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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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.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.
Tag Archives: GiveawayResults
The Giveaway Extravaganza Winners!
Now that everyone has had time to take a breather (though likely still waking up in a bit of a post-giveaway extravaganza hangover), it’s time to announce the winners! First up, I want to say a huge thanks to everyone … Read More Here
You Win You Choose – Giveaway Winner!
It’s time to draw the winners of last week’s ‘You win, you choose!’ giveaway. This was the first time I let you pick your own prize, whereby you got to raid the pantry for whichever device you want. The name … Read More Here
Because it’s cold FR910XT Giveaway Winner!
Yes, it’s still cold. And, some 2,500 of you over the weekend shared your running/cycling/swimming/something activities in the cold. Quite a few entertaining reads in there – I definitely encourage you to scroll through some of them. Think of it … Read More Here
Garmin FR10 Quadruple Giveaway Winners!
Over 1,700 of you entered the FR10 giveaway (including the e-mail Active Duty entrants), which only was open over this past weekend. Pretty crazy numbers! I had asked each entrant to simply list their first race of the 2013 season. … Read More Here
Garmin FR910XT Giveaway Results
Wow, another crazy packed giveaway! All in, there were over 1,900 entries! Of which, 1,891 were entered in on the site, and another 19 folks came in from the US Active Duty e-mail registrations. Thank you to everyone that entered! … Read More Here
The Giveaway Extravaganza Winners!
A huge thanks to all that participated in Friday’s Giveaway Extravaganza, it was certainly pretty crazy around these parts! At some points the entries were coming in at one per second, that’s just nuts! Overall, you clocked in nearly 50,000 … Read More Here
Timex Marathon Trainer GPS Giveaway Results
Last week I kicked off a giveaway for a new Timex Marathon GPS unit, which is one of the new sub-$100 GPS units on the market these days. I think this watch and others fulfill a good market segment that … Read More Here
Garmin FR910XT Giveaway Results!
Holy cowbells there’s a lot of you that wanted (or still want) a Garmin FR910XT! Over 3,000 entries! 3,085 to be exact. The totals were: 2,664 directly on the post 392 on Facebook 29 tied to Active Duty folks who … Read More Here
Brim Brothers & Edge 500 Giveaway Results
Thanks all for the great entries in the Friday giveaway! If you need a bit of motivation for cycling ideas for training, then go check out all the entries (almost 1,000 of them). I’m hoping that by merely reading about … Read More Here
End of summer Garmin FR610 Giveaway Results!
Thanks all for the great entries in the FR610 giveaway! If you haven’t had a chance to go check out all the entries (yes, all 1,300+ of them) – definitely go spend some time reading them. It’s so cool to … Read More Here
Wahoo Fitness Bike and Run Package Giveaway Results
Thanks all for entering the Wahoo Fitness ANT+ Bike Case and Run Package giveaways. More importantly, thanks for sharing your hilarious wedding stories – just shy of 500 of them! All of them hilarious! Going into the crazy hectic of … Read More Here
Polar RCX5 Giveaway Results
Thanks all for the great entries in the Polar RCX5 Giveaway!! If you haven’t had a chance to go check out all the entries (yes, all 1,400+ of them) – definitely go spend some time reading them (or just thinking … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 610 May Giveaway Results!
Thanks all for the great entries in the FR610 giveaway! If you haven’t had a chance to go check out all the entries (yes, all 1,600+ of them) – definitely go spend some time reading them. Given the Memorial Day … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 610 Giveaway Results!
Thanks all for the great entries in the FR610 giveaway. There’s literally over 1,600 great egg related and training stories in there. Everything from stories of kids forgetting to hard boil the eggs before coloring and then hiding them (and … Read More Here
Forerunner 310XT Giveaway Winner!
Thanks all for the awesome entries in the FR310XT giveaway. There’s literally over a thousand hilarious stories in there. Everything from folks running over into a canal while watching ‘cute girls’, to endless cycling dismount failures, to quality time spent … Read More Here
Boston Marathon Entry Giveaway Results!
Thanks to everyone that qualified and entered in the Boston Marathon Entry Giveaway. It was pretty cool to read all of the stories in there! I know there’s a lot of deserving folks out there, including ones like this: Or … Read More Here
Giveaway Results!
Thanks all for patience in the giveaway results! Being the busy weekend, things pretty much just got packed (like the wedding invites). Sorry! But fear not…after 1,500 folks entered (representing over 2,200 entries!) and a lot of time sifting through … Read More Here
Forerunner 210 Giveaway Results!
Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway! Apparently quite a few want a new Garmin Forerunner 210! That said there were about 1300 entries after accounting for ways to double-up, into the giveaway, and another bunch from Active Duty folks.I then … Read More Here
Timex Global Trainer Giveaway Results!
Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway! Apparently quite a few want a new Timex Global Trainer! That said there were just over 900 entries after accounting for ways to double-up, into the giveaway, and another bunch from Active Duty folks. … Read More Here
September Garmin 310XT Giveaway Results!
Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway! Sorry for the delay, I was up rather late last night…err…this morning with work, and then back again before sunrise. So things got a bit delayed. That said there were just under 900 individual … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 310XT Giveaway Results!
This has been the biggest giveaway around these parts thus far! Over 1,024 individual comment entries into the giveaway, and another bunch from Active Duty folks. That’s a lot of peeps! I then took all the entries and sorted through … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 110 Giveaway Results
Well, after a LOT of Excel copy/pasting/data cleanup, and even more actual scissor cutting, we have a winner! Some 460+ unique entries in the giveaway, making it the biggest one thus far! And, if you’re ever short on wanting to … Read More Here
Withings WiFi Scale Giveaway Results
Wow…holy cow – there were 323 entries into the giveaway contest in the last seven days for the Withings WiFi Scale. Which is just simply incredible! I definitely appreciate all the comments made, especially the ones about the blog! When … Read More Here