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.
Vancouver 2010 Olympics Trip – Day 2
After the previous night’s medal ceremonies followed by wandering around town, we were all a bit happy to sleep in some. Around mid-morning I went out for an 8 mile run, and then afterwards went to pick-up The Girl from … Read More Here
Vancouver 2010 Olympics Trip – Day 1
We got up fairly early on our first day up here in Vancouver…as in 4:30AM early. This was to allow enough time to catch our 6:06AM bus departure from the Vancouver area up to the Whistler area for the 10:30AM … Read More Here
Tanita BC-1000 Scale Review – In Depth
If you’ve been to any athletic expo in the past few months, you’ve probably seen the Tanita BC-1000 weight scale at one of the booths. It measures more things than your TI-83 graphing calculator from high school calculus, while at … Read More Here
Weekend Tidbits
This weekend was full of all sorts of stuff – to start off with, The Girl was busy making Valentines cookies…and I was busy eating them: Of course, post-cookies there was some brief running to do – in the Cupid’s … Read More Here
Washington DC Capitol Cupid’s Undies Run
Earlier in the week a few friends (almost all simultaneously) shot me an e-mail about an upcoming ‘run’ around the Capitol building here in DC. Except, unlike most running events that round the rotunda, this particular one lacked one key … Read More Here
Funny things that float my way
We have finally made it to Friday, on a week that has been the longest…week…ever. For a week where everyone has been buried in the DC area, it’s time for some humor (actually, to be fair, even though I had … Read More Here
A hill workout in the snow
Yesterday evening, with yet another impending snowstorm I had a decision to make – try and drive to an open treadmill, or tough it out on the snow covered hills for my weekly hill repeats. On one hand I have … Read More Here
Comparing M-Dot Ironman races to Non-Dot races
If you’ve been around the triathlon block a few times, you probably already know that the official ‘Ironman’ name and race series is actually a trademarked asset of the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). As such, no other races may call … Read More Here
My 2010 Race Schedule
Ok…ok…I get it. Ya’ll been hounding me for months now on what my race schedule is for next year – and finally, I can give you some answers. As I hinted at in my last post on how 2009 went, … Read More Here
A snowy food filled weekend
Let’s just get right into the action, by starting where I left off on Friday evening as nightfall fell (hmm…does that mean it fell twice?) – it looked like this: While the snow was starting to fall, the Girl got … Read More Here
Preparing for the worst
I am prepared. I am prepared to sit back and do nothing this weekend. Why would I be doing nothing? Well, for those non-east-coastern folk – this be why: However, I am also prepared to cook a ton, and likely … Read More Here
The State of my State: 2009 Review Edition
Every year that I’ve been blogging I write a recap of the previous year, and then a post on what lies in the year ahead. Normally I do this late-January, but things got kinda busy, so I’m a little behind. … Read More Here
Garmin FR60 Review – In Depth
When Garmin first announced the Garmin FR60 last spring, it honestly didn’t even catch my attention. After all, why would I of all people – the person with a gazillion GPS based training watches – want a training watch without … Read More Here
Polar Bear Plunge…sort of.
Both Rob and I had our respective workouts to finish in the morning before heading up to the Polar Bear Plunge. I had an hour run and an hour swim, and he had a 16-18 mile run. So by time … Read More Here
Pants on the ground
Earlier this week I had an early morning swim technique session. By ‘early morning’, I mean 6:30AM – or as soon as the pool opened to non-high school swimmers. Which for me…is dang early. As I’ve mentioned in the past, … Read More Here
How to train indoors with your Garmin device
This time a year it can be hard to find motivation to go out in the cold (assuming you don’t live or train in Hawaii), so it’s understandable you may be stuck training indoors. While a lot of you out … Read More Here
Going for a very cold plunge
There used to be a annual polar bear swim right here in the beautiful and cough clean Potomac river, but from what I can tell, that seemed to have vanished. Instead, while doing some research last week I stumbled upon … Read More Here
Me and the clock…and cupcakes.
Let’s be honest, for any competitor, it’s all about the clock – even when racing against others, you’re still racing against the clock. But, over the past few months the clock has played a new role in my workouts – … Read More Here
My sports technology ‘predictions’ for 2010
It’s no secret that I enjoy gadgets, and in particular sports related gizmos. This interest probably comes from my day job in designing technology stuffs. I simply enjoy understanding how things work, and what might come next. Now, because of … Read More Here
Tuesday Tidbits
Lacking the time or thought capabilities to put together a solid and lengthy post, I present you many little tidbits… Garmin FR-60: I can’t remember if I mentioned this or not, but Garmin sent me out a FR-60 running/cycling watch … Read More Here
Why I will not ‘Share the damn road’
Last week I got an e-mail from a group asking to ‘share links’. This is when one blog/site wants you to link to them, in exchange for them linking to you. These are somewhat common requests, and normally, I ignore … Read More Here
Welcome back to reality
Upon landing at Dulles International Airport on Sunday afternoon my very first message that showed up on my phone was from my coach, it read: Gee…thanks. And reality soon set in. I knocked out a rather enjoyable trainer ride on … Read More Here
Days 14…and 14 – Three countries, one 30+ hour day
On Friday it was time to depart the Maldives and begin our journey home. So we packed up our little villa and then headed out to catch the seaplane. But before leaving, The Girl lined up her complete collection of … Read More Here
A day with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme
Back a few months ago while following the Underwater Thrills blog, I saw a story about a Whale Shark research program in the Maldives. After a bit of poking around, it turned out the program is partially supported by the … Read More Here
Days 11-13 – Maldivian water games, a night and day difference
Given the Maldives are a collection of tiny islands in a vast ocean, you spend the majority of your time in or around the water. The good news is…I like the water. The bad news is that there isn’t enough … Read More Here