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.
-
Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
-
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.
Solo neighborhood ride. I rode fast to keep socially distant from everyone!
On the Hammer 2 with Traineroad and Netflix. Added a little body weight gym afterwards. Thanks Ray.
Ramp Test on Zwift … ugh
Waking is as good as it gets
Followed some beginner yoga videos to work on improving flexibility.
Managed to go for a ride, and I only saw two other people the entire ride!
On Zwift for me – finished the Tour
I went rowing on my rowing machine
Did the Zwift Greater Loop around London this morning with three friends.
18 miles this afternoon, dodging some thunderstorms.
Had a nap. Time to jump on zwift soon though.
Zwift 90 min ride. Still working on getting to be a stronger biker so wattage is barely 200 for now. hopefully by next year’s racing season I can get that up to avg at 230-250. Working on making this virus curse into a blessing. lol
I did a socially distant 5k training run
9.3mile 1683ft elevation gain MTB ride…first outdoor MTB of the year for me and great break from Zwifting!
I could really use a power meter
March 20, 4 sets of 5 repeats, 30 seconds on 30 seconds off max effort. 5 minutes rest between sets. Since then I’ve been working in our icu, waiting for the coming flood of covid patients. Hopeful to get in some good workouts before I have to go back now that I have some time off.
Last workout: cycling in the los altos with my 2 sons on a triplet.
Lifting my kids up and down, while having walk races around the house and backyard.
In addition, once my day if home schooling and working is done (I start at 6am and go until 7pm) and my wife gets home, I then lace up and go for a 10k run along a route where no one frequents plus it is late.
In 2019 I shattered my collarbone skiing and needed surgery, plus 6 months later I got hit by a car cycling. So in spite of 2020 having it’s serious challenges, my kids and I know the importance of shouldering on and being thankful.
Lastly. I read a lot of DCRAINMAKER to get me through.
Dusting off and using my Concept 2 rower. Wishing ANT+ FE was still supported by the current crop of sports watches!
I’d like a new power meter
I did a group Zwift ride with my triathlon team. Since we have members in New Zealand, we did it at 5pm EDT Saturday so they could join in (I think it was 10am Sunday morning for them). We communicated during the ride using a video call on Facebook messenger.
Stay safe everyone
3h endurance ride, done early in the morning.
Need a new trainer! Pretty desperate considering the C-19 lockdown.
Just finished a trainer ride doing the Greatest London Loop. Did a u-turn every time I saw someone coming up within 6 feet…
Went for a socially distant bike ride. Rode past the beach, saw there were some good waves, and bolted home. Then had a good surf instead :)
I watched a movie while doing 4 x 9 minutes of threshold ride on a trainer
100km through the hills of the Mornington Peninsula
Moving furniture around the house!!!!whoop whoop!!
I went for a walk in the neighborhood before sunset to get some fresh air along with a little exercise.
Run alone as usual & some strength training (shoulder bis and Tris)
thank God Zwift exists !!!! its been my go to place everyday , i just hop in ride solo or join a ride or race and have a blast
Did a nice 10k loop around a lake!
I’ve been inconsistently using our elliptical. It’s hard to train indoors
Socially responsible 2 hour zwift ride with salt lake tri club group using Discord to chat through the ride.
Did a two hour ride on backcountry road….
Absolutely hammered some rolling hills in Melbourne in lovely weather!
Solo trail run for me until the heavens opened the the thunderstorms began.
Ran 8 miles on my treadmill.
Rode up mount diablo, it was closed off to cars. Glorious.
Bike trainer session on the balcony followed by dryland swimming drills. At this rate I’ll be doing a reverse tri soon!
Zwift in the basement! Could use a quieter trainer!
Cross training only because I don’t have a home trainer yet…
On my bike trainer so I can binge watch Netflix
We ditched our weekly group ride outdoors and set up a group event on Zwift.. not ideal but fun regardless!
I Rode a 15km ride around a meadow, passing only 4 houses and a cow, twice.
Ran a 10k “race” all by myself this morning. Disappointingly I came last…
12 ripple drills sets on my roller for an hour ride
Mounted a sling trainer to the ceiling, that by itself was almost a workout but afterwards did a workout with it.
