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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
Ironman 70.3 National Harbor: Run Course Preview…Part I
I had heard the rumors about Ironman 70.3 National Harbor in the fall of last year, as at the time it was expected that the race would be announced prior to Thanksgiving. So while last week’s final announcement was a … Read More Here
Cold Wanderings: A weekend of workouts and exploring in DC
With last week’s announcement of the latest addition to the Ironman 70.3 circuit – Ironman 70.3 National Harbor – I was curious to go and check out the course. After all, the start line is only about 5-7 minutes from … Read More Here
Week in Review–January 21st, 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
CES 2012 Garmin updates for Vector, FR910XT and more
While Garmin was at CES this year – the vast majority of their focus there from a new products standpoint was automotive and mobile in nature. All of the fitness related products had long since been announced back in the … Read More Here
Sorry about the site outage, was not a day late on SOPA
Just a quick note to apologize for the DC Rainmaker outage earlier today. For reasons a bit unclear to me, BlogSpot/Blogger decided that it wanted me removed from the universe. Perhaps my recent request for WordPress developers to assist with … Read More Here
Hands on look at the Magellan Switch and Switch Up GPS Multisport watches
Last week at CES I got the chance to sit down with the product development leads behind the newest multisport watch in the market – the Magellan Switch (or Switch Up depending on the model). This unit will be available … Read More Here
CES 2012 Health and Fitness Gadget Roundup: Part II
We left off last week checking out a slew of cool things, so if you missed that pile of gadget awesomeness – definitely swing back and check it out. Without further ado – let’s get into it! First up is … Read More Here
New products, cold runs…and homemade cheese balls!
After getting back from Vegas on (yet another) redeye and going straight to work, I was exhausted come Thursday evening and Friday. Which might explain why I managed now almost three straight days of falling asleep early, and sleeping really … Read More Here
Are you a rockstar WordPress template developer?
(Just a super-quick public service announcement) I’ve started on my journey to move to little old DCRainmaker from Blogger to WordPress in the coming months, and I’m looking for a kick-butt WordPress template developer to put together the new theme/template. … Read More Here
Week in Review–January 15th, 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
CES 2012 Health and Fitness Gadget Roundup: Part I
I spent a crazy busy 24 hours in Las Vegas on Wednesday, as part of speaking at a session/panel on Wednesday there (which I’ll be posting on here shortly). During that time I talked to just about everyone that I … Read More Here
A look at testing with New Leaf Fitness for Garmin device calorie calculations
Back in August while on a trip to Chicago, I snuck in an early morning VO2Max test – purely for the goal of understanding how the New Leaf Fitness metabolic profile tests worked, in an effort to get more accurate … Read More Here
Headed to CES 2012, what product details do you want?
As I sit here waiting for my connecting flight in San Francisco to Las Vegas, I just wanted to throw out a reminder to those also at CES that I’ll be moderating a Health and Fitness panel there tomorrow at … Read More Here
Bora Bora Part II: Sharks, Rays (the Manta kind), Paddle Boarding…and lots of rain.
(If you’re just joining me, start back at the first part of the two-part series) While Bora Bora is certainly about sun and sand, we did spend a fair bit of time doing lots of non-beach chair items. Sometimes for … Read More Here
Bora Bora Part I: Getting here, sun, swim and run!
After our New Zealand trip it was time to head somewhere warm(er). And no better place to do that than Tahiti. Like the more familiar Hawaii, Tahiti is made up of a number of islands – though far more than … Read More Here
Week in Review: January 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
Friday Photo of the Day (or trip, as it may be)
I started writing a post for the first part of our Bora Bora trip, but then decided that I was tired. After all, all this relaxing has made me…somehow more tired. Maybe just lazy. Well, not quite sure. Either way, … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness Blue HR Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Strap In Depth Review
Wahoo Fitness has made the first Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth Low Energy) heart rate strap on the market, but well does it really work? Read More Here
New Zealand Part III: Open cockpit vintage biplane flights, and canyoning (it’s like rappelling)
For our last couple of days in New Zealand we kept it busy, exploring the areas nearby Queenstown and Wanaka (both on the South Island). On our last full day though, we really packed in it. Of note were two … Read More Here
Week in Review–January 2nd, 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
New Zealand Part II: Glaciers, peaks, long hikes…and a lot more sheep.
We continue our exploration of New Zealand roughly in the same southerly region that we left off at, departing from Queenstown. From there we drove a couple hours deeper into the mountains towards the Milford Sound region, staying in Te … Read More Here
Pushing the envelope: Ultra-long time tests on Timex Run Trainer andFR910XT
Earlier last month someone on one of the various Internet Forums had asked how long the Garmin FR910XT and Timex Run Trainer would last if you turned off GPS, and instead let it just rely on ANT+ data (heart rate, … Read More Here
New Zealand Part I: Caves, cows, sheep and mountain biking
Most conventional itineraries to New Zealand from the United States usually fly across the Pacific from either LA or San Francisco, with a relatively short 11-13 hour flight straight to Auckland. But, as you’ve probably guessed by now, I usually … Read More Here
So you just got a Garmin Fitness watch? Start here: 2011 Edition
Last year I put together a post published on Christmas morning for all of those that may have found a Garmin (or similar) fitness watch under the tree. The goal was simply to provide a comprehensive list of resources to … Read More Here
Week in Review: Dec 24th, 2011
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
