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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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.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 2023 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.
Tag Archives: 5 Random Things
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Another busy weekend, but this one almost full at home. At least I was home by Friday night – and that’s what counts, right? 1) Trained back from UCI Headquarters in Switzerland I had gone down to Aigle, Switzerland on … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last few days! 1) Some swim & bike brickage First up on the weekend docket was a late Friday afternoon swim followed by a very short bike session. I got to the … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Another busy weekend in the city, albeit supposedly the first day of spring – it was definitely still holding back a bit on the warm weather front. I think it’s fair to say that weather came last weekend instead. 1) Product … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
We’re back home in Paris! Our floors are all finished and first thing up was unboxing and installing some new gadgets that have just started shipping. Let’s dive right into it! 1) Got WatTeam PowerBeat all installed The first order … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Rome
With MWC over this past week, it was off to a new place. Why not go home you ask? Because they’re tearing up the floors in our apartment and we have to be out of it for a number of … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Mallorca
From Wednesday of last week until last night, I was down in Mallorca, which is a small Spanish island located in the Mediterranean. It’s a super-quick journey from Paris, yet has mostly warm and sunny weather, even this time of … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s the latest and greatest from the land of…well…me? 1) Reverse Unboxing Sometimes, unboxing comes after product usage. As strange as that may seem. Occasionally I’ll get final products without boxes. Either because the boxes weren’t ready yet, because I … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
After much traveling over the holiday period and into CES, it was finally back home for the weekend. Glad to be enjoying the city and not bouncing around. 1) A quick test ride This past week was mostly a ‘catch-up’ … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Whoa – it was a crazy weekend spanning two transatlantic flights, three countries, and a whole lot of busy. 1) Flew Back from US/Canada After I wrapped up my run in Newark, it was time to head home back across the … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
There happens to be a few weekends each year that we know will be crazy busy…and this is one of them. It’s just a bit of a stars aligning sorta of things, where every possible event is on one weekend … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what we were up to this past weekend here in the warm and sunny City of Lights: 1) Off to the Market We headed out Saturday morning to get a bunch of items from the market for both later … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
A nice pleasant weekend at home – here’s what we were up to! 1) A Michelin Starred Lunch Living in Paris we’re surrounded by incredible food. I think as a tourist you can easily get trapped into crappy spots that … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what I was up to in the very short amount of time I had home this weekend (after I got back from Mexico mid-week, I turned around the next day for a two-day trip to Amsterdam). 1) New Gadget … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
It was a whirlwind of a (short) weekend back home, with the majority of the weekend spread out across three different continents. Here’s what I was up to. 1) Flying back from Africa As it seems many weekends start, first … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
While some of you back in the US are still on holiday this Monday, the rest of us have moved on to another work week. Here’s what my weekend entailed. 1) Flight home from Denmark First up on the honey-do … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Switzerland
Woah – a crazy busy weekend down in Switzerland roaming around. But also a ton of fun. Here’s what I’ve been up to! 1) Got a bunch of replacement gear As some of you know, during my sailing trip to … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s the rundown of what I was up to over the last few days, a bit of a calm weekend in comparison. 1) Friday Night Date Run We started off the weekend with a bit of a (rather hot) run … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
A nice relaxing weekend back home in Paris – here’s what I was up to! 1) Paris Roller For some three years now I’ve seen the Friday night festivus that is Paris Roller. It’s when every Friday evening hundreds to … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Corsica
After a busy preceding week at the Tour de France, as well as in the Champagne region with our friends – we took the 75 minute flight from Paris down to the French island of Corsica early Friday morning. The … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Quite the busy weekend, here’s what I was up to! 1) A Training Triathlon Saturday morning it was time to go slightly out of town to knock out a training morning. It was a swim/bike/run brick, ahead of the Paris … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
With the three-day weekend wrapping up (even here in France), I figured I’d round out what I’ve been up to. 1) A brilliant outdoor pool swim Friday was a bit of an odd day for a Friday, somewhat more busy … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s the rundown of what’s been going on in my little world the last few days. 1) Friday afternoon happy hour of sorts Back perhaps a month ago we began a bit of a tradition of Friday afternoon happy hour … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
This was officially the weekend that never seemed to end, nor one where I stayed in any one place very long. Here’s the run-down. 1) Flew to Mallorca to test out PowerTap P1 & C1 power meters With Friday being … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Here’s what I was up to this weekend. Or rather, all of about 24 hours of it while at home. Had to squish things in a bit! 1) Flew home from NYC While it may seem as a bit of … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend
Another crazy weekend in the books, one packed with lots of photographs for upcoming reviews and various product posts in the short-term queue. Here’s what was on the agenda! 1) Indoor trainer rides…over and over again I spent considerable time … Read More Here