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 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: Nutrition
Tour de France Tidbits: When A Sticker is Better Than Sports Tech
I spend most of my time at the Tour de France looking at riders’ handlebars. It’s sorta my thing. Back many years ago we started seeing teams add stickers on rider handlebars with details of the upcoming stage, notably the … Read More Here
A Look at EatMyRide: Automated Nutrition Planning with Strava/Garmin Integration
While at CES last week I had the chance to get a bit of a demo from one of the companies within startup pavilion. This pavilion is a bit like speed dating for companies. They’ve got a very small stand … Read More Here
Reminding myself about the nutrition wall…the hard way.
It seems to happen each year around early spring time. Usually early spring because that’s roughly when my workouts get long enough that I cross over the invisible barrier where I can get away with going low on nutrition. Typically, … Read More Here
At look at InsideTracker’s Nutrition Testing Service
About a month ago I was contacted by the folks from InsideTracker to do a run through of their newly unveiled nutrition testing service. The goal of this service was to allow athletes and non-athletes alike the ability to quickly … Read More Here
Tip of the Day (to nutrition vendors): Do not make your packaging impossible to open
A couple weeks ago while riding the Seattle Century with my Dad, I decided to try out some FRS nutrition that was in plentiful supply around the start area and aide stations. I did this mostly because it was free, … Read More Here
Tip of the day: How to use The Pear to keep you from fainting
(Note From Ray – Quick Last Minute Heads Up: Today, Friday at 1PM the Washington Post will be doing a live Q&A chat with Columbia Triathlon Winner Lindsey Jerdonek. You can quickly and easily submit questions now, so let’s show … Read More Here
How to travel (a lot) and still eat (mostly) healthy
I’ve talked in the past a bit about nutrition and how I balance my desire to eat everything that looks great with attempting to be healthy in my choices. Yet how does that jive with all the travel I do … Read More Here
How I attempt to balance nutrition and sport
Before I get into the fun part – let me explain upfront that I’m not a nutritionist, I don’t play one on TV and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night. So, anything I note below is simply … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag–July 24th, 2010
Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag. This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so. I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag–May 29th, 2010
Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag. This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so. I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some … Read More Here
Balls and Racks
Over the last month or so I’ve been toying with different methods to carry gel on my bike. While this may seem like a relatively straightforward concept – it turns out it’s really not. At least not once you consider … Read More Here
Podium Quest Aero Bottle Review
So I already had an aero bottle – why on earth should I get a new one? Well, because my coach said so. And to be fair, I didn’t exactly like my existing one. My previous one dumped out half … Read More Here
How a long bike ride should be
Over the last few weeks I’ve been kinda bummed about some of my long rides. While I was getting in the distance – my performance wasn’t exactly where I wanted it (or needed it to be). Some of it can … Read More Here
The water bottle assembly and storage system
Some ideas I manage to conjure up myself…but others are best borrowed. I was at a friends house for a party a number of weeks ago and noticed that they had dedicated a full kitchen cabinet for water bottles. It … Read More Here
Supersize Me
A few weeks ago my brother, dad and I were at Target in the toy aisle having all sorts of fun with the various kids toys when I stumbled upon a rather interesting toy set (side note: We were shopping … Read More Here
Nutrition on the run
So if you read the title of this post, you probably thought you were going to get some long-winded technical explanation regarding nutrition during the run segment of a tri or a running race. But not today! Because it’s Friday, … Read More Here
Taste Testing: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Brownie Fudge vs Low Fat Version
Yes folks – you know you wanted it! A complete comparison between the two variants of the same Ben & Jerry’s flavor: Chocolate Brownie Fudge. One is the ‘normal’ version, the other the ‘low fat’ version (speaking of which, did … Read More Here
Through the washer & dryer – gel still good!
As I was folding clothes I found an unexpected guest – my Hammer Gel bottle (complete with gel still in it). Apparently I had grabbed it out of my gym bag by accident when taking all of the clothes out … Read More Here