Bike trainer upgrade
Cross Country skiing in Northern norway (I live here for quite some time). Just 6+k but the season isn’t over.
Did a ride outside and did my best to keep away from other people. Did some trails that not too many people are on. Getting difficult as more and more are out.
I’m using my kickr core and for my social distancing….
Mobility dynamic for 30 mins.
Indoor cycling for 40 mins.
Good luck everyone!
Did a group meetup ride on zwift, good to ride with mates even if it was only virtual.
I jumped rope and failed. My achilles still hurts. Only thing I can do is biking, but now due to lockdown it is impossible
The last I managed was a late evening run looping a small olive grove near the house. I imagine there’s worse things.
Despite the good weather I’m riding indoors on my elite trainer…
40 mins virtual run in the Swiss Alps on my treadmill at 10%… can’t see the moment I will run again outside!
Tour of watopia stage 5. 1000 People propert distanced. ?
/Kristian
Nice one Ray, count me in (for a power meter)
Walking up and down inside stairs…boring!
Stuck doing intervals indoors
Thirty minutes of indoor cycling.
Last night I ran around the block for 45 minutes
3h of indoor Zwifting. Every 15min an all-our sprint. Loved it!
The last workout I managed to get was a mile walk with 20 minutes of climbing stairs.
Hi Ray ,
All the workouts being made in my leaving room right now.
That’s how seriously we all have to do it;-)
Best regards
Ran 7.5 miles along the old wagon ways and coastal path in Whitley Bay and Seaton Sluice.
I went gravel riding all alone in the forests surronding my home.
last workout was a solo 10k run to the beach.
Did some intervals.
Solid bike ride alone with enough headwind as usual in NL :-)
Indoor ride on trainer. Thanks for giveaway, Ray, it brings feeling of normality for a while! :-)
Went running with the toddler in the stroller.
I did a lengthy core exercise routine in my bedroom. “Lengthy” compared to my usual routine of 5 minutes..
My last workout was strenght endurance training combined with an AeroSling workout yesterday early morning when everybody was still asleep in the basement.
First MTB ride in 8 months
Hello,
With my kids at home, we were able to ride our bikes outside, slowly and in a quiet place.
But I really can’t train properly without a bike trainer.
Thanks,
JC
Went for a two hours gravel ride along some of the less popular routes.
11 laps in a park nearby. Weaving into the deserted street to keep 1.5m distance from slower runners
Mmmm Yesterday did some nice intervals training 8mins hard 2mins rest X 4, carefully avoiding the dog walkers around.
I finally bought zwift and now I am riding every day. I started one of zwift training plans and yesterday i finished last workout of the first week. Feels great.
Ran a marathon yesterday… Just for me and nobody was watching… Kinda strange
A steady bike ride. Face mask on, face mask off. Face mask on, face mask off. And so on :/
Apart from the traffic jams on Zwift, I’ve been riding some silent trails on the xc bike lately. #ridesolo
Workout in the empty gym
a nice little 10k solo run in the woods. properly pathing other people with as much distance as possible.
Larry workout? My day is working, 3d printing protection gear for hospitals, cooking, washing, disinfecting deliveries, and every couple days I do some YouTube force/core training, and once or twice a week my friend gives a live workout class on zoom
Some pushup with the kids in the garden :)
After an hour of bike maintenance after a couple of months in the shed, we went for a socially-distant ride in the woods as a family of five.
90 minutes of cycling on my rollers in the basement
I have been following my training plan created with Trainerroad app. My plan includes 4-5 rides and I do them indoors this time of year anyway. The last workout I had was “Bird -1”.
Figured out a very quiet route, cycled it and post it on Strava for my club members so they can ride it solo as well.
Another hour on the indoor trainer
Ran a 10k early in the morning in nature. Was all alone the whole time.
Our club zwift race championship, great fun, great training, great banter
O dis a run on the hill behind my house, with the sun it was nice but sadly I wasn’t alone up there.
Zwift ride with colleagues. No drop ride with video via teams.
Bike ride with mask on, trying to avoid close contact with other people