout was an indoor spin class at the local gym, I know not quite the same as being outdoors and definitely not the right setup for data collection but it was well worth it getting someone else involved in the sport and building the foundation for races with her next year..
no squirrels, and only 60km on roadbike from Csongrád to Szeged (Hungary) :)
Awesome giveaway! My ultrarunning has thoroughly taken over my riding. Last ride was on the trainer back in March, yikes. Thanks for the chance.
Just an easy recovery ride after an 18 mile run. Squirrels were around but no casualties.
last ride was on my single speed mountain bike… great group ride in some beautiful late summer weather on our great local trails.
thanks for the contests.
Last cycling workout was last week, before the Chicago Marathon, on an indoor trainer for 45mins. One squirrel hit, but he lived.
I did an hour and a half mtn bike ride yesterday afternoon. No squirrels, plenty of mud.
Catching up the last sunny day here in Germany – I went out for a smooth 45 miles ride trough the middle of nowhere last week – think the squirrels were out sun-bathing too – haven’t seen any of the guys ;)
Last bike ride was an easy going 30 mile tour of the North Fork on Long Island. Great weather and good times with friends. No animals were harmed during my ride.
Last ride was Monday. First ride since IM Wisconsin. No gps, no HR monitor, no power meter. Just me and the bike. It was great!
Phil
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My last ride was not very pleasant at all actually. I got about 2 hours of good riding in the woods. Then I crashed. My back got hit. My physio therapist is saying that it is ok for me to do a shorter ride now to see how the back reacts. I will do a night ride tonight with some friends, looking forward to the first ride in 3 weeks.
Last workout was the 10.8 miles in my super sprint Sunday. Have a metric century on tap tomorrow
Last cycling workout was just a recovery workout on Monday after a half marathon on Sunday. Just an easy spin with late afternoon sun!
Last ride was on the trainer so there would be much bigger problems should I have encountered a squirrel. Hill workout…6x(2x1min stand, 1min sit, 1 min aero).
No squirrels, but when you ride early mornings / late evenings in Central Park, you’ve gotta watch out for the raccoons — those guys can get mean!
My last ride was a 3 hour RR suffer fest on the computrainer in the basement.
In the middle of training for IMAZ so last ride was 112 miles with a timed run afterwards. No squirrels were harmed but saw lots of road kill and got chased by a pair of dogs that seem to know that we ride in that area every weekend at 7am. More mileage this weekend on the bike for Saturday and then long run and swim for Sunday.
I’m in. 34 mile ride w/ 1,600 Feet of climbing. Thankfully no squirrels hit, but almost hit a chipmunk. Thankfully he moved at the last second.
No squirrels — but when you ride the Central Park loop early morning or late at night, you’ve gotta watch out for raccoons… Those guys can be mean!
Racing in my first olympic distance tri which got cut down to an 11 mile bike because thunderstorms had flooded out most of the course. Tried to take a wide turn on the turnaround (it was an out and back) and overestimated my turning radius. I ended up with both wheels on the last inch of asphalt on the shoulder…past that it dropped off a good 6 inches. I managed to hang on for about 10 feet until I could finally steer myself away from it.
This is a great start to the weekend!
90 mins on the trainer with 60 mins in the BFG. Steady,steady, steady.
My last ride was 100km round the county, not the best of weather but a decent run out with the boys and I actually did hit a rabbit, the little fella jumped a bloody mile and bounced off my front tyre, ran away unharmed luckily, I think I was more scared than he was.
Rode 99.82km in 3:24:56 not bad really given the shocking head winds … But we do it for the love of the sport right ?
My last “ride” was a miserable power test on the trainer (using trainerroad.com). So luckily no wildlife was injuried during the filming of my ride (wife would be pretty happy about wildlife in the basement………no!)
It was an really nice mtn bike gorge ride following the riverside, followed by a hike & then jumped in some white-water rafts to float back to the start (great time!)
As always, thx much for your generosity!!
Arkansas to Zimbabwe, funny you say that since I’m in Arkansas!
Thanks for hooking us up and the great blog you’ve got goin’. My last bike ride was a short but intense 7 mile Mt. bike ride. Rode under the philosophy that if you’re not bleeding/crashing then you’re not riding hard enough. Missed the ‘over the handlebars’ move, which would’ve made for a trifecta.
All the best! – Ozarktri (Jason)
Chester County hill climbing. Squirrels were still sleeping off their Mad Dog 50/50 bender from the night before.
last workout was actually the NYC Triathlon. after that, I turned in my bike, helmet, shoes, for the more simpler, running shoes and headphones to train for the Philly Marathon that you’ll be in as well.
Hi!
Last Workout: 100+ miles, no squirrels, and I felt ready to tackle my first full in a couple weeks!
Last bike workout was yesterday, just 30 minutes since bad weather was rolling in. Only my second ride using clip-in pedals. They seem pretty easy, but I’m still waiting for the moment when I forget I’m using them and fall over. Thanks for the blog!
I almost hit a family of deer on my way to school this morning :)
My last workout was on my rollers using Trainerroad, and so is my next one in about 15 minutes. At least I can still get in a good workout before I take my daughter to school.
