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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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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.
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Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘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!
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.
My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
So you can’t get tickets for the marathon or the tri? is that just for the start/finish, you must be able to get on the route?
Love the picture at the end of your run, I see the 2 watches on, now could the distance differance be because one is on the left arm and one is on the right arm? I have noticed that what running on a track, and if I warm up one way and run the other way the distance is different!!!
Just a thought
If you’d followed the British ticket purchase stories then you’d have skipped the meeting!
Ray – I just noticed that the eleveation correction is a ‘premium’ feature on Training Peaks! I wonder if they will reconsider as many folks like me (who use the Timex Global Trainer) are locked out. :-(
Have a great weekend.
I, and every other Canadian are pleased and astonished. The word “exciting” is very, very seldom used in reference to Canada. His motorcades at home are such that you’d barely notice unless you were paying attention.
Mr. Harper is actually my MP. Really. Though I didn’t vote for him, most of my neighbours did. They are idiots. Less than 40% of Canadians voted for his party. And now he’s in the States selling out Canada. Grrrr.
The Olympics are a scam of the first order. I fail to understand why any city would want to hold them. I fail to understand why anyone would watch most of the sports IN PERSON when the TV coverage is so much better, plus slow motion replay, and all in the comfort of your own home. Too many of the sports are decided by a subjective (read fixed) decision. Ice Dancing comes to mind. The whole show is a mess of corruption from one end to the other.
And yes, I said all that when the Olympics were here in Calgary, and I said it when they were in Vancouver.
“2010 Summer Olympic tickets”?
Oh Canada!
The ticketing procedure in the UK itself was equally unsatisfactory; the tickets were assigned by lottery to those who had applied. Nobody knew how oversubscribed they would be, and everyone was scared that they would end up with a bill for thousands if they applied for- and won- too many. So only the wealthy could risk applying for many tickets. I know more than one person who applied for over £5000 of tickets and received nothing. Myself I was lucky that I got a single ticket of the 13 sports for which I applied (including both triathlon and marathon, and even equestrian jumping.)
Speaking of the sponsors, I have heard that the value of tickets given to the sponsors typically exceeded the sponsorship amount – that is to say that the advertising and monopolism is cheaper than free!
@Keith: The olympic tickets sales might be a scam – but going to the events can be a pretty amazing human experience. I recall doing the wave and the ‘less filling/tastes great’ chants to pass the time, with 80,000 others, at the Olympic ski jump site… and seeing the skiers jump off the 90 meter tower is way more impressive in person than it is on video.
Then there is legacy. Not all sites have done as well as Calgary has, but my wife and I got married at the top of the Olympic tower. I’ve skied and mountainbiked at both COP and the Canmore Nordic center, and skated the Olympic oval. Those venues would have not been anything near what they are now, if not for the Olympics.
I looked at the Soleus but cannot figure out if you can transfer data to a computer. Is this possible?
If it makes you feel better tickets weren’t even offered on Wednesday in the events you mentioned (along with swimming and a number of other events). I was able to secure 2 tickets for myself and brother to the 100m final during the request phase in March for $90 each. I should have requested and extra ticket or 2 because now my Dad is coming and I struck out trying to get him a ticket. The 100m event wasn’t offered and other attractive track sessions maxed out at $600-$890 per ticket! I fear I’ll have to pay through the roof to get a 3rd ticket. :(
Yeah, I got a few tickets on Wednesday, but triathlon and marathon weren’t offered (or sold out in 2 minutes, wtf). But, as this will be my first Olympics, it’s encouraging to hear that it’s fairly easy to get tickets at the event itself.
One thing you might want to touch on in your Soleus review- how small the numbers are in the display, relative to other watches. I’m not sure I’d be able to see those. Packaging looks terrific on it. Small, rugged, simple.
Hi Ray
Sounds like you might stand a better chance of getting a ticket than here in the UK. I understand that 80% of us who applied for tickets received none in the ballot.
I believe only the finish/transition is ticketed for the tri. The rest of the route is free at least.
I took the opportunity to do the ITU London Olympic tri this summer as part of the Olympic test event. It was fantastic fun.
I hope you make it over.
Dave