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
- @dbess340 Yeah, I'd just go and get what's out there today. I think SRM is overpriced at this point, hence why I'd go PT/Quarq/P2M/Stages. #, 3 hours ago
- @mikeportman Haha...beautiful place! And with an awesome track right there too! #, 3 hours ago
- @dbess340 The Quarq, Power2Max both do. Albeit estimated. But there's virtually no training benefit today. #, 3 hours ago
- @dbess340 They do not at this time. #, 4 hours ago
- @dbess340 SRM is certainly quite good. But pricey. #, 4 hours ago
- And just like that...back at the airport ready for my next flight. A perfect way to spend a layover. #, 4 hours ago
- @msenese Doh! No, was that this weekend? Bummer! Nah, just went swimming. Back at airport. #, 4 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: Wetsuit
My favorite workouts in each sport
Yesterday while reviewing my schedule for the week ahead, I realized I’ve been on a run of workouts I really enjoy (or plan to enjoy). Saturday I’ve got my first trail long-run, and Sunday I’m back in the mountains for … Read More Here
Pre-race time back in the pool with wetsuits
It’s that time of the training schedule again. The time where a race is right around the corner in four days. For me that means a lot of things. First is the inevitable taper in workout duration. Then there’s the … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag–August 29th, 2010
Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag. This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so. I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some … Read More Here
My wetsuit makes brown water
After removing my wetsuit in T1 during the Nation’s Tri on Saturday, I left it in the transition area for the rest of the race (dragging it along on the bike or run didn’t seem like it would improve my … Read More Here


