My 2nd ever ride on my new Lemond Revolution Trainer! No rear wheel meant I knew not what my speed or distanced traveled was but it didn’t matter. I did a 20 min. warm-up and then a 30 min. “inspired” effort followed by a 10 min. cool down.
Very excited about the Brim Brothers power meter since Garmin decided to not use the Speedplay pedal.
My last workout was 50 minutes on my local mtb trails on my single speed. It’s been a beautiful fall and the leaves covering roots and ruts provided an additional challenge.
Two squirrels nearly met their maker this time around.
No cycling for a month. Just runinng. Training for marathon coming in ten days.
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Last workouts have been biking to and from work, couple close calls with squirrels, no casualties. Hopefully no rain this weekend to get in a nice ride.
Last cycling workout was a 90mi combination of a predawn 25mi with my girlfriend (before she had to get ready for work) followed by a long group ride. No squirrels, but we did have a dawn encounter with a pack of javelinas (wild pigs) crossing the road ahead of us!
16 miles of easy riding. Now that it is out of season, easy riding is the ticket for a while.
ryans in MN
It was Thursday, with 3 more friends. 15,4km. we have such a good time.
check it:
link to sports-tracker.com
Cumprimentos!
20 mi group ride last night. no squirrels were harmed.
Another incredible offer! Last workout was on the trainer on Wednesday night. Some easy interval work as I didn’t want to mess with my tricky knee just a few days before tomorrow’s Seagull Century.
Thanks!
Last workout was cut short by two flats, yes two. A measly 10 miles into my ride I had gone through my spare tube and walked home. Bummer.
Oh goodness, now I feel bad, my last ride was *probably* my last race… at the end of August! DOH! I really do need to get on the bike again don’t I? Oh well, it was a good Oly distance Tri. In fact, it was also part of the inaugural TriStar111 series here in the US. I’d love to get my hands on a new Garmin cycle computer as I really need some Mac compatibility. I’ve finally jettisoned my last Windows PC!
Does a weekly spin class count? If so, yesterday morning at the way too early time of 6:15 am. No squirrels. :)
If it doesn’t count, I’m riding in the Hilly Hundred this weekend. Although I’m approaching it more as a tour-type ride with lots of picture taking of pretty leaves and less intervals.
Last ride was a quick 20 road miles from the house. Zero squirrels.
a nice easy 25 mile ride, took a break half way through after my buddy and I found a wallet. We found the owner and gave it back, turns out he lost it out on the bike. Bikers helping bikers!
Hey Ray! I’m from Arkansas so now you just need a comment from Zimbabwe! My last cycling workout was with a friend who is training for IMAZ. We did about 40 miles as an out and back route with the back being into the wind and uphill. Hope you have a great weekend!
Hi Ray,
My last ride was climbing a col with a friend who thought he couldn’t do it, well he did and is so happy now :).
Last ride was Wednesday with a short 11 mile fast pace ride around the vineyards in my area. Love the smell of grapes and the changing leave color.
Last cycling workout was my first ride on my new Orbea tri bike. 31 miles in an hour and forty minutes with only a few close calls with squirrels and a few deer sited also as I rode part of the Ironman Texas course.
I’m really going to like this new bike (and could really) use a new Edge 500 for it).
No squirrels, due to being inside on the trainer for a lactate threshold test! Looking forward to hitting the pavement with the UVA cycling team this Saturday. :)
My last wide was a quick one up Paris Mountain, quick by my standards, Hincapie could sleep ride up this climb faster. Only casualty was an armrest on my aero bars. Forgot to check their security. #dumb
On my last bike workout I went on country roads – me, corn and cows!
Last bike workout was FAR too long ago. No squirrels were harmed. Not that I’m above harming squirrels, they’re a bit too uppity if you ask me. It’s just that I didn’t see any. They know better…
Recovery week, so my last bike workout was 2 hours easy spinning (little ring only).
Not much of a competative cyclist so it was some several months ago and the bike has had a flat ever since. This would be positive encouragement to go out again though.
My last cycling workout was in Mankato MN – did the Mankato River Ramble last Sunday with my husband and got to visit my daughter the same weekend! Susan in Shoreview
Nice! And now I go bike to work in the downpour…
Last ride was two weeks ago… (busy atm with Marathon October).
The ride was a two-day trip around the entire Lake Biwa of Shiga prefecture in South Central Japan with a total of 165 kilometers. Beautiful scenery and gorgeous wildlife out here in the countryside during a weekend of unbelievably nice weather. Slept overnight in a bed and breakfast and woke up to another long day’s ride.
Took two weeks to shed all the skin off my arms from the sunburn though… *sigh.
Last ride was the bike portion of the last tri of the year. Top-5 AG bike split on the way to a 5-minute Olympic PR. Beautiful fall weather today, so off-season training may commence.
It was Wednesday, holiday in Spain. I am on my second week of Base 1 and had scheduled a 1hour E2 (Extensive Endurance) ride. Decided to go with the Mountain Bike and had a beautiful ride at dusk in the country side near home.
