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.
First adventure with my f5x and I got lost. Seriously. Thanks God, it has a “return to home” function, as my cellphone had no coverage.
Did a ride on my Kickr.
Recovering from an injury so lots of PT and easy spinning
Did a nice brick on Saturday
1.8 mile walk… not bad considering 8 days post rotator cuff repair!
Just walking on the mountain.
A nice brisk walk in the park.
Over the weekend my running adventure was a 14 mile run that is in preparation for the Garmin Half Marathon in the Land of Oz!
easy recovery mtb bike ride
Easy run in Nashville on a wedding trip!
I’m training for my first marathon. I did my first ever 35km run. It went great for the first 30km. Then my lack of pre-run nutrition hit me. I barely made it home and when I did my blood sugar was so low I could barely stand up. My wife was not impressed.
Anyway next time I run that distance I’ll be well fed before I set up. Gels and bars during the run weren’t enough.
13 mi training run on Saturday. Recovery day on Sunday!
5 hour ride… took advantage of the good weather
Cross country training with the 10yo
This weekend I did spin Sunday night. It was hard.
As a new cyclist, I did my longest ride on Saturday
I spend last week mostly in the gym playing volleyball. Which is one of my favorites! Thanks for the reviews. They’re Grrrrrreat!
Ran the Boston Marathon through a monsoon. Posted my worst time ever, but the race was epically awesome.
3 hour ride in 20 mph winds this weekend. Tough.
Rode my trainer in the basement. The weather in central Illinois sucks this spring.
Currently suffering a hamstring injury which has killed my running, so walked parkrun with the dog and wife.
I’ve got to say, walking sucks balls.
Entered a hill-climb race on Sunday. It was reduced from 24km to 15km due to bad weather at the top of the mountain.
Cold and wet, and an incredibly disappointing result but, looking back now, great fun..!!
Since winter came back for the weekend, I decided to take trainerroad on a trip over to lion Rock.
Some biking indoor because of snow
Wednesday 11 April, EPIC stomach bug/virus. The worst 12 hours of my life. Did not eat Thursday, ate very little Friday. Awesome 5K run early Saturday morning. Crashed from lack of nutrition for 4 hours after the run.
Went for a walk around the neighborhood pushing 100lbs of kids up and down hills. That seems vaguely athletic
i lame indoor bike ride in the basement due to inclement weather all weekend long.
I went for a 3.5 mile run on Saturday, and swam 1 mile of laps in the pool on Sunday.
Gone a for ride, my knee need that
Not a lot this weekend but I did get into the gym on a rainy Sunday.
I need a break from this household chores. Make a ride that will give me a score
Recovering from Ironman Texas 70.3 so just an easy run/bike
Getting through 2 hours run.
I rode Mt Baldy for the frist time.
indoor run
Hiked up Half Dome in Yosemite.
Did my first zwift workout – until now (past 2 years) only did freestyle rides + races
I am starting to train my 2 years old son to walk 2 km every morning this week.
Morning sunshine, a little sweat, and some new places will be good for him.
Hey, I am in India for work all week and have no idea of a place to go run, looking forward for the sun in Paris this Saturdays
I skipped all of my weekend triathlon training because my kids needed me – they are teens and young adults and I know this time of them needing Mom is fleeting. I have lots of years to finish in the bottom 50% in Ironman 70.3 events! ;)
I walked downtown to goto a hockey game.
Loop around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track, around the track,
8 mile neighborhood run
30min Zwift volcano circuit while my 5mth old napped!
I ran 10 miles in the foothills between my daughter’s bracket play baseball games. They won the tournament.
2nd ever gravel ride and i love it.
First longer bike ride ending up with cramps in both of my legs. Still lot of training ahead.
My first ever trip down under: I landed in Sydney from London at 5am local time on Sunday. After nearly 24hours with little sleep, I needed a boost so, straight to the gym at the hotel at 7am. Unfortunately no Wattbike but still able to do 30mins spin out on the exercise bike. Set me up for a day walking around the sights.
I’m still not allowed to ride outside because of a shoulder fracture (which came a threeish months after a rather major knee surgery) so I did a ride on TrainerRoad.
Me please!
