Heads up!!! Here’s your massive Cyber Monday sports tech deals list! This includes the Garmin Forerunner 965 for just $499, Garmin Epix for $429, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for just $619, the GoPro Hero 12 Black for $299, (or Hero 13 bundle for $339!) and plenty more! Go check out the full list of 100+ deals here!
I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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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.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 2023 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.
I’m so glad to see you made it back to the Diner en Blanc. I was literally wondering Saturday afternoon when it was and curious if you would make the trip. Bravo! Looking forward to the pictures and write up. Someday my wife and I will make it. :)
DC~ What is the name your crepe spot?
L’Atelier Artisan Crêpier – 10 Rue Mabillon, 75006 Paris, France
Directly across from the Apple Store. :)
We also really like Odyssey as well, nearby.
Starting to wonder if every EU country has a colour coded event. I’m not aware of one in the UK, but then I wasn’t aware of Kings Day until I was in the middle of orange chaos :)
I’d have to assume if the UK had one, the national color would be grey…to match the sky. :)
Hopefully this question won’t bother you too much.
Would you recommend a few restaurants with reasonable prices and varieties? Our family are going to Paris in July. We definitely need to stop once a while to enjoy food. Nice coffee shops will be first thing in the morning too.
Appreciated in advance.
Definitely!
Here’s our favs! link to dcrainmaker.com
I need to add to it:
Cezembre: Awesome, sub-1-star in price/service (still super friendly/great service), but 1* quality food. Make reservations early, packed house every night. Not a great family spot with kids though.
Crepe place I linked to in comments here is a fav I need to add. Totally fine with kids. If younger kids, especially boys though, go to the Crepe place I linked to in the restaurant post. Epic awesome.
That post lists our favorites from a slew of price ranges.
Which Holiday Inn?
I’ll be in Den Haag next Monday for 2 weeks visiting family and want to run down to Paris for a couple of days.
Having a nice place to stay would be great.
Notre Dame on Rue Danton.
The view is just unbelievable, photos don’t do it justice.
Rooms were all nice and modern, and the ones on the back-side overlook some good Parisian rooftops/gardens. Staff were…uhh…fine. Word of warning in case you need an iron: They have like 6 of them for the entire hotel, and they have crazy quick automatic shut-off/cool-down periods. Like, you get one sleeve of a shirt ironed before it decides it needs to chill for a while. :)
Congratulations on the new spot!
The retro warehouse remodel with large tilted orange and black DCR letters on the wall will make the place legit.
Oh, but might want to save space for the mini Birdies Bake Shop for when people drop by or there is a special event. Kind of like a hangout coffee bar to watch all the BB installs and power meter mounting activities without interfering. Just a thought ;-)
Yup, we’re aiming towards warehouse style remodel, and indeed with some variant of DCR or DC RAINMAKER in the usual font in some cool way.
We will likely integrate some aspect of a mini Bertie’s ‘thing’ in there, more for her if she wants to get into custom cakes/etc… like before. The space is more than big enough. I just was finally able to get in to take all sorts of semi-official measurements yesterday (didn’t have time Friday). So now it’s to the drawing board on how to best remodel things without getting too structural (since that costs more money). Thankfully, the second level is already built like a beast, so it’s mostly making it look pretty. :)
We did our first Dinner en Blanc earlier this year in Tauranga, New Zealand. Wasn’t 16,000 people, but was a fantastic night. I’m hoping next year will be a lot easier, getting all the white ‘kit’ for the first year was a bit of a mission, but now we’ve got through that looking forward to next year.
All the best for the new cave. Your project a bit more involved than mine, but after ‘The Wife’ asked to try zwift last month I permanently lost my Neo, so the second one arrived yesterday, and my taks today is how to fit 2 neos, 2 tvs, 11 bikes, tools and riding gear in a converted bedroom. And still be able to close the windows……