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!
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
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!
3
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.
refreshing spring bike ride with 77km and 800m climb.
The season is now officially open!
We got hit with snow and ice and freezing rain, so my athletic adventure this weekend was digging out. It was probably harder than some of my intentional workouts!
Audax cycled 464 kilometers.
I did 2 hours on the trainer as it poured with rain on Saturday. Sunday was a swim in the morning and a long run in the evening.
18 mile training run (not signed up for anything so I’m not sure I’m training for, but it’s in the books).
I watched a hockey game.
Just my typical training weekend…hr on the trainer, 3000m swim on sat. Then 10mile run on Sunday. In addition this weekend brought a bunch of shoveling which was more tiring then the stuff above!
I went for a 7km run in the park ( it was on Friday evening, does it count as weekend?)
Joe martin stage race in Fayetteville Arkansas, always a great race.
Ran a slow 5k, this Northeastern US weather is fickle, high 60’s Sat to 40’s the next.
For this week end I ran a 50K road Ultra in the Highest Point of the Philippine road system here in the Philippines. It is a run close to my heart because I pass through the road when ever I would go home to my hometown. Placing 4th over 115 other runners was just a bonus. ?
Struggled with 3 hrs on the bike after a partial recovery from a ruptured disc on my spine.
It’s as painful as it sounds.
2500 yard swim
I converted 8sp down tube shifter winter hack bike to 10sp STI shifting winter hack bike and then did some strength training because the weather really sucked
Getting over the flu so I kept it light. Pumped tires on 20 bikes where I work part time, engaging my core and moving only my arms. Came home and did an hour low cadence work @ 70% FTP.
A 60 mile ride but with half my normal lung capacity so not fun
I worked on my patio in a downpouring rain. Typical Seattle spring. working to sell my house so all my workouts have entailed moving around multiple tons of materials.
Short run on Saturday followed by a 9.5mi run on Sunday in the short rain break we had
the Monterrey Gatorade Triathlon just yesterday, recovering day..swim practice tomorrow :)
I dodged cars, buses, and absentminded tourists (both on foot and on bike) while cycling around East Potomac Park in Washington D.C.
Rode southern California and avoided the ice storm in the Ontario.
Good weather in Tokyo last weekend, so it made for a nice 100kms around Miura Pennisula. Flowers everywhere.
Ran a 5k with my 11yr old daughter.
Prepped for watching the Boston Marathon. And ran 14 miles
Hello a beautiful 70 degree Saturday I ran 3 1/2 miles after almost 2 months of no running due to hip bursitis … It felt great ‼️‼️
Hit the pool for an easy swim.
10k z3 run and 20 mi z2 bike brick.
Did my usual Sunday bike group ride — 25 miles out and back, on Monterey Coastal Recreation Trail.
Did a fun 30-mile sub-threshold ride in the beautiful 80 degree weather, followed by a 2 mile tempo run off the bike. Solid training!
Ran 5 miles before coaching the sprinters and hurdlers for their Saturday workout
Ummm, I went snorkelling last week sometime…
Swom bike run for the win.
I refereed 505 minutes of soccer this weekend, the last 45 of which were in a 39° F downpour with 17 mph winds. $500 worth of gadget goodness would certainly warm me nicely.
Recovery cycle on the trainer due to 40km/hr winds outside.
Ran up a mountain training for my 27km trail race this weekend, then my first 100km trail race next month. Praying i dont die on those mountains, hahah.
Easy 7.5mi run on Saturday and then a recovery day on Sunday!
Nearly cramped my legs “not racing” Stage 5 of Tour of Watopia, preceded by 3 mile run and 6 mile bike errand.
I spent 4 hours on the bike this weekend. Mainly low cadence work grinding it out. All training prep for Ironman Italy.
Currently traveling in Iceland and thus a slightly more special than normal weekend:
Sat: 16k morning run and a 250k car ride with various very scenic stops.
Sun: 15k morning run and some excellent short hikes, one of which involved looping the edge of a volcano crater! Ended the day in a hot spring lagoon.
Highly recommended travel destination!
Brick and long run
Went out for recovery run, realized that it was supposed to be recovery only after hit 4:20 pace per km
Peloton and run.
Seems like we’re skipping Spring here in Boston — but we’re still running!
End of a recovery week. One hour on the trainer 30 minutes on the treadmill all while watching the spring snow storm here in Wisconsin.
Coached a Boca Hawaii cycling/triathlon clinic on a 10 mile residential out and back course due to flooded roads on our usual route. 12 trips total up and over Diamond Head!
