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: Race
The Santa Corrida de Noël 10K Race Report (2016)
It’s that time of year again! Yup, time to run with a few thousand other Santa’s as part of the 10K race, Corrida de Noël d’Issy les Moulineaux! We’ve been doing this race every year we’ve lived in Paris. Albeit, … Read More Here
Paris 2016 Triathlon Race Report
It’s pretty rare that I’d ever have two race weekends back to back, but with the Eurocup being hosted in France this year, the city of Paris has moved virtually all non-Eurocup athletic events out of the June 10th to … Read More Here
Versailles Triathlon 2016 Race Report
This past Sunday I raced in a popular sprint triathlon just outside of Paris. It’s officially the Triathlon du Roi (Roi means king in French). But more commonly it’s known as the Versailles Triathlon, which I last competed in back … Read More Here
Paris Super Sprint Triathlon 2016 Race Report
This past Sunday was the Paris Super Sprint Triathlon, which is an indoor tri held annually here and put on by Expatriés – one of the local triathlon clubs. Like all early season indoor triathlons, it’s a great way to … Read More Here
2015 Paris Triathlon (draft-legal!) Race Report
It’s time for my slightly belated Paris Triathlon Race Report! Don’t worry, it doesn’t get too stale even though it’s a week later. As you’ve likely surmised at this point, I raced the Paris Triathlon. But not just me, but … Read More Here
The 2015 Paris Half-Marathon Race Report
Ok, so I’m a bit behind on posting this race report. Which is probably appropriate given it’ll match my running of the actual race. No worries though, unlike Snapchat, the photos here don’t expire (though regrettably aren’t likely as titillating … Read More Here
The Santa Corrida de Noël 10K Race Report (2014)
This is our third year racing the annual Santa 10K event just on the edge of Paris. It has half a dozen different start waves over the course of the morning, from kids races to drop-dead serious racing of elites. … Read More Here
Alpe d’Huez Triathlon 2014 Race Report
Just the mere act of being in Alpe d’Huez is effectively walking around on hallowed ground in the cycling world. Aside from the cobblestone finish in Paris, there’s pretty much no more famous stage in the cycling world than that … Read More Here
L’Equipe Paris 10K 2014 Race Report
A few weeks ago a Parisian reader let me know about an upcoming 10K race slated for this past weekend. Given I had nothing else on the calendar and given that it was a huge race in Paris – The … Read More Here
Mont Saint-Michel Marathon 2014 Race Report
I signed up for the Mont Saint-Michel Marathon a long…long…long time ago. When I did so I didn’t actually have any specific goal. In fact, the only reason we really signed up for it was that we knew we had … Read More Here
The Paris Color Run 2014 ‘Race’ Report
I’ve done many types of races and/or endurance events over the years. From dressing up as Santa to jumping in a frozen creek to swimming from Alcatraz and many others. But I’ve yet to do one involving getting painted along … Read More Here
Paris Super Sprint Triathlon 2014 Race Report
Regular readers will remember back a few months ago me mentioning that I was signing up for an early season triathlon. Here in sorta-northern Europe, that means still indoor swimming. Though, with the weather as of late it easily could … Read More Here
Barcelona Half-Marathon Race Report
First up on the race calendar this year is the Barcelona Half-Marathon. We had targeted a race earlier in the season, aimed primarily at ensuring that I’m progressing nicely towards later-spring marathons. Looking at the schedule, Barcelona was spot-on timing-wise, … Read More Here
The Santa Corrida de Noël 10K Race Report (2013)
I eagerly signed up to once again race the Corrida de Noel 10K, just like we did the last year. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we knocked out packet pickup the night before – one of the last to … Read More Here
Florence Marathon Race Report: Perhaps not my cup of ‘THE’
I wasn’t exactly ignoring writing this race report. Not entirely anyway. It’s of course a bit hard to ignore such a downer of a race result, as well as to ignore the 18.4 requests per day via three social media … Read More Here
Florence Marathon Packet Pickup Complete!
Our aircraft landed at the Florence airport last night with the same grace and thrust of Miley Cyrus and a giant foam finger. The weather…not so hot. So windy and rainy in fact that the airport’s power/electricity immediately shut off … Read More Here
Paris-Versailles 2013 Race Report
Many of you know I’ve changed up my training routine the past month or two in preparation for one of the huge local races here in Paris – simply named: Paris-Versailles. This 16km (~10mi) course goes from the Eiffel Tower … Read More Here
Stowe Triathlon 2013 Race Report
This weekend I took a bit of a journey to continue my European triathlon scene adventures. I didn’t actually decide on this race until just over a week beforehand. I had narrowed down the weekend (July 6th/7th), and then narrowed … Read More Here
Versailles Triathlon 2013 Race Report
Here’s my first race report from racing a triathlon in France – the Versailles Triathlon. While this isn’t my first sporting event here (that would be the half and full Paris Marathons), it is in fact my first multisport event. … Read More Here
Paris Marathon 2013 Race Report
The goal going into the Paris Marathon was to help pace The Girl. The idea started last fall, before things got a bit hectic in our lives. Between her working 12 hours a day and running/opening a small business, and … Read More Here
Paris Half-Marathon 2013 Race Report
You know what I appreciate about the Paris Half-Marathon? It started at 10AM. Yes, 10AM! That means that we woke up around…ohh…8:15AM, walked a few hundred meters to the Metro, and took a short 11 minute Metro ride to the … Read More Here
The Santa Corrida de Noël 10K Race Report (2012)
This would be our very first race here in France. Now that things have sorta settled down between moving, opening a storefront, and just life in general, we figured a race might be in order. Of course, neither of us … Read More Here
Ironman National Harbor 70.3: A lesson in how not to cancel a race
It’s understandable that sometimes in life, things don’t go as planned. And in the case of races, sometimes events get cancelled. But this past Friday evenings cancellation of one of the newest Ironman 70.3 branded races is only serving as … Read More Here
Ironman Texas 70.3–The Day Before In Photos
Earlier this week I got the opportunity to swing on down to the Lone Star state to enjoy spectating Ironman Texas 70.3, here in Galveston, Texas. My goal is relatively simple: Bring you tons of awesome photos of the event, … Read More Here
How to kick butt in indoor triathlon races
This past weekend’s indoor triathlon race got me thinking about how indoor triathlons are in many ways very different tactically than outdoor triathlons. Sure, both have swim/bike/run objectives – but the way in which different indoor races are run forces … Read More Here