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
- @tarheeltiger Not athletic, just generic. Odd. #, 5 hours ago
- @wahoofitness Can past-RFLKT purchasers e-mail to get one, or is there cost? #, 7 hours ago
- I'm almost slightly concerned with the level of interest y'all have in this (non-starter) aforementioned lingerie giveaway/review. #, 8 hours ago
- @seeverist Multisport - I would assume that depends on definition of 'sport'. GPS, not unless we redefined GPS acronym. #, 8 hours ago
- RT @wahoofitness: @Charlerious @dcrainmakerblog we have Garmin compatible mounts in the next shipment, if you buy a RFLKT and it doesn’t in… #, 8 hours ago
- @mueymal Yeah. I'm in Seattle this week, but heard from The Girl that it's a zoo. #, 9 hours ago
- Offered free women's lingerie in exchange for doing a lingerie giveaway. Umm...no. A Lingerie In-Depth Review?!? #, 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.
The Johannesburg (Group DCR) Runaround
Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore. After a 10 hour flight from London to South Africa, I found myself presenting and meeting 90 minutes later for nearly 9 hours. By the time I finished up I was most definitely ready … Read More Here
A circular tour of Africa
Most folks can find South Africa on a map. After all, if you can find Africa, you can find probably find the southern portion. Simple enough, right? Welcome to Ghana But what about finding Accra? Well, ya probably need a … Read More Here
Cycling around South Africa
If you’ve never been to Africa, you probably have a specific representation of what the continent looks like. In your mind, it probably looks a lot like many of my past posts – usually out in the bush, in places … Read More Here
A week in the Seychelles on Denis Island
After our departure from Botswana we headed back through South Africa where we caught an Air Seychelles redeye flight from Johannesburg to Victoria, on the island of Mahe, within the Seychelles. Because I realize that few probably know where exactly … Read More Here
Three days in Botswana’s Okavango River Delta
(Sorry for the delay in posting…the last five days since being in Botswana we were at a location that while promised internet…did not actually have fully functional internet…thus…no posts. Let the posting resume!) When I originally started looking at places … Read More Here
A week in South Africa
After finishing up eating chocolates in Zurich, we boarded our Swiss airlines flight for the 10.5 hour journey south to Johannesburg, South Africa. This would be the start of a two week trip in the region, with the first leg … Read More Here
Wanna buy a Kenyan bike?
Last week before my flight back to the US, I swung briefly through a Kenyan mega mart of sorts on the way to the airport. My coworkers wanted to pick up some coffee (nearby regions are known for it) at … Read More Here
Swimming in Kenya’s Nyayo National Stadium
I arrived back to Nairobi Monday mid-afternoon ready to get my workout in for the day. I had done some research prior to arrival and found my best option (of only two options in the country) was Nyayo National Stadium, … Read More Here
24 hours in Tanzania
Sunday morning started early…but I was at least able to enjoy a breakfast before going as my ride to the next airport was slightly late. Because Sunday my place of work was closed for the weekend and Monday was a … Read More Here
Welcome to Tanzania, by way of Zurich and Kenya
There is early..and then there is damn early. Saturday morning started damn early at 3:30AM to catch my first flight to Zurich (from Rome). The one par I love about flying over the Alps region of Europe though is the … Read More Here
A little trip to Spain…and Africa.
Back a few months ago I got a great deal on airfare from DC to Spain ($127 round trip including all taxes). So on the eve of the Philadelphia Marathon, the girl and I booked tickets over for a 5 … Read More Here
Kenya Day 6: Ostrich Balls and BBQ Crocodile…the end.
Our last day of the trip, after two weeks and a lot of miles, we were ready to wander on home. But first we had the morning game drive. I wouldn’t call it out, but since we saw the very … Read More Here
Kenya Day 5: Simba the Lion King
We’re going to keep this one quick – just photos. The day is our last full day in Kenya before making our way back Saturday towards the US (with first stops in Nairobi, Dubai, and then eventually DC – and … Read More Here
Kenya Day 4: Cheetah vs. Buck
The day started out more or less like any of the previous days in Kenya. We’d get up before dawn (6AM) and shuffle our way to the Land Rover ready to begin the the day. Speaking of which, here’s what … Read More Here
Kenya Day 3: The grasslands
My goal is to make like a cheetah and get this post knocked out. It stands between me and dinner. We left Tsavo National Park relatively early in the day to head to the small airstrip to catch our the … Read More Here
Kenya Day 2: Lions, Leopards and lots of land
Our second day started early…rather early. It seems to be a trend that I need to break actually. But at least we caught the sunrise from our front porch, illuminating the 19,345 foot Mt. Kilimanjaro. The schedule for the day … Read More Here
Kenya Day 1: ‘Smile…you’re in Kenya!’
Despite being a redeye flight from Egypt that arrived at a potentially painful 4:10AM, it wasn’t too bad at all. We were virtually first off the plane and then made like rabbits to the customs area to be able to … Read More Here


















