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.
Gained some elevation in the belgium Ardennen. 1900moh in 75 km bad plan.
Nice easy swim as I enter my third trimester…
Went for a ride and had my first crash… very minor luckily!
Easy running and bouldering
Refereed a game of rugby and watched the awesome New Zealand athletes at the Commonwealth Games.
First postpartum run – woohoo!
Trainer ride and a run before watching a crit on Sunday.
Sneaking runs in on 1st holiday with the new baby!
Took a 3 KM run and then rested.
Spring is here now. Nice running in fantastic weather.
3 mile run
Ran a muddy 10 miles on Cougar Mountain.
Organized a Spartan-style CrossFit workout in preparation for an upcoming Spartan race.
Finished up a week cycling in Mallorca!
Doing my rounds on my MTB in the woods. Going 25 km/h on a dirt road and make the mistake to stretch my back (hands of the handlebars). Next second I’m using my head to brake… Is’t that athletic…
Did my first bike ride of the season!
First half marathon of the year. Legs are feeling good now
3,700ft on the TT bike.
Spinning session, and 30km Mountain bike ride
Last hockey match of the season – though bring on summer leagues and Cycling!
Running in the beautiful country of Sweden.
Road Tantalus in Honolulu HI around 1500 ft climb
link to mapmyride.com
A wee 12 mile hike as crossing training. Good weekend activity.
It was a 50K flat easy run in preparation for my very first 100K in two weeks.
Finished my 2nd week of Ultra Training with a 15 miler on Friday and a 9 miler on Saturday, w00t!
Doing a one way long run in Iten, Kenya. To explore the villages around. Taking a motorcycle back.
Nothing too crazy this weekend. There was a local 5k so I hopped into that race. Ran a 1930, which is better than I expected. I haven’t ran much due to injury. Now I have a baseline to improve upon while I begin working out/running again
Sunny Sunday with 3 hours of endurance training on my bike.
coming back from injury, but this weekend I went to the mountain, didn’t go up, but running on the lower paths (7km) is a good start!
miss my mountain #TableMountain
Running with and after the kids at the track and playground followed a duathlon and a few deserved beers after their bedtime.
Rode 100K in Tierra Bella — gran fondo-ish event in Gilroy, CA.
I ran my second marathon.
Went with my running group for a 13 mile long run.
I live in an area of a city where it’s just not possible to run outdoors unless you get up before all the foot traffic. So this weekend I ran on a treadmill in the circulation-less basement of an apartment complex, while another man smoked and used welding equipment ten meters behind me.
Did two marathon walks during our visit of Strasbourg :-)
Went out for a long walk with my 6 mth old Shar pei puppy(Pumba)
I was on the trainer and then watched the cycling :-)
I went on a hike in the woods. I also chopped wood. That counts as an athletic activity, right?
I did a 5.5 hour bike ride in dense fog which was very strange. Felt like a road to nowhere.
Ran 15 km
Running a Budapest Vivicita Spring Half Marathon
3 trainings (run, swim and bike) on saturday.
And long distance bike ride on sunday.
I pulled my trusty Blue Triad SL TT bike out from under the bed and road 90km.
Calmly SUPing across the lagoon on holiday in Mauritius recovering from the 10k run last night in the heat.
A couple of long, easy runs. Thanks for the contest!
A nice climb on the bike over bog roads
Saturday beeing out for a nice rowing session in a sidearm ofe the Donau in Budapest.
Ride 70k in Wisla and Ustron montains.
On saturday I got the roadbike out for the first time this year and realised i need fresh tires.
Sunday I road the MTB bike instead, no issues here.
Yesterday I set out for a, but about half way I had to take a sudden dump in the bushes…
So the weekend could have been a little better.
Went mountain biking on local trails I’ve never ridden, a few hours of road riding, and a 10km run at a pretty good pace for me! Good weekend!
I cycled the full length of the amstel gold race tour version last saterday in a pr time.
With the weather as it is I’m going to count 5k running as an “adventure”
Did a 10 km run during the weekend with my spouse
The first sunny run of the year. Summer is coming finally!
