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 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: Pro Cycling
The Tour de France in Paris: Riding it, watching La Course, and the Finish
As is always the case, yesterday is an epic day for cycling fans in Paris. I went for the trifecta of craziness, and tried to jam it all in. Here’s a look at my (semi-exhausting) day. Riding the final stage: … Read More Here
More than you ever wanted to know about power meters in pro cycling
Over the last week or so there’s been substantial talk about power meter data in the Tour de France, specifically around scenarios of data snooping, data accuracy, data estimation, and data tampering. For the most part, the mainstream cycling media … Read More Here
My Top Tips for Spectating the Tour de France
Tomorrow I’ll be headed up to watch another few stages of the Tour de France (TdF). Having lived in France now for three years and going on our 4th Tour de France, we’ve seen quite a few stages. Usually 3-6 … Read More Here
Watching La Course (the women’s race by The Tour de France)
Earlier this year a significant announcement was made that there would be a women’s race at the Tour de France. It wouldn’t be the entirety of the Grand Tour, nor even a multiday event – but – it would be a … Read More Here
Checking out Stage 4 of the 2014 Tour de France: From Le Touquet to Lille
Things started early this morning – approximately 6AM. Which, for you early birds is indeed early for this non-early bird. From there I’d catch the RER train 10 minutes up to Gare du Nord, where I’d change to a regular … Read More Here
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
Watching the Tour de France finish in Paris
While we moved to Paris last year just before the Tour began, I unfortunately had to go on a work trip the day the Tour finished in Paris – thus missing the famous finale. Given this year was the 100th … Read More Here
A day spectating on Alpe d’Huez at the Tour de France
After spending the week wandering around France we got back late last night following an exciting day on the climb to Alpe d’Huez at the Tour de France yesterday. While I’ll circle back over the next day or so with … Read More Here
A day at the Tour de France time trials headed to Mont Saint-Michel
Yesterday was a rather long day. It started at 5AM, leaving home in Paris and driving approximately three hours to the site of Stage 11 of the 2013 Tour de France. This year that was an individual time trial consisting … Read More Here
A look at the Tour de France photo gallery in the gardens
A few days ago I saw a tweet on the official Tour de France Twitter feed announcing some sort of gallery opening featuring 80 images from years past. After a bit of poking around, I found out that this display … Read More Here
Watching the Tour de France on TV…in France…in French.
Over the past week a lot of things got installed/hooked up/working in our little Paris apartment. Potentially one of the most important being our TV. Well, sorta. One of our TV’s works 100%, and the other one works about every … Read More Here
Watching the Tour de France live from 35,000 feet
It seems appropriate that as this post publishes, I’ll be on another airplane somewhere over the Atlantic, probably just north of Newfoundland. But, this post isn’t about tonight’s flight, but rather a short domestic flight I took last weekend on … Read More Here
2012 Tour de France–A look at the Caravan/Parade
(Note: This post is written by The Girl…aka…my wife.) While the first day of the Tour is exciting in and of itself from a cycling standpoint, we were also both pretty excited about the famed parade that tours a few … Read More Here
2012 Tour de France–Stage 1/Day 2
We left off yesterday in Liege, Belgium, where the prologue stage both started and ended. Today, (err…Sunday), we moved…well…just a few yards down the road. Stage 1 would also start in Liege, but would finish in a town just a … Read More Here
2012 Tour de France–Prologue/Day 1
Yesterday we woke up around 7AM to catch our 8AM train from Paris to Liege (in Belgium). That’s the beauty of high speed trains – quick and efficient transport while relaxing at roughly 200 MPH (or about 300MPH). Oh, and … Read More Here
A day riding in Colorado with a bunch of really fast former pros
Yesterday I walked through the boatload of new products that CycleOps announced on Tuesday, but today I figured it’d be fun to talk about the rest of the day. You know, the part after the presentation and Q&A on products. … Read More Here
One simple reason why I love watching pro cycling
In light of the world apparently ending on Saturday, and failing that, a bunch of cycling careers getting even more dorked up on Sunday evening during 60 minutes. So I figured I’d share a brief shot from the Tour of … Read More Here
Behind the scenes of Team HTC-Columbia and the Tour de France Live Tracker
Over the past week and a half of watching the Tour de France, you may have stumbled upon a site that allows you to track Team HTC-Columbia’s riders power, heart rate, cadence and speed data in real-time from your computer … Read More Here