Heads up! The big Garmin spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8, $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965, Forerunner 265, and countless other Garmin products. Full list & thoughts 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.
2
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!
3
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.
4
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 2024 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.
Mountainbiking with the kids!
kick starting Diwali celebrations with an hour of run and core excersise
Still recovering from last week’s UltraMarathon Heysen105. But do have a 2.1km walk for HeartKids Australia on Sunday.
I will be hitting the treadmill and rower; training to get back in shape!
Crossfit this weekend
Let’s check if my road bike gives me any success this weekend :)
Cross country sat morning, swim training sat afternoon; long ride Sunday backed up by taking the kids to swim club, then rest.
I’ve just destroyed my Keo pedals (too much watts? ;)) and waiting for new one, so only swim, run & gym
Biking via TrainerRoad, running outside if the weather is good and curling because that is my winter sport.
Road season seems to be over in the Nordics so Wattbike indoor training will do, maybe in the form of an FTP test.
Sailing for 4 hours on Saturday then a few climbs up Soledad mountain on the bicycle.
Longish 70 mile bike ride with 4000 feet of elevation gain on Sunday. Six intervals, ILT’s, and simulated race.
Des
A nice long run.
Get up Saturday and do a short run with Billy dog then on Sunday, make the most of the extra hour and get out in my “pocket rocket ” retro bike and dance up the hills!
Cycling and running
Saturday saddle time, Sunday trail time. Yahoo
Long run on the beach
Hills then crits and then hills again. And a run.
Easy bike ride to rehab my kee
Long bike ride Sat, Long OWS and run on Sun
I’m hoping to get a few miles in on the mountain bike this weekend. I do have a Nascar race I’m attending that I will need to work around though.
After Ironman* North Carolina last weekend. I have an easy run Saturday and a nice spin Sunday. #recoverytraining
Bike ride Sat and pool swim Sun.
Due to an injury a month ago, Im starting with running again. Twice 5k should do…
Only a swim planned
Getting ready for track season with gym and road work this weekend.
10 mile run Saturday on the trails in Gunpowder Falls, just out of Baltimore; Sunday a 2-2.5 hour ride on the new (used, sort of) smart trainer in a small suburb outside of Baltimore. Then grading a ton of papers before the marking period ends!
5-8 mile run Saturday with the wife. Sunday surf session – if the waves cooperate, otherwise 8-10 miler. Come on waves!
Some easy rides, a couple rounds of golf to stretch out and some swimming.
Hopefully just get outside at least once!
I will be putting on my halloween costume & riding 30 miles with the bike club.
Hiking in the mountains to enjoy the fall colours.
Sat – Brick
Sun – Ride to the beach and back (which involves lots of hills)
My best buddy is flying in from Edmonton and we are going to the Canucks (that’s the NHL for any of you non-Canadians) game and planning to drink a bottle of rum…. or two. Needless to say the training is on pause this weekend. But drinking a bottle of rum is a pretty good athletic feat in itself. So I believe it qualifies.
This weekend I will run a local trail
1600m pool swim sat…8 mile run on Sunday.
12 oz. curls while the kids Trick or Treat on Monday!
Easy running
Going to do my first run after my shoulder surgery sidelined me from my first 70.3 this year. Should be slow, but feel great!
Hopefully will get a nice run in and maybe some swimming if I get that gopro ;-)
An easy run and some long walks and sprints with my friend (a greyhound mix so my sprints = light jogs for him).
Birthday and a long walk
8 mile run and 1 hour recovery on the elliptical
14- 18 mile long run as part of training clinic for the Honolulu Marathon. Easy 20 mile ride the following day!
Riding from Brisbane to Noosa to watch my wife in the Noosa Tri.
Eat Halloween candies. Is that considered athletic standpoint?
Rest day Friday, long run about 13 miles Saturday, 5 miles Sunday.
This weekend is some ankle rehab, some cycling and hopefully a light jog!
Mountain biking with the miss!
Recovering from a severe cold. I am lucky if I will leave the bed!
Sat mtb ride and Sunday group road bike.
7 mile run on the half marathon plan. Maybe some swimming Sunday.
The wife will be out of town so I’ll be out and riding around
Ride Saturday and Sunday
16 miles race training for Marathon in december
A long-ish ride on Saturday, to beat the rain, and indoor bouldering with my son on Sunday.
Looooong swim and then recover!
Cycling for me this weekend
Running and Hiking
Two hour swim practice Saturday morning then a bike ride on Trainer Road or Zwift later Saturday or Sunday. In between taking care of a 9.5 week old (that’s gotta count right?).
Easy run, some weights
Training for next weeks charity ride
Attempting the pretzel on zwift. Then recovering!
Maybe a road ride, maybe a CX ride, maybe a MTB ride, or maybe all three, or maybe none!
A 30min HIIT on the bike trainer and a session of strength training in the gym.
5k Parkrun @Grovelands
Big weekend for me. 6hr ride plus 10k brick Friday, 3.5k swim Saturday, and 30k run and 2k swim Sunday.
Going to ride my favorite local trail for the last time this season before it closes for hunting. Twenty plus miles of dirt deliciousness.
3000 yard OWS followed by a 10mile brick run on Saturday. Long ride on Sunday
Running my home park run
A pair of ultimate frisbee games and then some running speed training!
A 30+ km cross country Mtb ride on Saturday and a 17 km trail run up the hill.
Start of the taper for Ironman Malaysia so nothing too major, just a parkrun and then 4 hours on the bike
Will be starting my tapering runs for NYC marathon
My very athletic activity this weekend will it involve my bike. Just a fishing pole and a beer. Will consider some chocolate for Ray.
Mountain Biking on Sunday in the watershed !
Watching some football with family, hoping to squeeze a run in weather permitting.
Just some easy running!
Thanks for the opportunity!
I’m just back from Majorca and ran up and down the hills to Formentor Friday (Yes, I cycled up there a couple of times too) and so I feel like a just ran a marathon. So Saturday will be a recovery run at best. Sunday will be back on the bike though probably about 100k of pancake flat riding after the various climbs this week.
Cycling 100km to Kyoto to meet up with friends for Halloween!
Hello from moroco
Crushing the local MTB trails followed by some some cyclocross racing
long bike ride for sunday and long run for monday, we’ve got a 4-day holiday here in the Philippines
Race a 10k :)
Some miles on my mountain bike!
12oz curls!
Just a small neighborhood 5k this Saturday. I will also be cheering on my Cubs.
Group ride on Saturday followed by a group open water swim. Solo trail run on Sunday.
Hmmm….. a nice, long walk to the fridge!
Easy run at Zurich.
12 mile run
Breaking out the old wahoo kickr for a ride on zwift since it’s getting a little cold in Canada.
A run with an old friend I haven’t seen for ages.
Rest weekend, I dislocated my shoulder and I went a bit too ham on leg day
An easy 2 hour ride on Saturday and a 3 hour long run Sunday. Thanks for the giveaway, Ray.
20km E2 run and a long ride weather permitting
It’ll be my first 10K race after I recover from ITBS. Very excited!
Lots of cycling and a bit of running!
Runway 5k at CLT for me
Taper weekend for my Nov 6 marathon!!
Road bike ride sat AM and hopefully an inagural mtb ride sunday.