I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.While I don't partner with many companies, there's a few that I love, and support the site. Full details!
Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Paris-Nice 2014: Going to watch a stage of the famous race
I had hoped to go out and catch the first stage of the famous Paris to Nice cycling race, which occurred on Sunday and generally marks the beginning of the European cycling season for professional riders in major races. But … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Past Weekend(ish)
With friends in town for the past week, we’ve been a wee bit busy! So I’ll call this the ‘things I did this past weekend…plus a little bit extra’ edition. Let’s get to it! 1) A few fun rides around … Read More Here
A Cardiff (Wales) Runaround
Last Thursday I had a quick day trip up to Cardiff for some work meetings. Of course, it was somewhat a bit of a near-disaster in that I didn’t realize I was going to Cardiff until about 14 hours before … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Past Weekend
Sometimes, I don’t know where the weeks go. Before I knew it, I had flown to Wales and back for work, and it was already the weekend. While I’ve still got to post my Wales Runaround from last week, here’s … Read More Here
Week in Review: March 2nd, 2014
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
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 4: Intel Smart earbuds, Ford automated bike-avoiding car, Behind the Scenes at MWC
After a week of full of MWC, we’ve come to the last post in my health and fitness coverage of the massive mobile focused convention. This will be a bit shorter post than the others, and I finish up with … Read More Here
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 3: A look at Kyocera fitness concepts, updates from TwoNav bike computers, standalone cellular GPS trackers, Omate smart watch
Next up we continue to work our way through Mobile World Congress and the never ending series of fitness and health related products (or, product that could be used for fitness and health purposes). Remember, to see all the posts … Read More Here
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 2: 4iiii’s updates, ANT+ updates, the Huawei TalkBand Activity Tracker, LG Lifeband, and the SanDisk ring camera
Here’s the second in my series of posts from Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week, covering the fitness and sport segment. I’ve been breaking them into about 3-5 company highlights each, with a few more posts to come still. To … Read More Here
MWC 2014 Roundup Part 1: Fitbit Force tidbits, Sony Core activity tracker and new Sony waterproof ANT+ phones, update on Mio Link
While last night’s big news was Samsung’s introduction of multiple smart watches, a new activity tracker, and their flagship S5 mobile phone – there are 8+ massive halls full of other companies exhibiting at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain … Read More Here
Hands on with Samsung’s new waterproof S5, activity tracker and Gear watches–with built-in heart rate sensors
Tonight in Barcelona, Samsung announced their latest flagship phone – the Samsung S5, as well as three additional devices. Ahead of the event, Samsung touted that fitness would be one of the core pillars of the event, and it didn’t … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Past Weekend
Ok, I lied in the title, it’s actually six random things this time. No worries, I think you won’t mind. Here’s this week’s look at our random weekend life in Paris, complete with chocolate filled rice rolls to what’s under … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 23rd, 2014
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
MWC 2014 –Mobile World Congress–Got stuff you want to see?
Just a quick heads up to folks that I’ll be headed to Mobile World Congress late Sunday night. I’ll be on the show floor Monday, and perhaps a few hours Tuesday morning before heading out. The massive event is held … Read More Here
First Look at Garmin’s new Fenix2 Multisport & Triathlon Watch
Please note: My Final Fenix2 In-Depth Review is now available and published here. Today, Garmin announced their latest watch – the Fenix2. This unit builds upon the first generation Fenix unit that was initially released in the summer of 2012. … Read More Here
Garmin adds ANT+ power meter support to VIRB action camera
Today, Garmin released a new firmware update for their action camera – the VIRB. This new firmware applicable to the VIRB Elite (that’s the model with the ANT+ sensor support) will now natively record ANT+ cycling power meter data and … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 15th, 2014
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
Why I’m both skeptical and optimistic about The Dash heart-rate monitoring music headphones
It’s funny, as a general rule, I don’t like writing about Kickstarter projects where I haven’t seen or touched the product hands-on. I think that introduces too much risk where people assume that because I write about it, it’s a … Read More Here
First Look At Fly6 HD Camera & Tail-Light Combo
Yesterday I got to take out for a spin a new combination tail-light and HD camera that just launched on Kickstarter yesterday as well. The Fly6 camera is designed to act as a bit of a safety cam – recording … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Past Weekend
Here’s my weekend roundup, like the past two weeks – in a ‘5 Random Things’ type line-up to keep things semi-organized and a bit easier to consume. 1) I did a bunch of device testing and photographing (with a bike): … Read More Here
Week in Review–February 10th, 2014
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 2014 Race Schedule….Roughly.
It’s slightly past that time of year, again, but, I figured I’d give a quick overview of some of the races I’ve got on the calendar for the upcoming year. As is usually the case, the events I ultimately end … Read More Here
‘Because it’s Cold’ Giveaway Results! Were you the winner?
This past weekend was the ‘Because it’s Cold’ Giveaway, where I tried to light a tiny bit of warmth in your heart…especially if you’ve been training in the cold lately. All in, some 2,387 of you entered in the contest … Read More Here
Developing a Google Glass sports & fitness app? Now is a good time to let me know.
As we move into the spring and companies like Recon Instruments (hopefully) release their Recon Jet bike/run sports-focused heads up display unit, I decided I’d take the plunge and start to understand the rest of the marketplace. At present, the … Read More Here