New US Partnership + $500 Gadget Giveaway: Backcountry.com & Competitive Cyclist!

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I’m excited to announce a new partnership for US readers, with Backcountry.com & CompetitiveCyclist.com! This new partnership helps support the site here, while also getting you a discount on applicable items as well using the DCR Coupon Code. And, atop that, they’re sponsoring giveaways like this very one right here. Win-win!

Both Backcountry.com & CompetitiveCyclist.com are owned by the same entity, and thus you’ll largely see most of the sports tech items I tend to review on both platforms. Eagle-eyed readers have noticed a slow transition of links over to Backcountry.com & CompetitiveCyclist.com over the last few weeks – and I’ve already seen a number of you taking advantage of that. Using the links here on the site (always on the sidebar), or in the review posts directly, helps support what I do here. It’s much appreciated!

Atop that, I’ve been working with the folks at both companies to increase inventory and stocking in the sports tech product areas you care about most, something you’ll probably start to see the benefits of over the next little while (and in some cases, already).

For those readers that have been around the site a long time, you’ll know previously my main partner in the US was Clever Training, for some 8 years in fact! And they’ve been a great partner over that timeframe not just for the site, but for thousands of you as well. Links to Clever Training will continue to support the site through the end of October, but not beyond that. Your existing Clever Training VIP memberships will remain valid beyond that, as do any points you’ve accrued.

Now to get this party kicked off, I’m doing a $500 gadget giveaway. It’s been a while! The winner gets a $500 gift certificate to Backcountry or Competitive Cyclist for the gear of their choice. It could be a watch, a bike computer, or heck, even just a whole lot of gels. Or a hoodie. Whatever floats your boat. Now, while the Backcountry/Competitive Cyclist site is mostly blocked in Europe and some other places, fear not – you’re still good! You can continue using Wiggle or Amazon to support this site (they are always on the sidebar). And, if you are a non-American winner, you’ll still get up to a $500 gadget of your choice that’s from their inventory. See, I have you covered!

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Use Backcountry.com or Competitive Cyclist with either the coupon code DCRAINMAKER for first-time users saving 15% on applicable products. And both Backcountry & Competitive Cyclist offer free 2-day shipping!

How to enter the giveaway:

Simply leave a short description below in the comments with what your weekend workout plans are. Even if that ‘workout’ includes spending time with Netflix. Recovery is important!

Note that simply putting the word ‘Run’ in the box is likely to get caught up in my SPAM filters.  And nobody wants to be sandwiched between two pieces of SPAM.  So, adding a few extra explanatory words helps! Got all that?

Good luck!

The giveaway entry period will run through Monday, October 19th, 2020 until 11:59PM US Eastern Time. Winner will be selected randomly. One entry per person.  The selected product will then be ordered immediately and shipped immediately, assuming it’s in stock. If the winner is outside the US, I’ll work with you directly to get you all sorted out. Note that your information above stays entirely within the dcrainmaker.com site and is not given to any entities, except the winner of course, as to be able to place their order.

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4,807 Comments

  1. George Kirschbaum

    Taking a long ride on the C&O on the gravel bike… enjoying time in nature. (love Competitive Cyclist who helped me with parts and support to build up my ride!)

  2. Hannes

    plan to go road cycling on Sunday and hope that it will stop raining soon.

  3. Frederico Shinohara

    Today I rode only 20 miles close to threshold and tomorrow I’ll do a longer 40+ mile endurance ride. Thanks!

  4. Jeff Schwarz

    TrainerRoad Ramp Test + what results from that!

  5. Felix

    A day off to celebrate my GF’s birthday! That’s my recovery plan 😉

  6. Yves Fontaine

    Some strenght training & a gravel bike ride.

  7. Bradley

    Running, lifting, coaching, and napping

  8. Ravocs

    My weekend plans are not very active due to injury. Some couch testing and netflixing

  9. Uwe Willert

    Guided Cycling training with my Garmin…see how that works, tomorrow is just day 3.
    Walking the dog several times a day…and going to the VA Beach/Norfolk Zoo.

    Cheers and have a great weekend everybody!!

  10. Jurgen

    I’ll sweep up the leaves in the garden

  11. Jon Wright

    Planning a nice ride with friends to Bald River Falls in the morning. Haven’t ever ridden there before. Expecting it to be a good trip though!

  12. Adam

    Easy run on Saturday, and probably a steady 10 miles on Sunday!

