Heads up! The big Garmin annual spring sale has started, with $200 off the Fenix 8 (first sale to date!), $100 off the Edge 1050, Forerunner 965 at $499, the Forerunner 265, the new Instinct 3, and countless other Garmin products including inReach Mini 2. Plus the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium is on sale, and some Suunto & Wahoo product deals too. 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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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!
5
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.
Plan to dust off my road frame and convince myself it’s finally time to put some air in the tires, now that winter has (not) come and gone here in DC.
2 hour ride on the trainer to avoid the bad weather. Again.
Planning on doing a 40-60 mile ride the day after a half marathon race!
No cycling plans this weekend. Just got some fresh snow and ice. Going to attempt Monday and Tuesday though, as temps will be up and hopefully the snow gone again.
Plans are for riding the bikes with the kids this weekend… That is always a good saturday afternoon ride :)
Visiting my sister in Northampton and biking there to find a Wrapple!
Looks like rain all weekend – so probably a trainer ride Saturday.
Big gravel birthday ride (race) Sunday followed by all the tacos and beer you want!
I’ll be out on a training ride with one of my close friends on Saturday. She upgraded her bicycle the other week and we are excited to go test it out!
Outdoors if the snow melts away :-)
If it warms up my cycling will be pulling my 3 year old to the playground to climb and slide.
I’m planning to ride 50 miles Sunday morning. I hope it warms up!
Looking to do a 1.5 hour indoor training ride before I take the little ones to soccer Saturday morning.
Unfortunately with a baby imminent i have to stick to a short sharp local loop. Luckily it tests climbing, sprinting and has some great views so pretty happy.
Would love a power meter to really take it to the next level!
Potential ride on Sunday if it warms up a bit, but the forecast doesn’t look good. I will probably end up indoors reading DC posts!
It’s been a week riddled with family obligations. So mileage, mileage, mileage for the weekend.30-50 or 40-40 for Saturday and Sunday.
Racing on Sunday!
Skiing with my little kids.
Stuck inside this weekend so spinning away on the trainer.
Fast group ride and early season crit!
Plan to ride a 60mi group route that I haven’t ridden since October when I got dropped. Hope my training and new aero wheels help me hang with the group the entire ride.
Skiing in the Italian Alps
Going for a 2.5 hour ride as I train for a HIM in June
Still snow in Calgary. No cycling here yet.
Been really nice here recently, but this weekend is going to be cold. So Zwift with my now legacy Computrainer it is.
TrainerRoad session of 90 minutes on sunday. Still to cold here in Montreal for pleasant ride outside for me !
Well, since it’s going to be the first (relatively) warm weekend this year, probably rather relaxed medium long rides to the nearest beer garden :-)
Snowkiting this weekend
Funny you should mention hot-tub and ski resort…. plus some snow shoeing for good measure.
Thanks, Ray and Clever Training!
With my bike in the shop for it’s annual tune-up, I’ll be taking a brief brake from the Kickr SNAP and getting in some maintenance miles at the local community center.
-Nick
Flying to Palma, Mallorca for a week of road riding with friends – hoping for good weather!
First outdoor ride of the year.
Sunday is the club ride!
Busy day Saturday so probably just a trainer ride, but the weather is looking nice Sunday so I can get outside for a few hours.
Squeeze in a two hour trainer road ride while watching basketball.
Going to be panic training before the Cape Town cycle for next weekend. Looking to do 100km which will double my yearly total!
Hopeful hit some mountain bike trails.
After warm weather last weekend it’s going to be cold in the northeast again so it looks like some indoor trainer riding in warm-looking Zwift.
cycling activity will be making sure my bike’s in good order for when we get reasonable weather :D
60 minutes on trainer
Saturday rest, Sunday race at the Pentathlon des neiges 2017.
I want the powerMeter :)
Etap is on order.. would be nice with a nice powermeter on it
A couple hockey games this weekend then a spin on Sunday to stretch the legs out.
No cycling this weekend, I’ll be away on a trip! :)
~40 mile group ride Saturday + 20 mile run Sunday
100 km ride tomorrow morning!!
thanks for a great blog! My girlfriend and I are riding out to the suburbs to visit a friend. We’ll be practicing drafting in preparation for the Joburg2C bike race in April.
A couple hours on the trainer each day, I hope!
enjoying the decent weather Friday afternoon, recovery ride indoors on Sunday.
Dodging the left-over puddles from our recent record rain! Will most likely do my usual “idiot laps” around Fiesta Island, but hope to venture out a bit more if the weather permits.
I hope to get out on the bike for any length of time. Wife is working and I have a 4 year old to keep me busy.
Weather is pretty crappy here right now so, I plan on some intervals in Zwift.
Spin class for me. The weather is cold and wet this weekend.