Ran 10 miles on Saturday and 16 miles on Sunday. Thanks!
Getting the TT bike ready for the start of the season
did a hilly 100km loop in cornwall, for fun!
some river kayaking in ishigaki – one of the southern most islands in Japan
braved the strong winds
Spent a day hiking with the kids to the top of a volcanic island… a lot of fun.
Two by two hour rides on the Neo and a chilly outdoor long distance run:)
My first triathlon! It was athleticish I suppose.
An easy back-to-running run!
Did a 21 mile long slow distance run at a 300 m indoor track because there was a terrible ice storm/freezing rain/rain happening outdoors. My last long run for the Mississauga Marathon on 6th May.
Having ridden every day in April I ducked out over the weekend due to the gale force winds in Melbourne and gave the bikes a thorough service instead.
Went for a much needed walk and enjoyed a small town festival.
Super rainy, snowy and icy so I trained online all weekend. Looking forward to some nice outdoor weather this summer.
Went for a hills ride in Perth in perfect conditions, enjoyable ride.
I, uh, watched people swim and did monster beer curls. Cheers!
Swim and recover!
Ran the Boston Marathon. Went pretty well for me- considering. Appreciated how the city rolled out the welcome mat and provided classic Boston weather for we visitors.
Playing ice hockey with the kids.
I repaired my bike (broken spoke) and thought of my training plan, plus I walked.
April 16 and some snow flurries.. ready for warmer weather to get outside!
Morning run workouts and evening workouts on the bike
Went for a very steep hill run on Ko Chang!
Long run but cycling was rained out.
This weekend, the most athletic thing I did was to look for second hand kayaks to go rowing (maybe even fishing a bit) to start to get fit again and enjoy the sea surrounding my island :)
A run along the beach
Lots and lots of curls. Like an endless number of curls. Otherwise known as wine-tasting in Healdsburg. With a swing by Henhouse brewing on the way home. Don’t judge, cyclocross season is over! This is the offseason.
Recovery from 45 mile ultra in New Zealand
A 2.5 hour ride in 30km/h++ headwinds in Austin, TX. Probably still less than the Netherlands, but the gusts were strong! :)
Boston – which was epic
I painted the bathroom, installed the vanity light, then realized how bad the wall behind the sink was so had to re-repair the wall and repaint it.
I had to replace the first outdoor race of the year by an indoor workout because it is still below freezing here and we had ice storm over the weekend, they canceled the race :/
did a short lil brick workout on Saturday.
8.0mi run along the Beach Cities on Southern California and a short swim.
Muay Thai craziness.
30km long run, 1hr easy bike ride
Thanks Ray!
I got to challenge the elements in this crummy spring weather we’ve been having. Still got outside to run though. Thanks as always for the giveaway!
I decided to live my sporting ability through my kids and coached both their football teams.
weather didn’t cooperate so did intervals on the trainer
Stood on my feet helping others recover at the Boston marathon expo! After 3 11hr days I need a win.
I rode 50 miles, amazingly I didn’t get wet!
A parkrun and a long run during a visit to the family!
I had a tough interval session on the MTB on Saturday followed by a nice road ride on Sunday taking in some of the steeper roads in the area. A solid weekend’s training to get the legs going again after a brief rest period.
Rode the 5th stage of “Tour of Watopia” on Zwift.
Cheers!
Two hilly training rides, in the form of my life right now.
Last weekend? Ugh. Let’s talk about next weekend…I’m doing the Spring Tune Up from the Bike Ride Across Georgia folks. Fri-Sat-Sun, multiple ride lengths each day from mid-teens to a 100 miler on Saturday. Hoping for great weather!
Autumn’s cutting in here with the first snow on the mountain and westerlies from the roaring forties cutting through. Grabbed a window of decent weather to cycle with one of my daughters, preparing for her upcoming trip to Vietnam (where the weather will be much less sub-antarctic in feel).
1 hour in the pool and 3 hour Ride on Saturday…
This weekend I kept smashing it out on Zwift which included the 5th Stage of the Tour of Watopia. Even got a flat on the trainer!!!!
Due to rain keeping me indoors I did a Sufferfest double header. 2.5hrs on a trainer on a Sunday should be criminal!
I would be going for 100km ride to train for my century race next month
Tour de Zwift
Got a single run in. But an achievement as I am slowly rebuilding after being unable to train for a 3 months
I rolled out of bed and walked quickly to my recliner.
16 mile trail run and a mellow recovery ride that included a coffee stop.
Walked a long way o a football match and Zwifted!