Heads up! Here’s your massive list of sports tech deals! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $449, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium for $735, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, and plenty more! Go check out the full list here!
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 2023 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.
Taking a long ride on the C&O on the gravel bike… enjoying time in nature. (love Competitive Cyclist who helped me with parts and support to build up my ride!)
plan to go road cycling on Sunday and hope that it will stop raining soon.
Today I rode only 20 miles close to threshold and tomorrow I’ll do a longer 40+ mile endurance ride. Thanks!
TrainerRoad Ramp Test + what results from that!
A day off to celebrate my GF’s birthday! That’s my recovery plan ;-)
Some strenght training & a gravel bike ride.
Running, lifting, coaching, and napping
My weekend plans are not very active due to injury. Some couch testing and netflixing
Guided Cycling training with my Garmin…see how that works, tomorrow is just day 3.
Walking the dog several times a day…and going to the VA Beach/Norfolk Zoo.
Cheers and have a great weekend everybody!!
I’ll sweep up the leaves in the garden
Planning a nice ride with friends to Bald River Falls in the morning. Haven’t ever ridden there before. Expecting it to be a good trip though!
Easy run on Saturday, and probably a steady 10 miles on Sunday!
Landscaping…
Weekend MSFT tomorrow instead of my long run which has had to be moved to Monday! And my cycle has been replaced with work … better training next week I hope :)
90 minutes on the trainer
Zwift intervals today, rest tomorrow and ftp test Monday!
2 days of outdoor rides, while the weather is still good!
Work on Saturday and ride my bike on Sunday with the kids.
A powerzone endurance ride on Peloton!
Going for a trip with my wife and having a painfully slow recoffeery run there :)
This morning (Saturday) was a yoga practice followed by a long run (9 miles). Tomorrow I will do another yoga practice (trying for a streak) and a shorter recovery run/ walk + possibly some weights.
Recovering from surgery. Hope to be back on the bike soon.
Enlighet Netflix to get tjej à coupe of house on the bike
Two short runs and some x3 time. Thank you!
Just a fun stress-free day on the mountain bike
Quick zwift ride, and then work on building my new gravel bike.
A weekend road ride and a trail ride
Just a short walk with my kids.
I was supposed to have run a trail marathon today, but all our mountain nearby trails are on fire so I get to run some roads today.
Gonna run and walk a bit. Yeah.
50 miles bike ride with some lovely weather!
Quick ride before heading off to work.
Probably a zwift race tomorrow!
I am on my 1wk break period after the race season ended. So the biggest plan is simply a thorough cleaning of the bike :)
Weather sucks, pandemic outside so Zwift and netflix
Doing a session or two on turbo. Weather issues this weekend…
I’ll do two hiit workouts
Route to Sky race on Zwift this sunday.
Today, chilling and cooking for wife and daughters.
Saturday morning was a session on the trainer doing a Trainer Road work out. Plan is to do a bit of strength work out on Sunday afternoon
Go to see the European MTB championship race
Racing against time or with the time, but always in the right direction with my Polar
A 100k ride on Saturday and recovery on Sunday.
Shovelling snow
Just set a new personal record, under 2 hours mtb tour around local mountain. Good luck everyone!
My first gravel bike ride after shoulder surgery.
90min peloton ride.
I’ll be riding off-road with my 7-year old!
I had a great ride to the Posbank…if i win i’ll invite you to ride with me to the Posbank..greetings
I’ll be running along with my three year old daughter who’s thriller to be learning to cycle
Stages Bike arrived last week so will ride it on Zwift.
It’s my BIRTHDAY weekend…and I am now old enough to qualify for SS hahaha. Even better though, I can now apply for and get a LIFETIME National Parks card for a one-time fee of $80 which is what it costs now for a single year. Ahhh, the benefits of getting old, but not too old to still ramp up the workouts. I will complete the PRL Half loop on Zwift today (70km) followed by a recovery ride tomorrow.
Going for a run and hiking on trails.
Doing a 7 mile run on Saturday, followed by an easy 4 on Sunday.