Hi,
Does 2 hours on spin bike in Gym count? Was raining outside and I am a wimp…Mick..
I’ll be hitting up the Cervelo e-test ride tomorrow and testing out an R3 for an hour. I shall endeavor to avoid all squirrels, geese, and deer on the river trail.
Hi,
Does 2 hours on spin bike in Gym count? Was raining outside and I am a wimp…Mick..
Monday mountain bike at a local trail. It took nearly 2 hours (1:57) to get 24km but only because I decided to just take it easy and have fun on the trail. Also to try out some of the crazy ramps, bridges and other features that our local trail builders so generously constructed. It was a great ride! Two endo’s and no injuries!!
Hi,
Does 2 hours on spin bike in Gym count? Was raining outside and I am a wimp…Mick..
Last ride of any kind was in August (been a little busy with the running lately), but that will change soon.
8/31:
Bike – 14.5
Got in a good evening/night ride in the Highlands Ranch Backcountry while waiting to pick up my kids. Felt good. Celebrated the noticeable lack of heel pain when hitting the jumps. My achilles tendons used to scream on the liftoffs and landings. Not even a whimper tonight. First time in 2.5 years…
Wow, no chance I am gonna win out of the 100’s of people posting. But my last ride was a commute to work (Arlington to Alexandria) on Tuesday. Too bad the weather has been crappy since then. No squirrels to mention but plenty of people to race, despite it being a recovery day after a long run.
Catching up the las sunny day here in Germany – I went out for a 45mile ride through the middle of nowhere – think the squirrels were out sounbathin’ – did not see one of the guys ;)
My last ride was cut short because a drunk homeless guy stepped out in front of me. I bumped him with my handlebars while trying to make an emergency stop. I was so flustered that I turned around and went home.
Last cycling workout was Wednesday night’s mtb – 12k commute on multiuse trails out to some grueling single track for 1.5h of riding, then the 12k back home. Saw 4 or 5 deer staring at me on the way back – made me a little nervous after that crazy video of the rider getting charged by the antelope in sa.
Read a few chapters of “Going Long” on a stationary bike at the Hilton in Nassau (down here for work, yeah I know- it’s rough). No squirrels but definitely some interesting people watching.
I did some good old fashioned one legged drills on a spin bike at the gym….good times. :)
It’s been a while since my last actual workout aside from comuting, I was taking rest after my race season. so that would be Extreme Man Menorca (middle distance) triathlon. I came 4th AG!
Ray,
Last biking workout was a very easy “wine stroll” along the Missouri-Kansas-Texas rails to trails highway in Rocheport, Mo. Six people, 4 bottles of wine, a dozen photos, and tons of fun. Aboslutely awesome.
The best part, no wrecks.
The worse part, we ran over 2 snakes.
Fun times!
Quick small run with my brother, we went from Sanremo to San Lorenzo and back (Liguria, Italy) on the local bike lane. Awesome landscape, no squirrels (plenty of kids wandering randomly on the track tho :( ).
Just finished grad school, so took my old 15-mile, one hour standby. The one with the three-mile long hill. Perfect day, nice to be back in the saddle again. Road bike shifts a LOT more smoothly than the commuter!
You’re awesome, as always, Ray!
I had 90 minutes on the trainer last night with a 20-minute Z4 stint. Tomorrow, it’s 5 1/2 hours for the front half of my brick. Should be beautiful outside!!
Last workout was a CycloCross Practice race were I blow a tire.
I live in Arkansas, which had great cycling btw, so I really hope you do mail it here. This weekend for example I am playing with a sweet Cervelo road bike at a demo a local bike shop is holding for us. Hopefully I don’t like it so much that I need to buy it! But if I did buy it or didn’t, that Edge 500 would have a couple nice stems to call their home. :-)
-Guillermo
Memito22581@yahoo.com
During a short trip I rented a bike in London and went for a spin in the dark. FYI: Everybody drove on the wrong side!?! Strange…
Murphy’s Law dictates I will win this, because (1) I’ve tried relentlessly to win these giveaways when I –REALLY– need the item, and never do, and (2) I’m a horrible cyclist.
My last cycling workout was on the trainer, practicing my aero position. I’m still recovering from injury, so it’s slow going. No squirrels killed, but I’m sure many of them got quite a side stich from laughing at me in the backyard learning to clip in/out of my pedals (oh yeah, I’m learning that too).
Actually, I suspect that the founder will pay me NOT to wear his jersey!
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been in marathon training mode, but I rode the Columbia tri course a couple weeks back. Zero squirrels were harmed in this effort.
Last work out was a 42 mile ride. Didn’t kill any squirrels but did pass an un-mounted horse in the street.
One hour of Training Pace around a nice lake path…no squirrels were injured but I did have to dodge road kill, several small children and some loose chihuahuas. It always makes for an interesting ride on a multi-use city trail!
Spinning class indoors, 1 hour pretty hard.
Last workout outside: Giant Acorn Sprint Tri. 12.4 mi, 40′ (I know, I am an average rider, but I just started…).