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.
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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!
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.
Recovery run on Saturday. Missed running on a stormy Sunday. Fwiw, an hour and a half of shoveling is still a workout.
Rode my longest ride of 38 miles this weekend
distance swim followed by a 5k
half marathon run and a 4K swim
Did a century ride in windy conditions averaging 20mph winds and gusting to 30mph.
Long run in warm weather
volunteered at a local trail race on Saturday and skiing at whistler on sunday!
I was the nail on my weekly Saturday hammerfest, followed by some fun swim time with my girls. Solid 90 minute trainer session on Sunday morning. “Recovery” naps both days!
7 Mile Bridge Run race with good friends in the Florida Keys for me.
I ended up doing a 20hr Ragnar Atlanta race.
Changed out all the light point switches from mechanical switches to electronic ones. That worked up a sweat.
Tried out my new aero bars for the first time this weekend in anticipation of my upcoming tri.
Rode 66 miles in the beautiful countryside of South Georgia as part of a fundraiser to fight Alzheimer’s . . w/6 great training buddies. Miles and miles of laughs, hard pulls and a tough workout! #readyforchattanoogaHIM!
my best training buddy, Chris Letsinger
I attempted the Zwift Alps, and my legs gave out after 11 turns. The next day, I ran 6 miles with my son and his cousin in a double running stroller over 2 bridges.
Ran my longest run since 2012 _without_ getting injured, and rode 30 miles on Zwift (also without getting injured)!
Long run on Saturday and recovery run on Sunday!
Did a 21km long run this Saturday and went on a short 60km bike ride on Sunday (Find a lot of cherry blossom along the way too). Half marathon race is coming in 4 weeks.
I went on a 4hr run in the mountains with my girlfriend!
A very wonderful weekend
calf tear recovery. will need a new gadget to build endurance fitness again.
Biking and crossfit, what a nice weekend!
Ran 12 miles in cold rain and wind in Michigan. It was probably one of the worst conditions I have even ran in.
Went for a mountain bike ride on an old pony express route, and found some epic climbs to boot!
I have mainly been trying to get back into shape after taking several months off the bike with a bum knee. While off the bike, I did start rowing on a regular basis and have come to really enjoy the workout.
I am sure this give-away doesnt apply to New Zealand, but for my weekend I concerted one of the female staff members at my local beer brewery/bar into a obsessed mountain biker. She is now hanging out for next weekends adventures.
3 mile run and a cub scout hike with the 9 year old! Thanks Ray again!
I’m so keen to get me some new gadgets! I’m in a recovery phase after an ultra marathon, but running a 2hr half marathon with a friend is still pretty good!
I avoided the Delerium 24Hr Road Race. Easy weekend instead.
Froze my balls off on my first ride of the year !!
Earned a half marathon PR (1:34)
Did a road race at the US air force academy in CO spring (1986 world championship course)
Tough local group ride on Saturday, followed by a Zwift race on Sunday
3 mile run and bike ride with my youngest and 90 mins in a top division soccer match. Whew
Went for a 5 mile tempo run!
Vacation beaching running with my kids!
Indoor training with cycling trainer
Lots and lots of beer to carb load for the week ahead!
Riding my first century!
17 km for a half marathon training: minus 15 with the wind in Canada: not that nice :(
Went for a ride on what i though was the dry day this weekend. I was incorrect:(
First outdoor ride of the season in nice weather.
Still recovering from the flu, so the freezing rain and snow kept me inside all weekend. Hopefully have better luck next weekend.
Went for a run with our 6 months old girl in the new stroller. Running feels like another kind of freedom with the child sleeping peacefully.
A windy, snowy, cold 10k run in our wintery spring season here in Quebec. Waiting for warm and sunny conditions…
Had Strep throat, so went for a walk instead of riding.
Drank beer and ate nachos to get the carbs back up.
Ran a 10.5 mile race in Twin Falls Idaho. It was a beautiful day!
link to relive.cc
Long run – sorta!
I did Breca SwimRun Bay of Islands, and broke my ankle (avulsion fracture of the lateral malleolus) halfway through the race – and still finished inside the cutoff! Do I win $500? Loving your work. Best to you and yours for your new life in Hamsterjam.
New to road biking. Did 31.1 miles on MCT trails. Loved it. Going for 50 this week.
Mountain biking on a local ridge in dense fog.
