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
1
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.
2
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!
3
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.
4
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: Random
Boston Bound
This week has been crazy busy with work and late night training. Before Wednesday night’s run, I happened upon some Caps tickets (local NHL hockey team)…for the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs…in a luxury suite. SWEET!!! And without … Read More Here
Random tidbits – I was featured on TrainingPeaks.com
Just in case some of you missed it (well, everyone but Bill)…I was featured on the front page of the Training Peaks website two weeks ago as part of their member profile series. The front page was then linked to … Read More Here
Chocolate Milk vs Endurox R4 Recovery Drink – Stimulus Edition
The other day I was chatting with a friend talking about recovery drinks. I’ve been on a chocolate milk kick for a while now – as I’ve previously gone in depth on. Given it’s been proven to be just as … Read More Here
A few random tips for new (or old) bloggers
Over the past 18 months or so I’ve figured out all sorts of little random things about this whole ‘blogging’ thing. Aside from finding out that it takes a fair bit of time, I’ve also picked up on a number … Read More Here
Tuesday Tidbits – February Edition
In no particular order – observations of the last week: No, my blog is not for sale. While I’m flattered by the offer, it would be kinda awkward to sell this blog and blog name. However, if you present me … Read More Here
Bicycle Crash Density
Who knew? Such a term. I would have called it “Place where things go wrong”. I was browsing the city’s web site and stumbled upon their ‘Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan’ from June. This plan essentially outlines how they are … Read More Here
A White Christmas (Tree) and a run in the snow
But before we can get to the Christmas Tree, we have to get beyond a run in the cold and some weight lifting. Yesterday’s morning run was quite a bit of fun. Well, I thought it was fun anyway – … Read More Here
Things I was going to blog about…
I was going to blog about the process of picking a coach, but I got lazy and busy and everything else that happens. So maybe I’ll write it up over the weekend I was going to blog about signing up … Read More Here
Tuesday Tidbits
I haven’t posted my Philly Race Report, as I’m going to wait till tomorrow evening for the official photos to get posted. Post-Marathon Sunday night I did a trainer ride, and then I swam yesterday – just a 1,000M or … Read More Here
Funny guy, ehh?
This morning sent out a calendar placeholder (out of office – OOF) for an upcoming vacation I have planned for the end of the month. My e-mail was very short, and not too descriptive beyond basically saying “I’m not really … Read More Here
Winter is here
Well, ok, maybe not exactly winter. But…it technically snowed today. I saw it with my own eyes. It may have been sunny out at the time, but that’s besides the point. For a few short minutes – snow came down. … Read More Here
Loops, Flips and More Loops
Loops Saturday marked the beginning of the taper for the Philly Marathon in two weeks. It included an interesting run workout that I hadn’t done before. It started off with a 10 minute warm up, and then stepped down temporarily … Read More Here
The miracles of degreaser
If you’re a triathlete or cyclist – then you likely find bike grease on just about every object you own. And if you’re a runner, then you’ll still find this stuff pretty darn cool. Back last winter the bike shop … Read More Here
Votage
(It’s sad, I only have one sweatshirt… I think I need to get some more) I was quite happy to find that the polling place line was only 16 seconds long. Woohoo! After reading Lesser’s post, I was fairly concerned … Read More Here
Turning into a pumpkin…or a turkey
Halloween has many pieces – there’s the pumpkins, the costumes and of course the candy gathering (even if as an adult that simply means going to the grocery store and buying the candy instead of standing at peoples doors).Tuesday evening … Read More Here
Spot Tracker Review
Here’s the third post in as many weeks reviewing various devices I’ve accumulated over the past year. As always, these are more for long-term reference that people find than they are for daily readers. Although I think many of you … Read More Here
A 10K, a marathon and wilderness in between
Let’s try and keep this weekend recap quick. On Friday night myself and two friends drove down to Charlottesville, VA to run in a 10K race there (Bad to the Bone 10K aka Charlottesville Fall Classic). (I’m in the lower … Read More Here
A day in the life of Rainmaker
Given some recent questions in the comments what my day looks like, I figured I’d take a few quick minutes to outline what today looked like. Now today isn’t exactly typical, but it is representative of the randomness that is … Read More Here
BlendTec Home Blender Product Review
Alternate Title: Will it Blend…Damn right it will! Back a month or so ago I was blending a smoothie and decided that my poor little blender just wasn’t cutting the mustard…err…pineapple. Of course it didn’t help that I’d been eyeing … Read More Here
Wanna build your own bike path?
Over the last week and a half I’ve had the entertainment of watching various road/construction crews rebuild the bike path in front of my house. I have a ‘running path’ on the side closest to my house, and a ‘bike … Read More Here
Stuck
I’ve been in a rut lately with getting behind on which product to write a review on. Some of these I’ve been meaning to write a review on since last fall, and others are a bit newer. So here’s your … Read More Here
Rain rain go away, don’t come back another day
Once again I went camping and watch a friend compete in a tri (her first Olympic Distance event just a few weeks after her first sprint). While the weekend was a blast – it would have been sooooo much nicer … Read More Here
How do you like them apples?
So it’s twofer post Sunday I guess. I had a really busy – but awesome – weekend. The good news for you is that both of these posts are ‘short’ by my normal standards. Lots of pics, but otherwise short.If … Read More Here
Wine vs. Workouts: Effects of alcohol
I don’t drink a lot, never really have – but I certainly enjoy an occasional beverage. By ‘not a lot’, I would say I maybe had four drinks all summer long. Yes…not a lot. Last Friday night I went out … Read More Here
Me vs the Hurricane
Let’s be clear…I won vs the Hurricane. Well, actually…we won. Because I’m tired and already behind a day on getting this written up and posted, we’re going to go with pure picture mode. Booyeah! (Our little Spot Tracker GPS trail) … Read More Here