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
Last Week in Review–July 17th, 2011
(Note: A bit delayed since I was on my honeymoon the last few weeks, but I figured some of you might like some mid-week link reading of stuff I wrote or found interesting last week) I’ve long since wondered what … Read More Here
The Honeymoon: Part II
We left off yesterday with us leaving the Amalfi coast town of Positano. From there, we headed northbound on an assortment of trains via Rome, eventually ending up in a big long town that started with a ‘C’. I could … Read More Here
The Honeymoon: Part I
There were very few people who knew of our honeymoon plans. In fact, there was really only one who knew the entire plan…me. There were a few reasons for this – but mostly the simplest was that The Girl and … Read More Here
Tip of the day: How I manage 15+ Heart Rate Straps
Until rather recently I stored all my various sports gizmos and gadgets in a simple Rubbermaid container. Well, mostly. They kinda spilled out all over the place, so it was more like the Rubbermaid container plus a 6 foot radius. … Read More Here
Spending time with the ANT+ enabled spin bike
You may remember last fall at Interbike I spent a bit of time getting a tour of all of the ANT+ enabled gym equipment. These are commercial grade pieces of exercise equipment (Gym equipment) that can connect with certain ANT+ … Read More Here
FINIS AquaPulse In Depth Review
Today FINIS announced their latest product, the AquaPulse underwater audible heart rate monitor. Unlike most sport heart rate monitors however, this one doesn’t measure your heart rate using a standard chest strap, but instead does so at your ear…conveniently placed … Read More Here
Time Capsule Trip Report: Flying the Concorde
In lieu of a current trip report (since I’m in the middle of my honeymoon), I thought it would be fun to go back a few years ago to a trip report I wrote for friends and family about a … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 10th, 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
The Elusive Non-Gadget Weekly Mailbag–July Edition
It’s that time again…time for the rare non-gadget mailbag to make its appearance! Since I started doing the Slowtwitch Weekly Mailbag’s last year, I realized I’d been slowly building up a pile of non-gadget related questions. See, before the Slowtwitch … Read More Here
Gadget or Gimmick: CamelBak Flow Meter
Back a while ago I ordered the CamelBak Flow Meter (with my own money). This nifty little $30 gadget is designed to sit inline on your existing CamelBak drinking straw/tube and measure how much you consume. It’ll also tell you … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness Bike and Run Package Giveaway Results
Thanks all for entering the Wahoo Fitness ANT+ Bike Case and Run Package giveaways. More importantly, thanks for sharing your hilarious wedding stories – just shy of 500 of them! All of them hilarious! Going into the crazy hectic of … Read More Here
The ANT+ Bike Speed/Cadence Sensor: Everything you ever wanted to know
After the popular ‘everything you ever wanted to know’ post I did back this winter on the footpod, I decided it was time to continue the series with the Speed/Cadence sensor. Thankfully, the speed/cadence sensor is actually a bit less … Read More Here
Tip of the day: Moving companies to avoid for bike shipment
Most of my posts tend to show off products that I enjoy using, simply because I find that if I’m going to invest hours of my life writing 15,000 word reviews, I might as well do it for something that … Read More Here
Today
Today. To be exact, a bit later today. Sorry for the lack of posting the last few days. While I have a good slate of posts scheduled for the next two weeks, I didn’t quite think through posts for the … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness ANT+ Bike Case and Run Kit Giveaway
In most of my giveaways, I giveaway a single item to a single person. A watch, a scale, a something. This time though, I’m going to shake things up a bit, and give a bunch of piles of stuff to … Read More Here
Putting together the Vasa Swim Trainer/Ergometer in less than 90 seconds
The boxes came a number of weeks ago, but it arrived the day before I headed out to Boise 70.3, so I didn’t get a chance to assemble it. Then it was back and forth across the country to Denver, … Read More Here
A Long Run Tour of Washington DC
This weekend was full of loops – be it ones I seemingly did everywhere trying to get errands done at breakneck pace in preparation for next weekend (wedding), or ones that I did while running and cycling. I’ll spare you … Read More Here
Week in Review–June 26th, 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
Garmin FR610 Accuracy Firmware Fix Results
Today Garmin released a new firmware update for the Garmin FR610, which aims to fix the accuracy issues that have been noticed by some users. You likely saw my 2011 GPS Accuracy Test Results not too long ago, which found … Read More Here
Ballgames, Bags and Boxes
The last few days have been a bit of a blur – hence the reason why things have been somewhat quiet on the rainmaker front. On Wednesday night I had a surprise bachelor party thrown for me when my brother … Read More Here
The Garmin ANT+ Footpod Calibration Tool
A bit ago I stumbled upon a really cool tool that allows you to determine your Garmin ANT+ footpod calibration factor based on existing run data that you might have already run with your footpod. For example, if you’re like … Read More Here
New partnership with Men’s Health, Urbanathlon & Gatorade
About 45 days ago you may have remembered my post about my rather photographic day up at Men’s Health in NYC. Well, I’m finally all set to tell you what it’s all about! Back a number of months ago I … Read More Here
2011 DC Tri Race Report –3rd Overall!
Prior to the race, many folks asked how I thought the race might go – and my only answer was to sum it up simply as a ‘Hail Mary’ of sorts. The last week has been far from ideal as … Read More Here
A day riding in Colorado with a bunch of really fast former pros
Yesterday I walked through the boatload of new products that CycleOps announced on Tuesday, but today I figured it’d be fun to talk about the rest of the day. You know, the part after the presentation and Q&A on products. … Read More Here
First look at the new CycleOps Joule and Joule GPS, PowerTap hubs, PowerCal, and VR software
Yesterday was a busy day for CycleOps…and me, as I spent the day in and around lovely Golden, Colorado with the team getting some hands on time with quite a bit of their new and unannounced product line. There’s so … Read More Here