Long run on Saturday and an elliptical session on Sunday for some active recovery!
I did a 2 hour brick workout in Eagle Creek Park with my fiancé on Saturday, and then a 3 hour recovery ride on the trainer on Sunday.
Shoveled 18″ of snow when I should have been spring bikinb
Ran errands all weekend, unfortunately.
30k of mountain biking.
This was the last big weekend before tapering for the Busso half. Saturday was a 1h30 run and a 45 minute swim and Sunday was a 3 hour base ride. Pretty knackered now and looking forward to the taper!
I used up the last few days of my zwift trial, and then cleaned and prepped my road bike for the spring commute season!
Tapering for the Parkway Classic 10 Miler (yeah, that little race along the GW Parkway).
Planned a 80 mile ride for Saturday, accomplished 71 miles then had to call the wife for a emergency pickup. Massive leg cramping like I’ve never had before.
Explored the great windy outdoors with my wife while doing some hiking!
signed up for the Madrid Marathon… It’s gonna be my first one. Already sweating with onloy thinking about it.
Went for a long run with my dog
Strrength training this weekend – kind of. Pulling down a shed and building a fence in its place. New, different shed goes up next weekend.
Because the weather in New England decided to revert back to February… Posted up on rollers for a fair while and finished writing my own blog posts about races from last weekend!
I did a big group ride at the bike store near where I live for the first time since moving up here. Didn’t really have what it took to hang with the A group after getting out of the habit for a bit, but I hung on for half of the ride before switching over to the recreational group after one of our guys got a flat.
I ran 15 miles while fixing my house for sale. I needed to run more, but bathroom paint forced me to stay home more.
intensive indoor cycling session … good to be back on the saddle !
Went on a trail run, but turned into a very hilly trail walk.
took a long walk in the humid weather with a cranky 1 year old
Did 2.5 hour ride on the trainer!
Fighting a cold so just a 34k forest road ride.
bedded in new disk brake pads with a long slow descent
Fought my way through a 90 minutr trainerroad workout with erg mode playing up every 5 minutes and a 15 minute easy run around the block.
heart bursting cardio workout !
Went for a run. Also helped my wife clean our kitchen which is took all weekend (it had been a while).
I put a great deal of athletic effort in over the weekend, working hard to….type all the weekend, because I was stuck away from riding. There was some Zwifting though, so better than nothing.
Enjoyed the huge April storm that hit Snowbird over the weekend.
I used the first nice weekend of the year in NYC to kick off the rust on my bike and put in 20 miles to and from our favorite brewery. Also, I did a long run!
I shoveled ice rain that accumulated like super heavy snow.
Weight lifting, bike trainer and wrestling with kids in between. Love the website Ray, keep up the great work.
Explored my new neighborhood, spotted dear otters and gators
Had a brick workout on Satuday and somehow injured my knee, which forced me to cut Sunday’s run short. Can I buy a new knee on the Clever Training site?
Stuck inside on trainer because of freezing rain and ice.
End of season snowboarding sesh.
Indoor bike trainer due to sleet and snow. Really tired of winter!
Squats and deadlifts at the gym.
Went for 40km of road bike at -2oC in order to be ready for the Rasputitsa event in Vermont next week. It did confirm that the form is not there yet… I will suffer…
First outdoor ride of 2018!!
Ran a bit, biked a bit. Shoulda swam.
No formal athletics this weekend except for 3 hours of karate practice and heaps of farm chores!
Quick run, minor upper body work and totally exhausting trail building….
tough tri training weekend of snowblowing
Travel weekend for me after two weeks of great biking with Naples Velo in Florida. Fantastic weather.
12 mile ride because that’s all that the weather would allow.
It was first hot day this year in NY area this last Saturday and I’ve done my AT run. 8k @ AT pace, 12 in total. Not very long but barely made because of the heat :)
Good luck everyone!
P.
This weekend involved a rare foray to my Local gym. I am usually an outside person no matter the weather but it was just too depressingly wet so inside I stayed. Dreadmill for the win.
Looked at my bike in the garage as the snow and ice fell in western NY.
15k at race effort. Had to run indoors due to blizzard conditions outside!
Hot Yoga and cleared the mind.
I took advantage of the nice weather and got out and put some miles on my shoes, before the nasty winter? weather returned today. (not as bad as Boston)