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
- Now that I've run out of Swedish Fish, I make no guarantees on how remainder of trainer ride will go. http://t.co/wXXoumPygd #, 1 hour ago
- @emlynsimpson See, I'd lay blame at the act of doing backstroke. ;) #, 4 hours ago
- @seeverist Nothing this time, just a quick out and back. #, 7 hours ago
- @keithcartmell People build strange pool sizes in Paris. I found it best not to try and ask 'why'. #, 7 hours ago
- Observation from swim last night: After normally swimming in 33m pool, then 50m pool on Sunday, 25y feels like a plastic kiddie pool. :) #, 9 hours ago
- @cdwilliams1 Check out Garmin Fenix, or Suunto Ambit's, aimed at hikers. #, 9 hours ago
- @cthompson01 Yeah, I've gotta track down some minor change there. #, 9 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.
Tag Archives: Cycling
Shenandoah Squirrel Showdown
Alternate titles: “My new girl is bi”*, “Sorry Mr. Squirrel”, “Rainmaker: 1, Squirrel: 0”…. So my Sunday ride started more or less like any other. I got up at the asscrack of dawn (literally, before dawn) and jetted out to … Read More Here
Blue Angels, Blue Suits*, Blue Ridge Mountains
This weekend was both busy and relaxing at the same time. Just depended on which day you were looking at. As we left off on Friday, I had finished up the Bike to Work with the bagel, and then biked … Read More Here
Bike to work with a bagel day
Yesterday was the last day of National Bike to Work Week, and many cities were making it the official “Bike to Work Day” – including the Washington DC metro area. As noted earlier in the week I had planned to … Read More Here
The tire that just keeps on truckin’
Last summer and fall I was having the mother of all issues with flat tires. I was flatting about once every 10 days. Seriously. ONCE every 10 days, sometimes more. The good news is I got damn good at changing … Read More Here
How a long bike ride should be
Over the last few weeks I’ve been kinda bummed about some of my long rides. While I was getting in the distance – my performance wasn’t exactly where I wanted it (or needed it to be). Some of it can … Read More Here
Trust the Fork
I think my weekends are getting busier. And not just from training – but life in general. I’m not sure at what point combustion will occur, but I’ll let ya know if it happens. Friday: The Washington National’s moved from … Read More Here
Tomorrow: Shower with your helmet day
There are certain days every year that are well celebrated by the masses. Christmas, New Year’s and Independence day come to mind (and many religions/countries have variants of those major ones). Then there are those holidays that are still well … Read More Here
New bike sure to ‘get you lots of girls’
When I’m searching for a new product I try to focus on whether or not it will meet my needs across a number of requirements. Generally those requirements are specific to the vertical application associated with the product I’m buying. … Read More Here
Busy Busy Bumble Bee
Today was nothing short of long. Not quite exhausting though – just tiring. So much stuff packed into so little time. Up at 5:35AM to catch a 6:55AM flight from Reagan National Airport to Atlanta. The cool part about DCA … Read More Here
Pain, Noodles, Less Pain, Bike Bunnies
I semi-intended on writing a blog post up Friday afternoon about one thing. And then I planned to do it Friday night. And then Saturday I had a different one planned, and then I realized I spent every waking second … Read More Here
Whirlwind Weekend Wrapup
I knew going into this weekend that things were going to get interesting….and busy. But that’s all good – I like being busy. Day Before Saturday But my weekend really started on Friday morning… with my first technique session with … Read More Here
Bike, Work, Bike, Bike Again, Run, Jump
Tis the story of my day. For some reason, I rarely think through how it will all fit together – until after I do it. I just simply take one item at a time and then deal with the next … Read More Here
Running in the rain
The training continues on. Just under three weeks left till the first race of the year and things are coming together fairly nicely. I was somewhat worried just 3-4 short weeks ago as my knee was seemingly off in it’s … Read More Here
The Cycle of Running
There are those ideas that are technologically impressive and useful – like the dimples on aero wheels to make you faster. And then there are those ideas that you can do nothing more than shake your head at. The following … Read More Here
Weekend Wrap-up
For the first time since last fall, I was finally able to complete a full week’s worth of ‘normal’ workouts without worrying about injury – nor paying for it later with an annoyed knee. While it certainly wasn’t a super-heavy … Read More Here
The Trifecta
Yesterday was a busy-bee day here in Seattle. I had three sports planned, plus a full day of work sandwiched in between. It started off with a hour long bike ride out to Alki point and back (from downtown along … Read More Here
A drafty feeling
So as a amateur triathlete not competing in draft-legal racing I have as much use for drafting as the draft out of my rear end. Which over time is a bit of a pickle I’ve decided. See, from a training … Read More Here
Brickman
After yesterday’s brickage – I am the brickman. Well…technically these dudes down in Texas are the brickman, but I certainly feel like I could be the brickman. Yesterday’s swim, ride & run was the first time I’ve done three sports … Read More Here
Tri State Ride (aka: A Cold 55 Miles)
Today’s weather was looking much more promising than last week’s Saturday ride. The weather had peaked a bit above freezing a few times over the course of the week, melting off any snow on the pavement. And there hadn’t been … Read More Here
Any problem can be solved with a hacksaw
It’s generally an awesome day when I can solve a computer issue with a hacksaw. It’s a super-awesome day when the device still actually works after the utilization of aforementioned cutting paraphernalia. I had to use a hacksaw because some … Read More Here
Bike Fitting
About a month ago, I had a bike fitting done by Coach Ken Mierke, a local triathlete coach and active poster on Trifuel.com. I had originally asked for advice on Trifuel back a few months ago about getting a bike … Read More Here
A frozen slip and slide
Some things in life are more difficult in the snow. Activities such as building a house, sunbathing and gardening come to mind. Some activities are easier in the snow; such as skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. And then there is riding … Read More Here
Getting a speeding ticket while riding a bike
In case there wasn’t any doubt already – I present you with further evidence that Virginia’s lawmakers are quite simply dumb. And if you visit the site to read the full story – you can even watch a nifty video. … Read More Here
Tales of the Ghetto Geko and Abominable Snowmen
Today I bring you the tale of two creatures – intertwined by a nice forty mile ride. The Ghetto Geko First, we start with a little ‘situation’ that arose a few weeks ago while kayaking in Palau. Something mighta-sorta-occurred involving … Read More Here
The State of my State
So this is my 2007 wrap-up and 2008 goals post all in one – and a few days later then the rest of the blogosphere. Cause really – ya’ll got your fill of reading the resolutions and goal posts last … Read More Here


