Regularly having a walk with my 2 year old son to the nearest train station near home then come back. It’s about a mile distance. Quite athletic for a 2 year old. Forwarding the love of exercise to the next generation.
ok – need to change what I wrote before.
Bike to work and back every day.
Did 880 watts on a little riser of a bridge on the way back :-)
Not what I wanted to be doing — recovering from nasty training crash!
Went hiking and trailrunning in Croatia’s national park Paklenica!
Completed BC Randonneurs Spring popular 100km ride in Victoria BC, Canada.
Ran my first Ultramarathon, Tortola Torture (www.tortolatorture.com). Really difficult but I do recommend!!
laps in a pool and treadmill miles because the rain won’t give
First team ride of the year where it felt like spring meant that legs were tested, hammers were dropped, and PRs were found.
My weekend workout consisted of catching up on a lot of lawn mowing, and Sunday hoofing it around Disneyland – about 14,000 steps, according to the ol’ Garmin.
Indoor trainer ride tabata intervals
Long slow recovery ride and then hot tub!
rode 25 miles through Prince William Forest Park on Sunday in the rain and broke 19 Strava Prs
Did some HIT training outside then taught my six year old son some resistence band exercises (practice needed!)
This weekend is a giant Earth Day celebration here in Santa Barbara, so I plan on riding enough to earn visits to all the food vendors that will be filling up the park! Long day in the saddle ahead!
Fixed the rowing machine. Easier than rowing it.
I went out riding for roughly 100 miles across two days and tried doing it in a completely fasted state. It went better than I initially imagined though not as well as I ultimately wanted. 7/10.
Riding the gnarly trails on Mount Fromme in North Vancouver, plenty of climbing but worth it for the fun descents!
Did a adventurous swim in the pool on Saturday and a hard track run on Sunday.
I just run an easy 5K
Helped a friend move house, ran home!
Chased the kids around a field teaching them to ride a minibike, was a tougher day than a a day on the bike!
Fairly brisk walk around my neighborhood. I should have been running!
On Sunday I did a nice ride along the course of the Amstel Gold Race to see how the pro’s were doing.
Just easy run 8k post Paris Marathon.
Well I tried doing a recovery run between my sister’s new house and my friend ‘s house after 2 hours mounting ikea’ s stuff… Got almost injured and the family of my friend had to return me home by car once finally I got to their house. Lol
3 hours “zwifting” on the bike, and a 10k run
A nice longish brick workout
Kicked off the running season with a run that was a bit too long, which resulted in some leg pain. So now it’s all about hitting the gym until the rest of the snow melts and I can bring the bike out for a spin.
I did my first cyclng- climbing challenge this weekend – I thought I’m in enough shape for it. The 200 meters elevation might sound pathetic for some, but it was over a 7 km segment and made me fight for my breath quite heavily. Overall 20km’s only, but I was happy to manage it.
Well, after doing no sports for a whole year as my first daughter was born I finally managed to squeeze in a short 5k run this weekend. It was horrible but I have to start somewhere… :)
Lots of functional strength to prepare for volleyball season!
Did my best parkrun time for the year 2018!!!
I wento to animal flow workshop.
Some mountain bike with my friends enjoying the soring weather
Other than an 8 mile run.. spent 3 hours walking and playing Pokemon Go. :-)
A hard threshold workout on the bike!
I did a stage of the Zwift Tour of Watopia and a run.
Did 2x North Shore mountain bike rides. 2nd Day longer than the first. I hope its a trend.
Ran my 4th marathon this sunday, with a PR 3:51.
1hour of spinning on Saturday and 99.2KM “speedtour” on Sunday… good enough?
I did one ride on my last day in Mallorca and fly back.
I had a 10km run on Saturday with a bunch of cool people
Nice MTB ride in Fujeirah UAE, including Jebal Pain!
cycling with my kids
Took a trip from North Pole to Anchorage to pick up our camper, the official travel vehicle of many upcoming athletic adventures!
Saterday at the WhatsApp to a friend: 6:45 sharp, ready for a bike ride!
She: make it 6:00!
Damn 5:20 early wake-up and a good ride in the rain for 70km…
Cycling with my wife
Taper weekend for London Marathon on Sunday… Nerves kicking in now.
Nursing a bad hamstring, had a slow walk with my ageing parents.
Up and down ladders working on a shed; that’s a workout :)