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.
You'll support the site, and get ad-free DCR! Plus, you'll be more awesome. Click above for all the details. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here!
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.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.
-
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?

Tidbits and Tech From a Week Skiing in the Alps
A week ago we escaped down to the convergence of France, Switzerland, and Italy. By and large, it was all about family time skiing. After all, I somehow managed (albeit not on purpose) to not publish a single post or … Read More Here
A Few Epic Days in the French Alps
I’m currently at 34,999ft cruising over the Atlantic, nearing the coast of Newfoundland. But prior to that I was home in Amsterdam for the weekend – however, much of last week I spent in Chamonix, doing a bunch of meandering … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did in Finland (in the Arctic Circle)
Last weekend we headed up to northern Finland for four days with another family. Both our sets of kids are all only a few days apart in age. But since we were busy defrosting from that trip last week, I … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Sardinia
Turns out the last few months have been a wee bit heavy on travel. Thankfully, they’ve all been to great places – and for better or worse, we’ll be taking a bit of a staycation for the majority of the … Read More Here
5 Random Things From A Weekend in Bruges
It’s been a busy few days in the DCR realm, as my parents came into town and we headed up to Bruges, Belgium for the weekend. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Paris. While Bruges is well known to the … Read More Here
A Weekend in Chamonix and the Alps
This past weekend was a solid road trip adventure as I worked my way from Paris to Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Except instead of just taking the highway there directly and being done with it, I decided to take a meandering detour … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Mallorca
From Wednesday of last week until last night, I was down in Mallorca, which is a small Spanish island located in the Mediterranean. It’s a super-quick journey from Paris, yet has mostly warm and sunny weather, even this time of … Read More Here
A Grand Budapest Weekend
This past weekend we flew the quick two hours over to Budapest, Hungary to enjoy a long weekend in this Eastern European capital city. Many of our friends had made similar trips last winter, and all found it far exceeded … Read More Here
5 Random Things From A Week in The Arctic Circle
So the last week I’ve spent up in Finland and Norway, far from civilization – a place where reindeer far outnumber people, and darkness far outweighs light. Here’s what it’s been like. 1) Getting there Back a number of months … Read More Here
An Esbjerg (Denmark) Runaround
The Runaround: It’s been a while since my last runaround. Not because I haven’t been running around random cities across the globe, but just because with so much other stuff to post about, they’ve gotten slightly overrun. But here’s a … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Switzerland
Woah – a crazy busy weekend down in Switzerland roaming around. But also a ton of fun. Here’s what I’ve been up to! 1) Got a bunch of replacement gear As some of you know, during my sailing trip to … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend in Côte d’Azur
We just wrapped up an awesome few days with friends down on the other side of the country – here’s what we were up to! 1) Flew down to the French Riviera Getting a slight head start on the weekend, … Read More Here
An Apeldoorn (Netherlands) Runaround
Once again this week I had to actually look at a map to figure out where on earth I was being sent for work. The last time was when I went to Xi’an, China. Sometimes I’ve heard of the city … Read More Here
5 Awesome Things I Did and Saw on Bastille Day 2014
Being in Paris now a few years, there appears to be no bigger single-day party than Bastille Day. Now technically it’s not called Bastille day. Rather, locally it’s known as Fête nationale (National Celebration) or Le quatorze juillet (14th of … Read More Here
5 Random Things I Did This Weekend…in Amsterdam
Here’s what I’ve been up to the last few days… 1) Started the weekend on an early train to Amsterdam In a clear violation of my rules for being up in the 5AM hour multiple times a week, I once … Read More Here
A short trip to Finland….with sunrise at 3:30AM
With a week of vacation over (and a weekend in the Pyrenees over), I got back to the real world and my day job with a trip up to Helsinki Tuesday night for two days of meetings. What’s perhaps most … Read More Here
An Epic Weekend of Cycling in the Pyrenees
After touring our way down the western coast of France, I arrived Thursday night into the Pyrenees region along the south of France – ready to begin three days of riding. Much of what I was doing was aimed at … Read More Here
Working our way down the west coast of France
As I noted earlier this week, we took the week off to explore the western coast of France. While you could spend weeks doing this with meticulous attention to every little town along the way, we decided to go for … Read More Here
A Lisbon (Portugal) Week of Runarounds
Over the past week I’ve been hanging out in Lisbon, Portugal for work meetings. But, I managed to get in a number of runs here, as well as a bit of time in between things exploring the city a little … Read More Here
A Cardiff (Wales) Runaround
Last Thursday I had a quick day trip up to Cardiff for some work meetings. Of course, it was somewhat a bit of a near-disaster in that I didn’t realize I was going to Cardiff until about 14 hours before … Read More Here
A Frozen Sea Helsinki Finland Runaround
I left the lovely British countryside behind (and by lovely, I mean cold and raining) and boarded a nearly three hour flight from London Heathrow to Helsinki, Finland. I always forget just how far that is from the rest of … Read More Here
A Thanksgiving Kiev (Ukraine) Runaround
I found myself on Thanksgiving Eve cruising east towards Kiev, Ukraine – for meetings on Thanksgiving in the capital city. The plane was pretty much empty, and in an ironic twist, the airplane food that was served was actually turkey. … Read More Here
A Dortmund (Germany) Runaround
While last week I was in beautiful sunny Greece, today…I am not. Instead, I’m in Dortmund, Germany. Which – may very well be a very nice sunny place too on some days. Regrettably, today was not one of those days. … Read More Here
A relaxing weekend at the beach (in Greece)
After finishing up work meetings on Friday evening, The Girl and I kicked back and enjoyed the weekend (+ this upcoming Monday) here just outside of Athens, Greece. For the most part we had nothing planned. That’s sorta the goal. … Read More Here
A lunchtime Greek getaway openwater swimaround
The last few days, and for the next number of days, I’m attending a slew of meetings in Greece. My schedule is pretty packed from morning till night, but today I had a brief break around lunchtime for precisely one … Read More Here