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 in Seattle playing with the Garmin Fenix and other gadgets
Important Note: I’ve published a full-scale Garmin Fenix In-Depth review (13,000 words!) over here at this link. The below were initial thoughts on beta hardware with highly beta firmware. Specific hardware changes were made since then to address some altitude … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 22nd, 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
Watching the Tour de France on TV…in France…in French.
Over the past week a lot of things got installed/hooked up/working in our little Paris apartment. Potentially one of the most important being our TV. Well, sorta. One of our TV’s works 100%, and the other one works about every … Read More Here
Not a happy ending: Losing a crank mid-ride
Generally speaking, in cycling, there’s no good reason for bike grease to ever end up on your left leg. The right leg, sure, it can brush the chain, chainrings, or any other number of parts related to the chain’s operation … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Putting the house on the market
There was a bit of delay since our last Paris post and this is primarily due to for how busy life has become. Moving houses can be a bit of a production, but downsizing from a full American townhouse house … Read More Here
A hands-on look at the Mio Alpha strapless optical heart rate watch
NOTE: This product has since been released, and I’ve in turn published a full in-depth review of it here. Late last week I got a chance to try out the new Mio Alpha watch, which is a strapless heart rate … Read More Here
Two quick items of note: Looking for a good vertical bike stand, and Motoactv slashes price $100
Before we get onto the new Alpha watch post here in a few hours, I’ve got two quick items worthy of a separate call out. First item of note: First is that I’ve (well, we’ve) decided we need a vertical … Read More Here
Running into a Parade, Cycling in Circles, and Crushing Cardboard
Finally, a full and complete weekend at home, in Paris. But boy, was it busy! Everything from runs to bikes to lots of unpacking. Unpacking of pots. Unpacking of bikes. Unpacking of books. Unpacking of trainers (how on earth do … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 14th, 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
Kickstarter sports technology projects I’m backing…and why.
Last night, I had the chance to run with a recently announced Kickstarter watch. Now, I’m going to save my first look thoughts about the Mio Alpha for Tuesday, but based on some of the Twitter traffic after I tweeted … Read More Here
Watching the Tour de France live from 35,000 feet
It seems appropriate that as this post publishes, I’ll be on another airplane somewhere over the Atlantic, probably just north of Newfoundland. But, this post isn’t about tonight’s flight, but rather a short domestic flight I took last weekend on … Read More Here
A weekend bouncing up and down the East Coast (and a look at the new Joule GPS)
While we may have moved to Paris, it certainly doesn’t seem like it yet. In fact, since moving to Paris, I’ve spent more time outside of Paris than in Paris – go figure! We had long since planned to come … Read More Here
The Magellan Switch Up In-Depth Review
The Switch and Switch Up watches are ones of a rare breed of triathlon and multi-sport specific watches that demand three times the complexity of a running watch. How does this unit handle the demands? Let’s dig in and find out. Read More Here
Paris Blog: House Cleaning – 8 Years of Stuff!
(Side Note: Until the separate Paris Blog feed gets all setup in the next few weeks, both posts will be fed into this/current feed. Hang tight, you might just enjoy the content! And, in case you missed it – we’re … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 7th, 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
Tip of the day: How to easily remove bike zip ties without scratching your bike
Perhaps it’s just me, but I find removing bike accessories secured by zip ties to be fraught with ways to scratch up that perfect paint job on your bike. And, given there’s a constant flow of new accessories to secure … Read More Here
2012 Tour de France–A look at the Caravan/Parade
(Note: This post is written by The Girl…aka…my wife.) While the first day of the Tour is exciting in and of itself from a cycling standpoint, we were also both pretty excited about the famed parade that tours a few … Read More Here
2012 Tour de France–Stage 1/Day 2
We left off yesterday in Liege, Belgium, where the prologue stage both started and ended. Today, (err…Sunday), we moved…well…just a few yards down the road. Stage 1 would also start in Liege, but would finish in a town just a … Read More Here
Week in Review–July 2nd, 2012
Ok- so this post is slightly behind a day. You can blame that on the Tour de France. No worries, tons more pictures from Le Tour here in a few hours. In the meantime… The Week in Review is a … Read More Here
2012 Tour de France–Prologue/Day 1
Yesterday we woke up around 7AM to catch our 8AM train from Paris to Liege (in Belgium). That’s the beauty of high speed trains – quick and efficient transport while relaxing at roughly 200 MPH (or about 300MPH). Oh, and … Read More Here
A week of relaxing (and product reviewing) in Florida
Ahead of our big move to Paris, we’ve spent weeks…if not really months preparing. Since we had to be out of our house back on June 4th, we’ve actually been hoteling it since – with locations dependent on my work … Read More Here
We’re moving to Paris…tomorrow!
Yup, that’s right, we’re packing up shop and moving over to the land of chocolate macaroons! Actually, rather, we’ve already packed up shop – over three weeks ago. The stuff is slowly plodding it’s way across the Atlantic (just off … Read More Here
Garmin Swim watch In-Depth Review
The Garmin Swim is Garmin’s first attempt at a swimming-only product. It builds on the FR910XT’s swimming functionality within the triathlon world, but can it do it all? Read More Here
Week in Review–June 23rd, 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
Big DC Rainmaker announcement coming Tuesday!
Things have been pretty busy here in these parts lately, really busy. But, on Tuesday, we’ll be announcing something pretty big. Really big. Like, life changing big! Why Tuesday? Well, I could tell you Monday, but then that would preempt … Read More Here
