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.
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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 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.
Easy 20k run on Saturday followed by rest days on Sunday and Monday due to freezing rain and power outages in Eastern Ontario.
A swim + run brick session for an overall 3 Hours
Had a recovery weekend, went through some yoga and a few walks… :)
after a week of IDT i got to go out to ride my road bike in a nature reserve with my buddies… 60km of riding with Eland, Kudu, zebra, Wildebees, Rooibok and a few humans ☺ … spectacular views… animals 10 metres away without fences… at one point we had to show down for the Zebra to cross the road-literally a zebra crossing!
Household is a workout on it’s own ?
RECOVERY FOR THE WIN
Definitely a recovery weekend so took it easy and ate a lot. Does digestion count as athletics? haha
My weekend fell more of less into water.. from the resting point of view ;). Started with some indoorclimbing on friday. Then on saturday 9k cycling to the beach, a 20k run, a 9k cycling back home, a 25k cycling to the bouldergym, 1 hours of bouldering, 25k cycling backhome. And to top it off, also a 25k cycling on my “restday” on sunday.
First long bike ride outside in a few months!
Soccer tournament with my daughter..
This weekend was my first zwift ride after two weeks of really bad flue……
While I went on a bike ride, the real adventure was a park cleanup (lots of scrambling, jumping, and stretching to clean the creek.
First swim in a long time . . . gearing up for summer triathlon season.
Yoga on the beach!
A few laps at the pool. It has been a long time!
This past weekend was my first workout since the Oceanside 70.3. Oceanside was my first triathlon and I am 100% hocked. My workout was not very hard. I went on a 30 mile bike ride with a few friends with a stop for coffee mid way through.
90K bike ride on sunday morning
Lots and lots of dog walking in the rain, sleet and snow
I set up my television to make sure it was ready to watch the Boston Marathon on Monday morning!
I did a 9.5 mile run with hills on Friday, a 13.5 mile easy run on Saturday, and nothing at all on Sunday. All in preparation for winning this prize!
I’m doing my first MTB XC race!
Divot stomping at the inaugural Las Vegas Polo Classic on Saturday.
2 hours on Zwift baby!
Recovery Weekend was the plan and only a easy hiking Tour with Family. But due to the challenging trail conditions for a Thule kids car, it turned out to be a intense and adventures up and down hiking trip.
Restoring my vintage Peugeot Mixte bike while thinking where I’ll run my next marathon.
I did my first swim in three years! 1km of not very graceful or speedy swimming. Horribly contested lanes but still enjoyed it!
I took my 3-year-old toddler boys to my local university’s spring football game. Beyond the usual man and zone defensive schemes my wife and I deployed, I had a busted coverage as we were heading back to the car (within the first quarter) and got to test my 30-year-old-cycling-dad-legs’ 100-yard dash time.
Did a long run at the bay.
Count me in…. This weekend was spent at the pool. Catching the daughter and niece after they flung themselves down the indoor water slide. Not many laps for me, but lots of fun had by all
Daniel
Flew to London to see Hamilton. Walked around before the show if that counts for anything. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
first bike ride and short run to kick off the season
I’m doing a bike ride this weekend
40 miler in the Santa Monica mountains
Crashed and separated my shoulder 3 weeks ago, so my sad attempts at PT are the most athletic thing I could do this weekend!
8 hilly miles with my Dad and my Forerunner 205! Maybe time for an upgrade?!
Very hard group ride on Saturday and then sweet spot hills on Sunday.
I hurt my Achilles so this past weekend was all bodyweight exercises.
rode Alpe de Zwift.
Took a drive to the lake District in the UK for a 70mile bike ride encompassing some nice weather and 4 major passes ranging up to 25% gradients!
Early morning swim on the Saturday and a long trail run Sunday morning!
Easy run through the streets of Auckland New Zealand
Last longish run before this weeks marathon and then doing impromptu speed work running through Athens and Doha airports. :)
Hit the mean streets of London (on Zwift)
Mmmm… Does chasing my 4 year-old twins around the park count as “exercising”?
