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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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.
A weekend with a lot of walking, running, and comparing power output
I’ve been testing the Nike+ Fuel lately, and by the amount of walking I’m doing – there’s been no better time to do so than the present! For example, Saturday ended up with more than 27,000 steps! Below, here, towards … Read More Here
Week in Review–August 19th, 2012
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
Paris Blog: Closing Time
When we first got to Paris back in June, many folks made reference to shops closing during August to allow for vacations. Having been to Europe dozens of times before, I was certainly aware of the practice – which enables … Read More Here
My thoughts IMNYC2013: $1,200 entry fee, 90 minutes shorter, and now no race at all
After the successful running of the inaugural Ironman New York City (IMNYC) this past weekend, a few folks have asked what my thoughts are on some of the changes planned for next years event (at least those that were announced). … Read More Here
How to fix heart rate strap chaffing issues
A day or two ago, someone posted to Slowtwitch with an issue where they were getting chaffing issues with the Garmin soft strap, to the point of the skin being red and raw. This was primarily in the area of … Read More Here
First look at the new Polar RC3 GPS–the first integrated GPS watch from Polar
NOTE – Sept 27, 2012: My Full In-Depth Review is now available for the Polar RC3. You can view that here. Today Polar announced their new RC3 integrated GPS watch – the first fully integrated GPS watch coming from Polar. … Read More Here
Week in Review–August 11th, 2012
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
Suunto Ambit to get full ANT+ functionality in November 2012, additional features in September 2012.
There’s some pretty significant news coming out of the Suunto camp around the Suunto Ambit – their GPS integrated watch focused towards ultramarathon and hikers that they released back this past spring. The unit is unique in its 50+ hour … Read More Here
The Nuremberg Runaround: Flock of Sheep Edition
Since leaving London and the Olympics on Tuesday evening, I’ve been in Nuremberg, Germany for work (though in German it’s spelled Nürnberg) . It’s a relatively small little town, but it’s plenty cute and old world. The whole center of … Read More Here
London 2012 Olympics odds, ends, and fun leftovers
Our stay in London was fairly short – only four days. But we still got to see a lot during that time. Including both the men’s and women’s triathlon – as well as the women’s marathon. But we did get … Read More Here
Paris Blog: A time-lapse video–Moving into the apartment in 40 seconds (and what happens when a box falls from five stories up)
Last week, we showed you our final apartment selection with the House Hunters style series. However, getting all of our stuff into our apartment was probably even more fun. This was for two reasons. First, we quite honestly weren’t sure … Read More Here
My Spectator Report: London 2012 Olympics – Men’s Triathlon
Going into this morning, we knew the crowds would be big. Really more like huge. Gigantic even. The media had warned how packed the Hyde Park venue and surrounding areas would be with the Brownlee brothers competing for another Team … Read More Here
My Spectator Report: London 2012 Olympics–Women’s Marathon
Unlike our attendance at the Women’s Triathlon the day prior, we didn’t have any tickets to the Women’s Marathon. Instead, we’d just join a million or so others that would simply find a spot on the course and enjoy a … Read More Here
The (Olympic) Week in Review–August 6th, 2012
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
My Spectator Report: London 2012 Olympics – Women’s Triathlon
Going into this weekend we only had one pair of tickets for our four days of Olympics in London: The Women’s Triathlon. I had gotten lucky last January when I managed to purchase them through the US distributor of Olympic … Read More Here
Photo of the day: Upside-down Garmin on a Olympic time-trial bike
On Wednesday, while watching the Women’s Olympic time-trial event, I saw a tweet from the guys over at NY Velocity noting that Britain’s 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Emma Pooley had her Garmin Edge 500 oriented in a rather peculiar position. … Read More Here
The $800 Bike Part IV: The final result!
This may well be the longest running series (in time anyway) I’ve ever posted here on the site. Not for lack of trying to make it faster, but simply due to a confluence of craziness that made this take far … Read More Here
Paris Blog: House Hunters International–Part II
(We left off last week with us narrowing it down to three houses from over a dozen…check out that post first if you’re just joining us) Before we announce our selection, let’s recap the houses. After a lot of comparing … Read More Here
Eurobike: Got tips and tricks? Share them here!
With my Eurobike 2012 registration complete – I’ve started looking at all the goodness that is the massive bike show just a month away over in Germany. In the course of doing so, I realized that I know so little … Read More Here
The current state of Bluetooth Smart/Low Energy in sports technology (and why it matters to you)
Over the weekend a question was in the Polar/Look Power meter review post on the state of Bluetooth Low Energy/Smart and some of Polar’s long term plans for the space. It seemed like this might be a good time to … Read More Here
More boxes, more gadgets to test
I got back to Paris late last week from my trip to Seattle, and found myself amidst even more boxes – despite the fact that the movers had finished arriving weeks ago. Now granted, one of the boxes I had … Read More Here
Paris Blog: House Hunters International–Part I
Amidst the craziness of gutting out and fixing up our house, Ray and I both transited across the Atlantic twice to play what we self titled “House Hunters International”. Granted we weren’t actually on the hit reality show, but we … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 28th, 2012
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
Polar Look Keo Power System–Pedal Based Power Meter–In-Depth Review
The Polar Look Keo Power System is the first pedal based power meter to make it to market, meaning, you can actually go out and buy one. Announced nearly two years ago, the units finally started trickling out into the … Read More Here
How and why I mount cycling gadget devices on my aerobars
I’ve always gotten questions as to why I mount various gadget devices on my aerobars, primarily from the belief that in doing so, I’d be blocking my ability to use my aerobars. So, I figured I’d take a moment to … Read More Here