A Powerzone Peloton ride (standard bike, no plus), plus a interval run on Sunday
Preparing for my ride to the lowest point on earth – the Dead Sea. A ride which will ironically have 3800m of elevation gain!
Weekend workout ? working out in general these days ?
I pulled a tree stump out from the garden and pulled a few muscles. Does that count.
Maybe a new gadget will be enough to motivate me to get back on it.
Run with kiddos in trailer
Recovering from my 100km trail race.
Zwifting each day, building endurance
On Sunday a mtb ride to my parents in Law. Also riding the new MTB track in Ruurlo (Netherlands). Should be nice.
A new bike gps on my mtb.
Recovery from hip flexor and tennis elbow in both arms. Hoping to be able to run again this week!
Mostly riding my Salsa Warbird. Little running these days. I enjoy long rides on back country gravel roads of Johnson County KS.
Zwifting (again) to avoid the smoke…
Get my pain cave set up for the winter and ride on Zwift.
Recovery. Recovery. Recovery. With just a few mountain walks.
10 mile run on Saturday and a nice 40 mile indoor trainer ride Sunday watching football on the TV
Long run and then some nice walks
Saturday – 3 km trail walk
SUNDAY – 10 km trail run
Today was a short run. Long trail run with some hills and a buddy tomorrow.
My workout plans for the weekend involve running up and down the steps to Race Control at Goodwood Speed Week, see link to goodwood.com for live streaming…. (shameless plug!)
So far 43 floors, Friday, 38 floors Saturday….
:-)
Weekend workout includes unpacking boxes in my new house! Hopefully some hiking/rides on the indoor trainer as well
Hello, my weekend plan is the following, some cardio with my toddler son, practicing the sleepwalking and then do some biking outdoors
I’ll get two long rides this weekend to get up to 300 miles for the week… oh, and a martini or two…
Sufferfest on the Wahoo on Saturday, a run on Sunday!
Riding the trainer and grading my students’ projects
I’m enrolled in all three Zwift Academies: Road, Run and Tri. I’ll be in the pain cave if you need me…
Go to the gym two times.
I will do an hour or two on the bike.
I did a nice walk at the coast today and I’ve planed to get my bike ready for a trainer setup so I can start my winter training rides indoor…
35 Miles and 4k’ of Climbing on the Hardtail Single Speed 29er.
Road ride of 60m on Saturday followed by a rowdy 25m mountain bike ride on Sunday
10k walk on saturday and 15k run on sunday
20 mile run today with either a recovery run or ride tomorrow. Enjoy the weather while it lasts!
Short trail run in the mountains
Not doing a dang thing! Crummy weather and pulled hamstring.
Insulating the garage to prepare for winter time trainer rides
I’m in Valkenburg for the weekend, the real Dutch mountains. Doing an alternative Amstel Gold Race with my friends.
Marathon recovery so a couple of shorter runs.
Cycling in Limburg. Keutenberg et. al.
hour zwifting
I worked out today by giving a load of flu vaccinations, tomorrow will be a slow run around my favourite 5 mile route, hopefully with lots af autmin leaves
A fast paced 3.5 mile virtual run and 4-5 easy miles in anticipation for upcoming half marathon next weekend.
Walking my oldest daughter to her ice hockey session.
Riding over de Utrechtse Heuvelrug
Intense weekend: bike in the rain, run in the rain, and a nap at the fireplace.
Started this morning with a 12k run and got a 3 hour Zwift session planned for tomorrow – not looking forward to that one.
Getting in 30 miles on Zwift, while watching college football on TV.
For the love of trail running!
Riding with friends and enjoying fall weather
Testing the Pace Partners in Zwift.
I ran 15 today, will run 8 more on Sunday
Testing the Pace Partners in Zwift.
Tempo run on Saturday 30min
Long base run on Sunday 45min or so
Some upper body workouts with dumbbells. Going to try to use one of Garmin’s workouts with my Fenix 6 Pro Solar.
