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.
Tag Archives: ParisBlog
Paris Blog: A Trip to A French Costco- Wine tasting, caviar, and so much fromage!
It’s been far too long since I posted in the ‘Paris Blog’ section. When we first moved over here (5 years ago this month!!!), we posted slightly more often. Now much of what used to be Paris Blog material has … Read More Here
A Night at Diner en Blanc 2015!
There are a near never-ending flow of cool events and things to do within the city, but I think that there’s really a handful of events that rise above everything else into the ‘Epic’ status category. Some of these are … Read More Here
Our Christmas Tree by Parisian Velib Bikeshare: 2014 Edition
Earlier this week The Girl and I made our sorta-annual trek to pickup a Christmas tree at the nearby market. The first year we returned home via Velib (the bike share system). Last year, we ended up walking it home. … Read More Here
Paris Blog: A Road Trip to the French Coast
As I alluded to earlier in the week, The Girl and I headed out of town Sunday afternoon to enjoy a bit of a road trip. Things have been crazy busy the last few months with my work travel and … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Let the new bells ring!
Yesterday celebrated the installation of the new bells at Notre Dame. Though, the process has taken a wee bit longer than just one day. A little over a month ago they paraded the bells through the streets of Paris, en … Read More Here
Paris Blog: How we get shipments & mail from the US to France
(Quick FYI: By popular request, I’ve pulled the Paris Blog posts back into the main RSS feed – thanks for the feedback everyone!) When we moved over to France, one of my biggest concerns was actually how to deal with … Read More Here
A look at our neighborhood farmers market
The markets in Paris are amongst the most well known markets in the world. Every tour book and online site talks about having to go check out the various farmers markets, with many recommending specific markets to see. But the … Read More Here
Paris Blog: The process of voting from 3,847 miles away
With the US elections tomorrow, I thought some folks might find it interesting to understand how I voted from overseas. While the process is somewhat similar to absentee voting, there are a handful of differences.I had originally heard that a … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Protesting in the ladies department
I was out running errands the other day and stopped in one of the big Paris department stores – BHV. Despite it only being a few blocks away, I hadn’t gone in yet. But I was in need of two … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Watching a fashion show from my window
I continue to be amazed by how real the fashion ‘scene’ is in Paris. Sure, you think of Paris and fashion as intertwined, but it’s not until you see fashion shoots on a regular basis that you realize it’s all … Read More Here
Paris Blog: The Dancing Goose Market
A couple weeks ago around 10AM on a Friday morning a brass band started playing somewhere across the street. Since moving to Paris, we’ve long gotten used to various impromptu musical performances. Full scale marching bands, solo guitarists, religious processions, … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Bertie’s CupCakery Opening in Paris!
Since this is a Paris life post I thought it was important to give everyone the fantastic news of how Paris life for us as we know it is about to change! This is because Bertie’s CupCakery is now officially … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Going to the farm and picking fresh produce!
One of the things we both really enjoy doing is going to u-pick farms and picking our own fruits and vegetables. In the past, we’ve primarily picked apples, blueberries, and strawberries. Given it’s fall (crazy, huh?), we figured it was … Read More Here
Paris Blog: The Beaches (Paris Plages)
Let’s make this clear up front – Paris is nowhere near a beach. The closest oceanesque body of water with sand is roughly 200 kilometers away – and the water there isn’t terribly warm either (the nice stuff is down … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Closing Time
When we first got to Paris back in June, many folks made reference to shops closing during August to allow for vacations. Having been to Europe dozens of times before, I was certainly aware of the practice – which enables … Read More Here
Paris Blog: A time-lapse video–Moving into the apartment in 40 seconds (and what happens when a box falls from five stories up)
Last week, we showed you our final apartment selection with the House Hunters style series. However, getting all of our stuff into our apartment was probably even more fun. This was for two reasons. First, we quite honestly weren’t sure … Read More Here
Paris Blog: House Hunters International–Part II
(We left off last week with us narrowing it down to three houses from over a dozen…check out that post first if you’re just joining us) Before we announce our selection, let’s recap the houses. After a lot of comparing … Read More Here
Paris Blog: House Hunters International–Part I
Amidst the craziness of gutting out and fixing up our house, Ray and I both transited across the Atlantic twice to play what we self titled “House Hunters International”. Granted we weren’t actually on the hit reality show, but we … Read More Here
Paris Blog: Putting the house on the market
There was a bit of delay since our last Paris post and this is primarily due to for how busy life has become. Moving houses can be a bit of a production, but downsizing from a full American townhouse house … Read More Here
Paris Blog: House Cleaning – 8 Years of Stuff!
(Side Note: Until the separate Paris Blog feed gets all setup in the next few weeks, both posts will be fed into this/current feed. Hang tight, you might just enjoy the content! And, in case you missed it – we’re … Read More Here