Did a 5k recovery run at 4:30 a.m. because I had to be out of the house by 6! creepy at first, but over all I enjoyed having the streets all to myself.
12 mile run Saturday, prepping for Pittsburgh marathon and my first sprint tri.
road the cargo bike with my daughter to the playground
A 10 kilometer race in the Basque Country!
2 Hours of Aqua Jogging for me because I have a calf Injury. Fun Stuff……
I started Saturday with +600m of ski touring, then 10km hiking and in the afternoon 16km running. Sunday was a recovery day (late sleeping andbig breakfast xD). A fun weekend :)
I did a 54 mile bike ride on Saturday and on Sunday I ran 11 miles.
I ran around a nearby hill, doing some geocaching.
South. Beach. Tri.
Had to drive quite some distance with the car this weekend (for work). As I typically cycle everywhere, I see this as a quite athletic experience…
Saturday – 20 min tempo run, wu, cd, 1 hour hard ride. Sunday – easy long run, 2.5 medium hard ride (testing new wheels, yay!)
First-time-ever group ride on my new bike. 65 km on saturday, then anoter 65 on sunday!
Training for a half marathon later this spring. Did 6.5 miles and felt pretty good!
Last ski runs of the season in Maine
Raced on Saturday, relaxed on Sunday.
A nice slow recovery run over the weekend was just what I needed. I could also use a new watch. ;)
One MTB race and one 200km road ride
Just a little bit of weight lifting, and coaching track
Enjoyed the first long run (10k) in the first 80+ degree day of the year!
It was rainy here, but I found a spare hour to do battle with my wisteria.
If my flu starts to get better then I have a trail run in Sipoonkorpi on Saturday
I walked the monuments of DC with a 3 year old!
Pedaled around East Texas, enjoying the weather.
Matched my half marathon PR at the San Diego Beach and Bay Half Marathon
2 short bike rides outside. 75km in total
Snow in northern Sweden has finally melted enough to start road biking again
I’m recovering from a injury but next weekend I’ll try to make a short ride to see how I feel because I have a fondo in less than two months.
A five mile run to end a lazy week.
First run in months after awkward injury. Hopefully my luck will change!
I actually went on Friday and Saturday for my first bike ride this year. Enjoying the warm weather with just few muddy holes on the trails.
Ran and PRed a 5K race. It was cold, windy, and rainy, but there were thin mints waiting at the finish line so I prevailed!
Spent the weekend shoveling snow
Mostly recovery weekend. Any by that, I mean walking 10+ miles a day in D.C. at a conference and associated festivities. Wonderful weekend!
Weather was not nice, so an 18 mile race on Zwift.
Went for a sunny afternoon bike ride with my brother with a stop at an Amish market for a mid ride snack.
Saturday 12k trail run, Sunday local half marathon. Thanks Ray.
Biked and ran long…
Did a nice ride, meant to be 133kms but naturally took some wrong turns and ended up at 141…. :-X
Run around in the Netherlands a bit over the weekend…
Repaired the shifting of my bike, cycled to the gym, did some strength training, and rode home again.
No Garmin, no kit ride on the single speed bike.
I had a recovery swim sunday afternoon.
Opened outdoor road cycling season, perfect weather on Sat! Sunday ride started w 10C temp, ended with pouring rain and 0C temperature. Shorts were not ideal in the end.
went for an Ultra-Run in the southern part of the Frankenjura/Germany. Awesome…..
Some indoor madness on my Tacx Neo!
Two days of wonderful road biking!
I did a 10K run on Sunday
Training for a 70.3 triathlon
Active recovery weekend.. plus furniture moving!!
Interval running along the Tagus Riverside
I’ll do some hicking in Lake District and some swimming to recover.
I did an interval 5×1000@4:30 on Saturday
Saturday went on a run with my dog. Sunday did a training ride on zwift.
Went to the gym on Saturday and did a cardio workout. Other than that, I was busy with other commitments.
Nice saturday ride with local bike club
Racing my first road race and final big training weekend for 70.3 St. George!
Did a 5 k on Saturday – did not get my PB :(