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
App Review: SwimRadar–Finding pools while travelling
(I’ve long been asked to do app reviews. And I have done a few here and there, as well as written about them for various publications. At the moment the number of developers asking for my app reviews far exceeds … Read More Here
2011 Philadelphia Marathon Race Report
My goals for the Philly Marathon were pretty clear from the start of this year: Break 2:50 In fact, I probably valued the Philly Marathon more than Boise 70.3 back in June. My previous Philly Marathon time stood at 2:54, … Read More Here
A few quick (and totally worthwhile) items
First off – fear not, my race report is coming. I had Monday’s post pre-written (correctly) assuming that I’d be exhausted. Then tonight (Monday night) came along, and I got caught up finishing other work items. So, I’ll be spending … Read More Here
My 2011 Sports Technology Recommendations
Last year I put together a GPS recommendations guide in August – which has become the staple of my recommendations around products. Then in November, I put a different guide together around my recommendations for the holiday. This year, I … Read More Here
Two days till Philly Marathon
(Quick Administrative FYI: REI has the FR310XT down to $289 – then you can stack Garmin’s $50 rebate on that – bringing it down to $239…which is pretty much the lowest I’ve ever seen it. If you don’t care about … Read More Here
Tip of the day: Changing your Garmin FR60 battery
A few weeks ago I was looking to add two Garmin FR60’s to my infamous roller for some rolling pin comparison shots, like I usually do. Except, both watches batteries had gone kaput. I had noticed this back some time … Read More Here
Guest Post: Sleeping My Way to the Top Part II: The Race Report
Note from Ray: Here’s the second part of ITU Pro Triathlete and friend Lindsey Jerdonek’s experience with using an altitude tent ahead of her first ITU World Cup race. If you’re not familiar with how ITU racing differs from age … Read More Here
Spending time with the team behind the Basis watch
Walking down the street where the blue dot on the phone’s map was leading me, I started to wonder if I had the right place. As I neared the address, all I could see was an appliance store trying to … Read More Here
A relaxing weekend in San Francisco
This weekend I was out in San Francisco for the last Men’s Health Urbanathlon of the year. The event was held on Sunday, but we actually went out Thursday to enjoy a bit of the city and make a weekend … Read More Here
My Totally Awesome New Shark Blimp
Remember back a week or two ago when I noted all the new products that came in to review? Well, in addition to those, there was one little item that I just ordered myself…a remote controlled shark blimp. Yes, seriously. … Read More Here
Motorola MOTOACTV In Depth Review
(Please Note: This product has been discontinued by Motorola Mobility, which is now owned by Google.) As I noted two days ago, the Motorola Motoactv has completely and totally changed the face of sports watches…literally overnight. Upon its initial release … Read More Here
How to select your races for next year
It’s that time of the year where the triathlon events start to go on sale for next year, and also the time of year where you’ve got to pick and choose how to structure your season. In some ways, how … Read More Here
The Weekend: Motorola MOTOACTV, Zeo Mobile, Jawbone Up, long battery tests
I didn’t exactly plan on having as many different gadgets arrive this weekend as occurred – it just sorta happened. But holy cow – there’s some really cool stuff in here! Like increda-cool. I can’t wait to get full in … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 6th, 2011
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Tip of the day: How not to lose your ANT+ stick
It used to be that I’d always be searching for that darn ANT+ stick to download workouts from my Garmin Forerunner. If I used a desktop computer, it would probably live a peaceful monogamous relationship with my desktop, un-phased by … Read More Here
Guest Post: Sleeping My Way to the Top
Note from Ray: When up and coming ITU Pro Triathlete and friend Lindsey Jerdonek approached me about finding an altitude tent for doing a product review in preparation for her first ITU World Cup race, I immediately thought it’d make … Read More Here
Garmin decides not to add Left/Right power or TSS/NP/IF to Forerunner 310XT
While checking on status for the forthcoming Edge 500 and FR310XT firmware updates that were scheduled to add the TrainingPeaks Metrics of TSS/NP/IF to the Edge 500, Edge 800, Forerunner 310XT and Forerunner 910XT – I got word that the … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness gives sneak peak of new BlueHR–Bluetooth Smart heart rate strap
Today Wahoo Fitness gave a sneak peak at the first Bluetooth Smart heart rate strap – BlueHR. What’s Bluetooth Smart you ask? Well, it’s basically Bluetooth Low Energy renamed, which used to be known as both BTLE and BLE. Bluetooth … Read More Here
Timex Run Trainer 1.0 GPS In-Depth Review
Update Note: Consider looking at the just released Timex Run Trainer GPS 2.0 edition instead, if you’re looking at this watch. Comparisons between the two units are available in that review. With the market for sub-$200 GPS running watches becoming … Read More Here
A weekend in the snow in NYC…and planes, trains and automobiles.
This weekend started with a short 45 minute flight up to New York City for the NYC Urbanathlon. This is the race series I’ve been doing as part of my partnership with Men’s Health Magazine. Of course, before we picked … Read More Here
Week in Review–October 29th, 2011
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Now available: DC Rainmaker Stickers!
You asked for them…and I delivered! Well, actually, you’re local post office will eventually deliver. It would take a lot of cycling for me to personally deliver them to all the thousands of you spread around the world. Though, I … Read More Here
A look at Garmin’s new Forerunner FR70 running watch
There are many cases where I receive a new unit and work really hard to get a full in depth review out…and there are some cases where time just doesn’t permit such an instance. And then finally, there are cases … Read More Here
Tracks, Timex Run Trainers…and a night at the Kennedy Center
To say this week has been busy so far would be an understatement. A certain company is off going for a record on the number of product updates/releases in a single week, and I’ve been holding on trying to keep … Read More Here
Garmin Connect adds back Google Maps support, keeps Bing too
On a daily basis I see and hear questions on it: “When is Google Maps coming back to Garmin Connect!” And Garmin was hearing it as well. Trust me, oh did they ever. By ‘hearing it’, I mean that every … Read More Here