A load of housework and 2x Zwift races! Won the second one in cat B hooray!!
Preparing for the diving season.
MK1 is on wishlist
edo
Bike ride with the kid in a new bike trailer
Preparing for a 10k race in 2 weeks from now, so I went for 4x2km T10. Oh man, that wasn’t easy.
Last chance for cross country skiing in Sweden so I was out Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning when the snow was still cold from the night.
Running 8×1 minute lactate stackers on the track it was for me this weekend. Plus a rather pleasant 2.5 hours session on the trainer sunday evening.
I have tested myself on a very technical trail section in Muscat, Oman (starting at 4am to avoid the heat). Next race on 28th of April will be the main goal.
Pace run for half marathin
Last long-ish run before marathon on Sunday.
A weekend of not being able to ride when the sun was out while my buddy’s made the most of it, and being free when there was torrential rain meant I was stuck on the turbo for hours ☹️ . Winning this competition would go a lot way to make me feel better.
I did a 200km ride, the Alternatieve (alternative for the AGR, so less people), followed by a transition run.
Sunday a endurance run and a easy swim
Did 100km road cycling in my thoughts
Run a trail marathon at the Dutch coast.
Easy sunny running on Sunday and a lot of walking activities during entire weekend.
Completed a hot and windy 20 mile lunchtime bike ride.
Living the dream riding outside!!!
Did the cyclo Rotheux Val Dieu Rotheux as an alternative for the Amstel Gold Race in Valkenburg,
Went for a 70k cycling and a 6k running tour. Timi limits are of the essence.
A combination of recovery week and a grad school interview led to me spending the weekend trying surfing for the first time!
Spent the weekend (Thursday – Monday) in Ansterdam (said hi to Lucy at Gardermoen). Had two short pre-breakfast runs around Vondelpark, and did some sightseeing on bikes :-)
Running down hill tj the dead sea
Couple of hours on the trainer Sunday morning, followed by a ride with the middle sized son (to the pub and back) his first ever, ride that is not drink. And then a spot of Amstel Gold race on TV.
I moved all my furniture this weekend, and that should have been enough, but I was feeling good and did a 18km night run too, which I deeply regretted on Monday.
Saturday: swimming drills followed by a 40-minutes interval run.
Sunday: swimming test at my gym followed by the first cycling session this year.
Done the first Bike-Run brick for this year.
Did an 11.3 km trail run with my sister in Esbjerg, Denmark.
Runing the Madrid Marathon
A long run on Saturday and a rather short recovery ride on sunday. Both at warm and comfortable temperatures.
Started doing long runs again after spending the best part of two months being lazy…
I DNF half marathon. Bad luck…
I had a recovery Iyengar yoga lesson.
Great way to refresh as always.
working on getting over 2nd shoulder surgery this year. managed to get my arm almost above my head!
Ran around the soccer field helping my 3 boys coach their games.
I did a speedy 3 hours group ride
Did a 27km family ride.
walked around Prague day and night
I did 25k of running, after a wedding saturday, iincl drinking and dancing all night long
Cleaned and did maintenance on 3 bikes(my, son’s and daughter’s MTB). Then we went for a short test ride.
play in the park with my daughter
Well, it happened again…after a 110km bike ride I hit the brakes to hard on the last but one corner and ended up inspecting the bushes at a close distance :-)
I did a testride with my new magura MT8 Raceline :love:
Had a hard, long intervalsession to make room for familydinner.
Simply leave a short description of an athletic adventure from this Weekend?! Hm I have an Influenza but I did some squats :-) Cheers
Unexpected wash-outs and downed trees made my weekend mtb outing about equal parts ride and hike-a-bike!
April $500 Giveaway
Something Athleticish I did this weekend:
With a cold rain forecast for Sat— Sun, I did a 39 mile ride Friday after work and recovered the rest of the weekend by watching my kids play their sports : soccer, track and baseball.
Finally after a 8 weeks off with a hip injury i am back and did a 200k in Santa Cruz. Felt so painfully good. I am back with a vengeance.