Heads up!!! Here’s your massive holiday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Epix for just $419, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $699, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $249, (or the brand new Hero 13 or $299!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? These companies help support the site! With Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first time users saving 15% on applicable products.
You can also pick-up tons of gear at REI via these links, which is a long-time supporter as well:
Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. No cost to you, easy as pie!
You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
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.
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Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
Is The Girl blessed with child? If so, congratulations…
Yes, Ray announced the exciting news a while back … read more on his post -https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/02/dcr-expansion.html
Indeed. We’re excited! And The Girl has been rocking it the whole time running. Good stuff!
And she looks great, it obviously suits her!
My wife and I are the same ages as you guys and we just had our first, he’s one month old this week! Everyone said how tough it was but it doesn’t really bother me because the little guy is so darn cute. Tri training is suffering and the interactions I have with my wife are more economical, rather than shooting the breeze we’re checking stuff off the to-do lists. So my advice isn’t about how tough it is or about the lack of sleep but to enjoy how you and the girl spend your time together before your baby arrives.
Fantastic news for you two!
Also Venice looks great, need to go there!
For the Gondola trip, I know it’s touristic and everything else, but a friend of mine offered a tour of Venice in gondola as a birthday present for my wife, and while going around, the gondolier taught us that when Venice was one of the most important cities in the world, everybody who was rich moved on a gondola, and so most of the palaces have beautiful facades on the canali, while on the back, on the calli (the roads of venice) there were the entrances just for the servants and people of the lower classes… So once in a lifetime, I think it’s worth it.
I wonder what is Favero up to…
And also, why I’d the girl wearing two watches?
:-D
For the baby, of course. No reason the baby shouldn’t get credit for the km. I’ll bet he/she even has his/her own Strava account already :-) (What does a baby triathlon look like, anyway? Eat, poop, crawl? Ah, well, about a year before they have to worry about that.)
We’re still unclear on when it’s too soon to put the baby on a bike. But once that happens, there shall be a Strava account!
You think you’ll go bike seat or trailer? I have a bike seat, but when my #2 shows up, I might get one of those trailers that also doubles as a running stroller.
Hard to say. In Paris a trailer isn’t practical. And bike seat is pretty common here.
You’re in the fortunate position that both sets of grandparents are across an ocean, so they can’t really see what you’re doing to their grandchild :-). With my in-laws in the same town, we never dared putting their granddaughter in a bike seat.
Favero? Nah, I’d say Elite, trust me…
Highly recommend! The chariot line up (now by Thule) is awesome. It’s sturdy to go as fast as you want, and get a decent workout out of it, with the baby at the back.
I live in the city of Ghent, and wouldn’t recommend bike trailers for cities. I use a 2-wheel cargobike ( mine’s a bakfiets.nl model – dutch made), and I can get around like a normal bike. There’s other brands too, riese and muller have a quite sporty en costly one (danish bike). Better than a bike seat!
Love reading about your travels Ray. Venice looks beautiful.
Lived in Naples/Napoli for 3 years mid 90’s, and still get back occasionally. Nothing teaches you how to hang on to the peloton like the risk of getting dropped in the Italian countryside, with no clue as to how to get back. We would frequently ride through farms where the Mozzarella di Bufala was produced- and in the local Neapolitan Restaurants could enjoy it fresh… Don’t seem to have the restaurant quality issues down there…
We had wanted to get to that area and go visit some farms at other points this past few months. But we’re going to defer that to the fall, hopefully October is good then!
wish I would have known I could have emailed you some great restaurants. The key, we’ve found, is to never eat on the Grand Canal. The more hidden the restaurant, the better it usually is. We’ve had some unforgettable meals in Venice, including (ironically) the best pasta bolognese ever!
I have to agree with Matt–the more hidden the restaurant the better. The worst meal I’ve ever had in Italy was at a tourist spot on the Grand Canal. My wife and I couldn’t finish the meal. Going out to the little towns not on the normal tourist beat also provides some good meals and sights not usually seen.
Cittadella is a wonderful little town and one that my family enjoys going to and just wandering around for the day. We love to eat at the Ristorante – Pizzeria al Cappello there.
In March my wife and I took a trip to North Italy with stops at the Cinque Terre before arriving in Venice. A local gentleman who is an avid runner told me about early morning runs through the walking paths of Venice leading to the Piazza San Marco, then heading to the park adjacent to Sant’ Elena. A remarkable experience running past the Doge’s Palace completely free of tourists at 6:00 in the morning and the few other runners hailing a warm “Ciao!” BTW, if you have not ventured to the Cinque Terre, definitely add it to the bucket list.
What was on the right wrist? the 630?
I had the FR920XT on one wrist, and the Vivoactive HR on the other.
Great pictures, when the sun is out you really bring out the colours of the city,
You both look well
Love the alfresco dining on the street corner.
I like your priorities, one hour meeting 5 day stay
all the best
Italian company one hour outside of Venice uh? I can think of one that starts with a C and ends in “ampagnolo” that would fit the description… if that’s the case I am getting pretty excited
Gorgeous Venice! One has to put up with the tourist traps, because it’s such a tiny place and absolutely everyone on the planet wants to see it, so no wonder… Totally worth it, I think. Thanks once again for sharing, Ray!
Hey. Enjoy your work very much. I was wondering what your early thoughts on the vivoactive hr are. Can’t wait for the full review, just after a little insight.
So far, mostly good. A few quirks on HR while cycling in rougher conditions, but during steady-state it’s good. Running also seemingly good (haven’t fully dug into the most recent run or ride files yet, just glancing at it during the activity). No issues swimming.
Seeing some minor quirks with step counting and false-positives. But we’ll see how that shakes out. Battery seems good, probably about 5-7 days with GPS every day for an hour (average).
You have done a part of the original Venice Marathon route on Sunday.
One of my most loved marathons (after completing 79).
Here are some pictures: link to marathon4you.de
Thats the right link: link to marathon4you.de
I agree about tourist-trap restaurants in Venice, there are some good places to eat, but you have to know them, cause they’re hidden most of times. Anyway the best way to enjoy Venice it’s a “bacaro tour” that means walking around stopping in 3-4 “bacaro” (Venetian Bar) to drink a glass of wine and eat a few “cicchetti” (small tastes of venetian food, something like tapas for spanish).