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.

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UK based here! Canada! Germany! France! Spain! Italy!
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Ray Elsewhere
Did you know I write a weekly column over on Slowtwitch?
Check out my Product/Electronics posts in Ray’s Sports Electronics Mailbag - they are packed full of gadget goodness.
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- 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?
- What are your least favorite countries/places?
- What are you favorite countries/places?
Follow me on Twitter
- FYI: @Garmin releases Edge 810 firmware update. Minor tweaks/fixes: http://t.co/7JN03g2FDQ #, 5 hours ago
- @muzzkat Only when the situation calls for it. :) #, 7 hours ago
- @muzzkat Ignore eating and sleeping...but there some e-mail to some Parisian you were going to write. ;) #, 8 hours ago
- @obriensh You're awesome, thanks! #, 13 hours ago
- Anyone have any screen captures of the House Hunters Intl from last night showing @BertiesCupcakes in it? Will trade for cupcakes! #, 13 hours ago
- @jsank11 I would...and do. :) #, 13 hours ago
- @jsank11 Ability to easily remove for cleaning, the straw system near your aerobars, and actual cleaning. #, 14 hours ago
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
Read My GPS Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent gadget recommendations guide (2012) – covering almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day to day? I also just put together my complete 2012 ‘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!
Understand technology and sport in the How-To Guides.
I enjoy explaining new things to folks – especially showing people how to get the most from their gadgets. Here’s an ongoing list of “How to” guides.
Read my Top 25 most useful posts.
It turns our I’ve written a fair bit of stuff over the past few years – and after it disappears from my front page, a lot of it never really sees the light of day again without Google’ing skillz. Or a photographic memory…which I don’t have. I’ve taken a look back and found stuff that…continues to find a trickle of readers via web searches or forum links.
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.
Monthly Archives: August 2012
First look at the Kinetic by Kurt $200 Bluetooth Smart inRIDE power meter trainer accessory
NOTE: My full inRide In-Depth Review has been recently posted (click here), with far more detail and analysis than the below post. Enjoy! This is definitely the week of power meters, and there’s no shortage of new products – for … Read More Here
Hands on with a $200 Bluetooth Smart power meter and precision distance/speed sensor
A few weeks ago I got in touch with the folks behind Velocomputer, who have been working on a Bluetooth Low Energy Speed/Cadence/Power Meter. The unit is no bigger than your current standard speed/cadence sensor that you mount today to … Read More Here
An early hands-on look at the Mio’s new ANT+ cycling computers
One of the areas I was looking forward to checking out with coming to Eurobike this year was companies which aren’t offering products in the US market – but rather focus on the European market exclusively. Of course, within the … Read More Here
The update without an update: Garmin Vector Power Meter
Over the past few days and weeks, many of you asked for an update regarding Garmin Vector. I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring it, so I decided to put together this quick post. In short – there … Read More Here
The fun side of Eurobike: Day 1 in photos
Ok, I’ve written enough power meter posts for one evening. But don’t fear, I’ve still got more to write, rather I’m just deferring them until the ferry boat ride tomorrow morning. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some … Read More Here
Power2Max announces updates to power meter, upgrades for existing owners starting at $10
Power2Max has announced a software and hardware update to their existing Power2Max ANT+ crank based power meters. The update adds emulated/calculated left/right power balance, as well as a temperature sensor to aide providing accurate power measurement and correcting drift issues … Read More Here
First look at Pioneer ANT+ left/right power meter and head unit
Note: Updated 8/31/2012 at 5:15PM Easter Time This year at Eurobike, Pioneer has finalized and announced details of their upcoming power meter solution, which is due to be out ‘roughly’ in January 2013. The unit has made the rounds on … Read More Here
First look at new ROTOR Power Meter
This week ROTOR announced their first entrant into the power meter world with their new ‘ROTOR Power’ product. The ANT+ compatible head unit measures and reports individual left/right power output – making it one of numerous new power meter products … Read More Here
First look at Wahoo Fitness KICKR ANT+/Bluetooth Smart Trainer with power meter
Today Wahoo Fitness unveiled their latest product – a Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ enabled trainer with an integrated power meter. The trainer will transmit power (watts) and speed information across both protocols, allowing it to bridge the gap between dedicated … Read More Here
On the move to Eurobike, what do you want to see?
Later this afternoon we’ll pack up shop, grab a rental car and make the 7-hour trek to Eurobike. Well, actually, we’ll make a 7-hour trek to a town in Switzerland across the lake from Eurobike. Thursday morning I’ll tackle the … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 10 (FR10) GPS watch In-Depth Review
Today Garmin announced the new Garmin FR10 GPS watch. This watch has one purpose, and one purpose only: To compete with the onslaught of $100 GPS watches. From features and functionality to sizing – everything is smaller than other Garmin … Read More Here
Observations from our first indoor pool swim workout in Paris
Last Friday night The Girl and I walked a few short minutes away to ‘our’ new pool. By ‘our’, I mean the closest one to us, and the one we’ll likely end up getting an annual pass at. Given it’s … Read More Here
Running past topless demonstrators–and other antics from my weekend
This weekend was a bit of a hodgepodge of things, everything from touristy sight-seeing, to running in new places, to writing lots (and I mean LOTS) of product review content for stuff coming up – much of which is tied … Read More Here
Week in Review–August 26th, 2012
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here
Photo of the day: Racing (triathlon?) bikes on water
Last weekend while bumbling around at the northern of the two Paris beach areas, I caught sight of three people racing across the canal’s watery mass…on bikes. At first glance, it would be an aquatic race – but then upon … Read More Here
After 30 years, Ironman Canada ends –Challenge Penticton it becomes…or not?
Earlier today, the city of Penticton along with the Challenge Family announced that next August, there will now be a single iron-distance race called ‘Challenge Penticton’, at the same time which Ironman Canada has been for the past 30 years … Read More Here
Nike+ FuelBand In-Depth Review
Back in the spring I started to compare various activity monitors – in the hopes of making sense of this fast moving and exploding market segment. This review will be the first in a series of reviews (every couple of … 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
A weekend with a lot of walking, running, and comparing power output
I’ve been testing the Nike+ Fuel lately, and by the amount of walking I’m doing – there’s been no better time to do so than the present! For example, Saturday ended up with more than 27,000 steps! Below, here, towards … Read More Here
Week in Review–August 19th, 2012
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … 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
My thoughts IMNYC2013: $1,200 entry fee, 90 minutes shorter, and now no race at all
After the successful running of the inaugural Ironman New York City (IMNYC) this past weekend, a few folks have asked what my thoughts are on some of the changes planned for next years event (at least those that were announced). … Read More Here
How to fix heart rate strap chaffing issues
A day or two ago, someone posted to Slowtwitch with an issue where they were getting chaffing issues with the Garmin soft strap, to the point of the skin being red and raw. This was primarily in the area of … Read More Here
First look at the new Polar RC3 GPS–the first integrated GPS watch from Polar
NOTE – Sept 27, 2012: My Full In-Depth Review is now available for the Polar RC3. You can view that here. Today Polar announced their new RC3 integrated GPS watch – the first fully integrated GPS watch coming from Polar. … Read More Here
Week in Review–August 11th, 2012
The Week in Review is a collection of both all the goodness I’ve written during the past week around the internet, as well as a small pile of links I found interesting – generally endurance sports related. I’ve often wondered … Read More Here


















