I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.While I don't partner with many companies, there's a few that I love, and support the site. Full details!
Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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: 2013
Paris Marathon 2013 Race Report
The goal going into the Paris Marathon was to help pace The Girl. The idea started last fall, before things got a bit hectic in our lives. Between her working 12 hours a day and running/opening a small business, and … Read More Here
Week in Review–April 7th, 2013
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
The Easter You Choose The Gadget Giveaway Results!
It’s time to draw the winners of Sunday’s ‘Easter Edition: You win, you choose!’ giveaway. Like last month, I let you choose which device you wanted to win. It’s fully up to you whether you want a cycling or running … Read More Here
An Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia Runaround
I arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Monday evening for two days of meetings. I had flown first to Bahrain, and then drove across the causeway that connects the two countries. The actual driving portion of the journey probably … Read More Here
A detailed walkthrough of my 4:30AM 90-minute trainer workout
I’m flying at 41,004ft, headed southeasterly over Nahr az Zab, Iraq with a glaringly bright sun shining into the cabin of my very empty airplane. But this morning certainly didn’t start out in the sun. Nope, it started out in … Read More Here
A weekend tapering the run, increasing the bike
This weekend was…well…busy as usual. With April shaping up to be a bit of a mess travel-wise, I was trying to get as much stuff done as possible before Monday. Be it spring cleaning, product review shots for later writing … Read More Here
An Easter You Choose The Gadget Giveaway!
Today’s Easter. And even if you don’t celebrate Easter, you can instead celebrate the chocolate bunny…or, as is apparently also the case here in France – the chocolate chicken (and, even an odd rash of Chocolate Nemo’s I’ve seen too). … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 30th, 2013
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
A look at the Tour de France photo gallery in the gardens
A few days ago I saw a tweet on the official Tour de France Twitter feed announcing some sort of gallery opening featuring 80 images from years past. After a bit of poking around, I found out that this display … Read More Here
What it takes to build complex sport technology products from nothing
A number of months ago there was some initial hype around an individual (Keith Wakeham) that’s building a power meter and documenting the progress in weekly blog posts (though lately more frequent). The current prototypes of his power meter are … Read More Here
Spring has sprung–and some first thoughts on the Basis watch
Woot! For a brief moment on Saturday, it was both sorta sunny, and sorta warm. Which, by my definition means it’s spring. This weekend was crazy busy, but also a nice segue into a semi-normalized triathlon-focused training schedule for me. … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Let the new bells ring!
Yesterday celebrated the installation of the new bells at Notre Dame. Though, the process has taken a wee bit longer than just one day. A little over a month ago they paraded the bells through the streets of Paris, en … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 24th, 2013
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
A Dublin Runaround
When I heard that I’d be going to Dublin about 40 hours after arriving back from nice sunny…warm…sunny…warm…did I mention sunny…Australia, there weren’t many positive thoughts in my head. There’s nothing wrong with Dublin – it’s just that (like my … Read More Here
Timex Run Trainer GPS 2.0 In-Depth Review
The Timex Run Trainer 2.0 is the latest running-focused GPS watch from Timex, and a fairly big leap forward over the 1.0 (primarily in size). Read More Here
The Elusive Non-Gadget Mailbag–March Edition
A rare non-gadget mailbag of your e-mail and comment questions! Read More Here
Back to running and riding in the rain and cold
My weekend was a bit shorter than most, as I spent the first 30 hours of it working my way home. I had left Sydney around 3PM on Friday, and with some delays in Hong Kong I didn’t end up … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 16th, 2013
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
A Sydney Swim, Bike and Runaround
I started working my way back home from New Zealand yesterday morning. Due to the way my airline ticket was, I ended up having a roughly 30 hour layover in Sydney. So I was determined to take advantage of it. … Read More Here
A Wellington (New Zealand) Runaround
Yesterday I spent just a touch over 24 hours in Wellington, New Zealand. After landing into Auckland at 4:45AM from Perth (a miserable time for a redeye flight by the way), I then had a quick connection down to Wellington … Read More Here
An inside look at my bike toolbox
Well, an inside look at my bike cardboard toolbox anyway. Actually, it’s half split between a cardboard box and a plastic bag from the grocery store. With a few oft-used items in a 4-cup measuring cup, sorta like how people … Read More Here
A Rottnest Island Runaround (Western Australia)
I arrived here in Perth, Australia nearly a week ago – and things have been a wee bit busy since then. As I noted what seems like ages ago, I’m in the midst of a two-week trip down here to … Read More Here
Week in Review–March 9th, 2013
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
Recon Instruments previews cycling heads-up display
Today Recon Instruments gave a small sneak peek of their upcoming heads up display unit aimed at cycling. And by ‘small sneak peek’, I mean a single image, with a handful of text. Perhaps ‘very small sneak peak’ was more … Read More Here
You Win You Choose – Giveaway Winner!
It’s time to draw the winners of last week’s ‘You win, you choose!’ giveaway. This was the first time I let you pick your own prize, whereby you got to raid the pantry for whichever device you want. The name … Read More Here