2 hours of gravel riding in a state park today and 15 miles of single speed mountain biking tomorrow
Hi Ray, I’m transitioning from the real world to the virtual world this weekend.
Thanks for having the awesome giveaway!
Going to do a TrainerRoad workout on Saturday, then help my in-laws move some stuff. Sunday I’m going to ride our local 10 mile trail with some buds in the morning and do a TrainerRoad workout later in the day. No rest for me!
Workout on Zwift.
Hike on the PCT
Low and slow long run this weekend
Going for a run up the canyon!
Beautiful weather here in the mid Atlantic region of the US. Planning on an easy run on Saturday and harder 60 mile ride on Sunday.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
MTB ride before the temperature hits 90. Srsly, no way it should be 90 degrees in Berkeley. Let alone in mid-October.
Going for a run with my son!
Some short rides and some tenting.
A 10 k run and a 2 hr ride on zwift
I Will do a 70 km road bike workout on Sunday – hopefully in sunshine.
Hiking in the mountains in the north of Sweden! Winter is coming!
Hike on Saturday w/some gal leaf raking. Sunday looks like either a Sufferfest ride on the new HH Kickr, or a Fitbod workout session.
Long trail run enjoying the fall leaf colors in the NE US!
Sat: 50mi bike. Sun: 45min run. Maybe a swim too.
Couple sufferfest videos and trying to keep up with the kids
Saturdays rain means Zwift. Sunday looks to be road ride day. Recovery drinks (beer) both days.
Easy run weekend – still recovering from an achilles tendon injury, so have been needing to take it easy for several weeks now and I’m going a little stir-crazy
I raked a lot of leaves.
Carb load and compete against myself in my very own ByMyself half marathon.
I’m recovering from major heart surgery, so most of my weekend will be spent recovering on the couch with naps. I did get in my first very slow 8 mile ride postop.
This weekend I am taking long walks with my family whilst on vacation. Congrats on the backcountry.com partnership.
Zwifting as it’s snowing here. :(
Indoor Zwift racing with the Herd Summer Racing League since I’m only allowed to go 5km outdoors here in Melbourne
Weekend: Outdoor ride with friends on Saturday and a Peloton workout on Sunday.
My weekend workout will be a mountain bike ride followed by a 5 mile run on Sunday.
Ran 14 miles on Saturday and then plan another 8 to 12 miles on Sunday.
Running the Margaret River Ultramarathon, running one of the stages in a team entry.
Taking advantage of the nice weather for a 45km ride around ‘de Ronde Hoep’, and waking up a bit too early for a run tomorrow!
A nice 10 mile run on Saturday and movie Sunday! Going to be a great weekend
Gym and trail intervals in great autumn weather.
This weekend, I plan on walking outdoors and playing some frisbee if the weather is not super cold.
Since I ran the Army ten miler yesterday (more like a fast shuffle and stagger and swearing), I plan on napping today and doing some yoga (ish) tomorrow. Once upon a time I was much more spry. Now it takes about a week to recover from successfully making it out of bed. Here’s to good intentions and lofty goals!
cycle-paddle Saturday, cycle-paddle Sunday
My workout plans include taking it easy so I can recover from a hip injury after killing it on a run and bike workout one day after another.
This weekend is 16 trail miles running on Saturday and 8 trail miles running on Sunday. The jfk50 miler is just around the corner
Two long and slow (~5h) MTB rides over the weekend. The weather just improved so I’m very much looking forward to it!
15 mile run
I will plan on golfing this weekend. I’ll also take my dog for a hike and maybe a short MTB ride. We’re having beautiful Fall weather so I’m going to make the most of it!!
all the rock climbing! :)
Saturday road bike 35 miles
Sunday road bike 35 miles w climbing
Took a long break from training. Doing a get “back into it ride” this weekend.
Breaking in my first trainer, a brand new Kickr Core. Just in time for the cold weather. Someone convince my wife to let me get the headwing and climb to go with it. Thanks!
Two days of sweet spot training in TrainerRoad, inside with my tacx Neo
Easy road ride on Saturday and a mtb ride on Sunday.
