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
Results of the 2011 DCRainmaker Survey
You may remember back in January I asked you to complete a brief survey about what you wanted from my little place on the internet. At the time, I didn’t quite know what to expect when I put it out … Read More Here
Spring meets DC, and I meet the 1980’s.
The last few days have been a great preview into spring weather around the nation’s capital. The weather has been nice and warm, all while still being cool enough to not finish up runs/rides drenched from the heat/humidity. Additionally, my … Read More Here
Week in Review: March 12th, 2011
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
A brief update pictorial on Polar’s upcoming Keo power meter
For a quick Friday post I want to focus your attention towards a group of photos released by Polar on their FaceBook page on Thursday. These are the first photos showing their new pedal-based power meter that they previously announced … Read More Here
Analyzing your swim technique in the pool with the GoPro HD
As part of my never ending quest to improve my swim from not-so-great to ‘better’, I’ve been recently playing around with the waterproof GoPro HD camera in the pool. This allows me to record video of my swimming (as well … Read More Here
15 Must-Read Posts For New (And Vintage) Triathletes
It’s that time of year. I noticed it tonight when I finished up my first brick-run of the season: The fake cherry tree on the side of my house had just started blooming. It’s not a real cherry tree per … Read More Here
Going old school: Using a bike trainer from 1976
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I have an eBay alert setup for any time the word ‘CompuTrainer’ is listed within a description on eBay. While I’m not really in the market for a 3rd CompuTrainer, I’m always entertained by … Read More Here
Swimming through the registry
This weekend was a pretty big hodgepodge of activities. I covered all the usual sports, and a few other activities that with careful regulation – could probably be categorized as sport. First up was a Friday evening swim. I’ve been … Read More Here
Umpteen ways to measure your heart rate
For reasons unclear to me, this week has turned out to be the week of heart rate related devices plopping onto my doorstep. So let’s rundown a quick preview of stuff I’ll be posting more in depth over the next … Read More Here
How I train, upload and get analysis from my Coach
I’ll admit it upfront – I’m really lucky. Or rather, I’m really lucky to have a coach who’s so incredibly detail oriented that he’s thrilled to pour through whatever I upload – be it data files, text commentary, or photos … Read More Here
The lost photos archive
Over the last few weeks my cell phone has been acting a wee bit slow when I go to take photos. After a bit of searching I found that it may be because I have too many photos on it. … Read More Here
Swimming, crazy man, Tunebugs and Crabs
The weekend started Friday night with a nice continuous swim in a fairly empty Olympic sized swimming pool. That’s the nice thing about Friday’s…the pool is always empty. I continue to play with both the Swimsense and the Pool-Mate Pro … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 27th, 2011
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
Friday Tidbits: Spring’s gonna be busy for new toys!
(Side Note: I have no idea what on earth this clipart image is depicting. I was searching for random images to use for this post using the Microsoft Word clipart selection and out of curiosity entered ‘triathlon’ – and got … Read More Here
CycleOps Joule and PowerTap Wheelset In-Depth Review
Last year when Saris/CycleOps came out with their ANT+ enabled Joule, many wondered how it would stack up against the competition. Would a non-GPS enabled device still be able to compete in an increasingly GPS dominated world? And how would … Read More Here
A look at the Trek/Bontrager frame integrated DuoTrap ANT+ Speed/Cadence Sensor
A few weeks ago The Girl brought home her new bike, the Trek Speed Concept, which is one of the very few bikes out there that includes the option to add a frame-integrated ANT+ speed/cadence sensor. The sensor kit fits … Read More Here
A look at USAT’s newly promoted CyclePro bike insurance
Back a few weeks ago a USAT e-mail was sent out to the majority of members promoting a new bike insurance program from a company called CyclePro. The e-mail highlighting the program basically explained at a high level that it … Read More Here
A weekend in the sun
We’re gonna keep this weekend update post pretty short – since you’ve got a boatload of detailed posts coming up this week covering all sorts of goodness. As I mentioned on Friday, The Girl and I had a long scheduled … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 20th, 2011
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
Friday Training and Travelling Tidbits
Wow – the end of my first week at home! Awesome! With a full week of training I’ve been able to get some really good solid workouts in. Take for example my Tuesday run. This workout starts off with an … Read More Here
Thoughts on the new Boston Marathon Qualifying Standards
The running world’s been all abuzz after yesterday’s changes to the Boston Marathon qualifying times, which are slated to take effect in part later this year and then in full the following year. At a glance the changes shorten the … Read More Here
My 2011 Season Race Schedule
Each year about this time I detail out my race plan for the year. Normally ‘about this time’ is closer to the beginning of January…but this year it ended up being just a wee bit later. Just had to have … Read More Here
Boston Marathon Entry Giveaway Results!
Thanks to everyone that qualified and entered in the Boston Marathon Entry Giveaway. It was pretty cool to read all of the stories in there! I know there’s a lot of deserving folks out there, including ones like this: Or … Read More Here
Enjoying a weekend back in the country
I finally got to enjoy a weekend of Washington DC focused training…and it was great! Beyond that there was of course much cooking around the house – though none of which I was doing, but rather, The Girl was busy … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 13th, 2011
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here