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.
5 miles solo to Boeing and back, last weekend.
Long walk with the dog in an empty park
Decided to retry running. A very short one to start. Forgot how much harder it is than cycling!
My daily mile loop around my neighborhood.
Recovery pass tonight, 22km, after Zwiftrace yesterday.
Zwift watching Outbreak in the living room
Last stage of Zwift….volcano route!
Final stage on TOW.
never in the history of the Internet will the word “Zwift” appear more times in a comment thread. (oh and my answer is Zwift. ;) )
An easy 8k run through the “hood”.
TrainerRoad V02 workout on the road, enjoying back roads with zero traffic
1.5 hour indoor bike trainer ride
Nothing. Nada. Zero. Still recovering from a skiing accidente :(
I rode “Volunteer” on TrainerRoad last night after being sick for a few weeks and now feeling a little better.
Ran 6 miles on the treadmill in my basement alone.
A 50 minute workout with some dumbbells and a truck bed box as a bench. In my basement by myself!!
Zwift crit race last night on the dolphin course.
One hour on the bike trainer in my pain cave.
I’ve done a walk around our flat in an empty ski resort!
I went for a bike ride by myself.
Trainer road workout! Hope I win!
Went for a jog but stayed away from anyone else. Job done.
Zwift Tour of Watopia Stage 5 Race ‘D’ plus an extra 20 min. Done today at noon local.
First sweet spot workout after 7% increase in ftp. Not to much difference in rpe!
I did Whiteface (an anaerobic capacity workout) for 1:15
Did my first Zwift meet-up ride with friends. We were all over 10 miles apart physically but within a few feet away from each other in the virtual world!
last workout: Doom of pain
Second to last : Dark corners of my soul
Daily outdoor runs at 5:30am.
Ive been riding with my fundraising partner 2x this week virtually. We plan to ride again tomorrow morning.
Just finished a 10km around the local trails. Lots of people enjoying the spring weather, and everyone was keeping appropriate distance!
Last workout was a bike in my basement on my very old Tacx mag trainer.
Trying to stay inside and learning to use zwift for my workouts
I ran outside! But first I told everyone via Facebook they had better go inside.
Easy 7km in the forest next door
2x7x1 minute VO2 max intervals on my gen1 Kickr in the pain cave. Old, but still going strong
30km indoor bike with a not smart trainer!
With my wife and I working from home we decided it would be best to send our 7&9 year old daughters to school (to try and ensure we got some work done). So being a sporty person I decided the kids could cycle to school and I would run. After leaving them at school I then decided to run around the block but my 1.5km run turned into a 6.5km extravaganza. Oh boy did my little cycling legs hurt the next day!!
Did a 60min run with 30min at marathon pace this morning.
I managed to ride my MTB around the neighborhood.
Sufferfest 14 vice grips by myself in the pain garage on the old dumb trainer
13.3 mile run in rural Illinois. All of my workouts are socially distant.
Did a HIIT workout yesterday, but been meaning to jump on Zwift today for a spin on Stage 5.
I have been able to run while social distancing, most recently yesterday.
Did a run by myself in the morning
Easy—this afternoon Xert workout on Zwift
Went for a run with my dog in the woods.
A group Zwift ride organised by my club as a backfill for our weekly outdoor group ride. We used discord and headsets to chat. Very impressed, as close to the real thing as you can get. I’ll be a serious Zwift concert after this lockdown is finished.
Keep up the good work DCR
A 32 minute Zwift ride in London testing my unbent derailleur hanger (from an incident that we don’t talk about ?)
Indoor bike ride with trainer road.
Day 17 at home with 3 small kids. Could managed to do 30km in the bike trainer while kids where playing in the terrace.
My last workout was this morning. 30 mins in the garage using hand weights and body weight exercises then a 5k run alone around my streets near home in Wollongong.
Skipping.
Got a short trainer ride in zwift this morning.
Just finished a 3 mile run.
Nice 4 mile run where I saw very few people.
Biking through the empty forest to the empty office
Just your standard 90-minute TrainerRoad workout.
Yay isolation!!
Some time in the basement on the rower, then the treadmill then finished it off with some kms in Watopia!
One hour ride on Zwift!
Short run on the treadmill
I don’t know if this counts as a workout but I walk on the treadmill while working from home. I put the laptop on the treadmill console and work away for about 2 hours.
I ride on the trainer and still ride outside just by my lonesome.
27 mile gravel ride
I managed to get in a 3 mile leisurely run with my 14yr old.
I did the Last stage of watopia tour on zwift
A quick blast into the hills from home – about 90mins.
I’ve been self isolating for 2 weeks. Today was the first day I have been able to leave the house and managed an hour in the sunshine on my bike!
A hard 5-mile tempo around the empty streets!
2 hour sweet spot workout on the road bike.
Garage Pain Cave!!!!
2hour TrainerRoad workout out in the country downloaded on my Wahoo Element. Only saw 2 cars the entire ride.
I’m still able to run outside without much issue, but I definitely pass more people out walking than I used to.
Some intervals around Watopia early this morning from my hopefully soon-to-be replaced trainer!
A 7.5km run in the park. I really should be doing some indoor core strenght training though…
Did a road ride as the usual mtb trails were insanely crowded with hikers, kids, dog walkers, and other riders. Roads out of town were wide open with seemingly fewer riders than usual. WX is bad tomorrow so it’s onto the Hammer and Zwift.
30 x 30 seconds intervals running around the local park
I logged a 6.5 km run this morning at 7:00 am before the streets got too busy. It was a big one for me as I am coming back from a disc injury in my back and it felt great to run pain free at a decent 5:21/km pace again. Physio works when you do the exercises people!
An hour and a half workout on Zwift, with a fair amount of tempo and climbing Leith Hill at level 5.
Focused on running lately for my marathon that was supposed to be this weekend but deferred. Today was a quick 4mi after working from home. Should get back on the bike soon for my half iron in May, which is also deferred.
A solo run in the forest with nobody near me.
5k trail run from the front door, out through the woods and home again.
Strength and Mobility workout via Zoom
Stage 5 – Tour of Watopia – 40km max effort !!
My last workout was taking a walk in the woods and fields, now it’s really cold outside lol.
I just ran 45 minutes easy late in the evening in order to stay away from other people and still get my workout done
Zwift – Stage 5 Tour of Watopia – it hurt ???♂️
Lifting weights in my garage. 10 sets x 10 reps of barbell squats to build some resilience into my legs for running.
The great thing about waking up early is I’ve been able to get outside to run any day I want without seeing anyone. I’ve been using my extra work-from-home time to double with my girlfriend in the afternoon
Walked the dogs on deserted (and snow-covered) MTB trails. Saw more sign of deer than humans.
Epic KOM + radio tower repeats for the zwift MTB challenge
Social distancing 10k for me today
Running away towards residential areas, with wide streets, and avoiding any other humans as it they were in flames!
Tour of Watopia on Zwift
Easy 60 Kilometers keeping the legs fresh :)
P90 sweat 3/4 with my 14 yr old son….passing the time and trying to stay healthy
I ran up and down manhattans west side. I made sure to yield to walkers and seniors, and generally preserved my distance. HOPE I WIN
Been on zwift instead of outside… can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish I had a treadmill to run on !
I have been going on long walks by myself until the weather gets better – then I’ll be doing solo rides…
Solo loop around lunchtime hot lap course.
10k run this morning before working remotely from home. No one else out on the road early in morning, so no worries.
Zwifted the knickerbocker loop in NYC.