Short run this morning with my daughter, MTB ride tomorrow.
Kayak and a rouvy spun for this weekend
Hills and Hill….then more hills.
A little training on Zwift on Saturday and then a cardio workout on Sunday.
Running the Naperville Half Marathon, virtually of course!
Hopefully getting time for the next workout in my swift training plan!
My weekend is filled with recovering from a back surgery.
Writing my thesis. Definitely, I need a rest soon
Getting dropped by my friends on the local climb
Santa in October
Some zwift academy workouts, and IRL ride, yard work, and wine by the fire pit!
Run with my dogs one day and a good interval workout on the new Peloton we just got on another day.
Run on Saturday, Bike on Sunday…
I am working my fitness back up after some time off so weekend plans include a 50 min “long” run on Saturday!
Taper for the Great Floridian Triathlon
Trail run today! Lotsa fun.
Run
A run and a nice cold swim in the ocean
It’s a lazy weekend for me!
Going for one last century ride before packing things in for the winter!
Sneaky bike Saturday and sneaky run Sunday while peeping the nursery for our first born.
Saturday was a road ride and Sunday will be a mountain bike ride. Good to balance things out :) 500 Gels!
I’ve been talked into doing Mega Pretzel on Zwift tomorrow.
Did a group ride with my buds this morning. Planning on a little Zwift Academy tomorrow. Also Pumpkin painting and Apple picking with the family too.
Sunday morning ride on zwift!
get some miles in on my new Xeros shoes!
Short bike ride with my 7 year old daughter and my wife.
A long walk to get some winter mushrooms.
Been cycling on Zwift for months due to San Antonio being to hot for this Wisconsin guy! Anyways road 15 miles today and it was great!
Short ride with my wife and a beginner cyclist, followed by some quality time on the trainer. Then a longer ride on Sunday with the “gang”. Followed by recovery and working on the list of chores and projects that get longer every day.
Recovering from a skull fracture after a bad mountain bike wreck so food prepping for the week and trying not to look at all my friends rides on strava
Century+ ride planned for Friday and a shorter recovery ride on Saturday. Sunday is off.
Gained weight during the quarantine. Must keep doing at least some maintenance runs!
Weekend workout plans are typically a long run (or long for me at least, still new to this) on Saturday and Sunday is a burst of chores as fast as I can while listening to podcasts.
Hiking in the woods.
Hiking in Zion and Bryce. First time. Can’t wait
50k rail trail ride, help a buddy with a gazebo build, repeat the ride home. Thanks Ray and good luck with the new partnership!
Zwift group ride yesterday. Gym session today. Outdoor ride to lunch with friends tomorrow.
Sadly, I hurt my back again and am out of commission for a while, but as soon as I’m able I’ll finish setting up my smart trainer and start pedaling indoors for the duration.
Weekend workouts include Zwift racing if it’s too hot, or riding outside if I can get out early enough to avoid crowds.
Unfortunately, my weekend and the rest of 2020 is consumed with recovery from cancer surgery which is keeping me of my bikes for three months. Cabin fever is definitely an issue. I’ll be spending time checking your website daily for the latest as well as watching GCN and GTN videos.
I will head out for a run with my neighbor.
Winter is coming, so is indoor bikeing.
It’s getting cold outside, so I’m pretty much only zwift’ing at this point!
This weekend is a 10k time trial (yippee virtual racing!) and a rest day with percussion massage.
Get the Ven-Top Zwift Route Badge
This weekend I drove on a 5 hour round trip to have a private kung fu lesson to get ready for my next grading, when they do start up again, I’m a 2nd degree black belt so it’s tricky to find people to train with and even trickier at the moment. Mind you saying that I used do this trip once a month while training locally.
Let’s hope the covid vaccine is put soon and works well. I recommend your pages several times a week on the running groups I’m on ad I think your reviews are the best ?. Take care and thanks for this awesome competition!!!
Turbo Zwift sessions with friends.
my best impression of a lumberjack. a weekend full of felling trees and splitting logs.