Back in the garage for some Trainerroad!
a few laps around Zwift Island
Hoping to get out over the weekend on the MTB and get back in time to catch the tail end of Strade Bianche on TV
Unfortunately, no riding this weekend. Got to pay the bills. I’ll have two weeks off coming up and plan on doing a lot of riding then.
60 mile group hilly ride on Sunday morning.
Hoping to do an easy ride in the cold on Sunday and some time on Zwift later tonight.
60mi Saturday
55mi Sunday
Plan on a 2 hour 45 min bike ride on Saturday followed with a 2,500m swim and 1 hour 20 min run on Sunday.
Long club ride Saturday, short trainer session Sunday
Probably won’t be able to get out on the bike this weekend, but running long on Saturday (and finishing demo on my soon-to-be-remodeled kitchen).
I’m going to Winterbike! It’s a fatbike event in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, and the temperature is going to be hovering around 0˚F/-18˚C! Gotta keep the power up to stay warm. That and cookies. And whiskey.
Longish ride but tough to get back on the bike after last weekend’s Chilly Hilly. Was hilly, but the Chilly part – oh my.
Enjoying the early spring weather with a long ride Saturday morning, long run on Sunday.
At almost 9 months pregnant I’m not cycling these days, but I do have a swim planned!
Hello DC,
Saturday I will be riding Trainer Road for about 1 hour 30 min followed by a quick 15 min run off the bike. Sunday I am planning to run for about 1 hour and complete an easy bike in the afternoon. I live in New England and this weekend is forecast to be well below freezing. I am looking forward to removing my bike from the trainer in the coming months!
Ride on,
Gabe
Leisurely ride
Does “none” count?
Weekend plans include a swim with the Tri club on Saturday, and then a long run on Sunday.
Try to start some ride after long rest from serious injury
High cadence roller effort Saturday, steady endurance effort on the turbo for Sunday.
It’s gonna rain this weekend so may not get to go. :(
With three inches of snow, I will be cycling in my basement….still.
Not quite the weekend, but I’m planning to do a nice 40 mile ride later today.
So far my plans are 1:30 on the trainer as part of my cross training for a spring Marathon.
I hope to do a stationary cycle since the whether is no good in Minnesota on Friday, but over the weekend I’m hosting and competing in a ballroom dance competition Dance Fest! It’s going to be a party minus the hot-tub ski resort.
I’m planning on doing one endurance ride outdoors and a climbing session (on the trainer, living in flatland :-) ).
Parkrun with my 15 month son in the buggy on Saturday, followed by a ~30k buggy run on Sunday. Cycling will probably be limited to a trip to the post office to collect some new trainers!
If it rains than 2 hours on the trainer plus 30 minutes run (even if it rains) or 3-4 hours outside if it doesn’t.
Indoor cycling ? this weekend!
FTP test on saturday and soft 100K on sunday!
I’m gonna ride along the Missouri River as long as the weather is nice to get some miles back under the belt after winter.
No cycling this weekend. It will still be too windy and cold. I’m sure I’ll get in a run or two though.
I’m still recoverying from hernia surgery, so I’ll be on the trainer this weekend.
Still a bit chilly here in Chicago so I’m gonna stick to a 1 hour trainer ride Saturday and leg-trashing bike/run at the gym Sunday.
Club’s reliability ride. In the rain if the forecast holds true.
Most of my biking will probably be a 75 minute indoor session mixed in with practicing on my new outdoor bike. I haven’t ridden outside in 20 years so want a bit more practice before I go ride a long time lol.
Still a bit too cold for me to do anything outside, but will probably hit the gym this weekend.
3:00 bike and a 1:30 run. Ramping up the mileage, indeed!
Saturday 30 mi bike ride. Sunday 6 mile trail run.
I pla n on doing some zwifting, fat biking and xc skiing with the family this weekend.
On Saturday, I’m planning to ride the full Maratona dles Dolomites course on my trusty Tacx Fortius; ~135 km with ~4000 m of climbing. Then, on Sunday morning, I’ll ride for a few hours indoors on the Fortius on a flattish course, and when it warms up outside, I’m planning to ride another ~40 miles along the foothills of northern Colorado between Loveland and Boulder. It’s warming up to the sixties this weekend, and this would be my first road ride outdoors this year.
Saturday total rest, Sunday 1 hour progressive roll up to 146ppm + 45 min run at 150ppm + 1 hour roll back. Then stretches, a good shower and to eat a seafood platter, umm !!
Go.
Ramping it up for Haute Route Rockies! Intervals today, long group ride Sat and more endurance miles Sunday.
Unfortunately I got into an accident with a car on wednesday during my commute to work, so i havea week to two until my rips & shoulder are healed. Would love to start off again knowing my power.
Swain’s lane and Regent’s park reps
I plan a metric century ride on saturday with my friends, and we’ll see how’s the weather on sunday :)
3 hour trainer ride on wahoo kickr in garage with my buddies!
Hawk Hill repeats