  13. Andrew H

    Landscaping…

  14. Emily Wymer

    Weekend MSFT tomorrow instead of my long run which has had to be moved to Monday! And my cycle has been replaced with work … better training next week I hope 🙂

  15. Eric J Otte

    90 minutes on the trainer

  16. niall duncan

    Zwift intervals today, rest tomorrow and ftp test Monday!

  17. Andrew F

    2 days of outdoor rides, while the weather is still good!

  18. Gab

    Work on Saturday and ride my bike on Sunday with the kids.

  19. Aaron Peterson

    A powerzone endurance ride on Peloton!

  20. Andrew

    Going for a trip with my wife and having a painfully slow recoffeery run there 🙂

  21. Wendy

    This morning (Saturday) was a yoga practice followed by a long run (9 miles). Tomorrow I will do another yoga practice (trying for a streak) and a shorter recovery run/ walk + possibly some weights.

  22. Christian

    Recovering from surgery. Hope to be back on the bike soon.

  23. Henrik Teinvall

    Enlighet Netflix to get tjej à coupe of house on the bike

  24. EthanT

    Two short runs and some x3 time. Thank you!

  25. Rick

    Just a fun stress-free day on the mountain bike

  26. Doug Goglia

    Quick zwift ride, and then work on building my new gravel bike.

  27. Richard

    A weekend road ride and a trail ride

  28. Petr Lukas

    Just a short walk with my kids.

  29. I was supposed to have run a trail marathon today, but all our mountain nearby trails are on fire so I get to run some roads today.

  30. Tim Sulley

    Gonna run and walk a bit. Yeah.

  31. Siddharta1979

    50 miles bike ride with some lovely weather!

  32. Sam

    Quick ride before heading off to work.

  33. Felix Köster

    Probably a zwift race tomorrow!

  34. Gabor Kmetyko

    I am on my 1wk break period after the race season ended. So the biggest plan is simply a thorough cleaning of the bike 🙂

  35. Alek

    Weather sucks, pandemic outside so Zwift and netflix

  36. Samo

    Doing a session or two on turbo. Weather issues this weekend…

  37. Jonas

    I’ll do two hiit workouts

  38. Anvil

    Route to Sky race on Zwift this sunday.
    Today, chilling and cooking for wife and daughters.

  39. Michael

    Saturday morning was a session on the trainer doing a Trainer Road work out. Plan is to do a bit of strength work out on Sunday afternoon

  40. Juraj Kardos

    Go to see the European MTB championship race

  41. Joep

    Racing against time or with the time, but always in the right direction with my Polar

  42. Robert Giles

    A 100k ride on Saturday and recovery on Sunday.

  43. Kelvin

    Shovelling snow

  44. Costi B.

    Just set a new personal record, under 2 hours mtb tour around local mountain. Good luck everyone!

  45. Liam de Paor

    My first gravel bike ride after shoulder surgery.

  46. Fraser

    90min peloton ride.

  47. Maarten

    I’ll be riding off-road with my 7-year old!

  48. Ties

    I had a great ride to the Posbank…if i win i’ll invite you to ride with me to the Posbank..greetings

  49. Jan Jaap

    I’ll be running along with my three year old daughter who’s thriller to be learning to cycle

  50. Adrian

    Stages Bike arrived last week so will ride it on Zwift.

  51. Scott J

    It’s my BIRTHDAY weekend…and I am now old enough to qualify for SS hahaha. Even better though, I can now apply for and get a LIFETIME National Parks card for a one-time fee of $80 which is what it costs now for a single year. Ahhh, the benefits of getting old, but not too old to still ramp up the workouts. I will complete the PRL Half loop on Zwift today (70km) followed by a recovery ride tomorrow.

  52. Tony Holewinski

    Going for a run and hiking on trails.

  53. Brad Carroll

    Doing a 7 mile run on Saturday, followed by an easy 4 on Sunday.

  54. PhilK

    A Powerzone Peloton ride (standard bike, no plus), plus a interval run on Sunday

  55. Raphael Cooper

    Preparing for my ride to the lowest point on earth – the Dead Sea. A ride which will ironically have 3800m of elevation gain!

  56. David B

    Weekend workout ? working out in general these days ?
    I pulled a tree stump out from the garden and pulled a few muscles. Does that count.
    Maybe a new gadget will be enough to motivate me to get back on it.

  57. Larry h

    Run with kiddos in trailer

  58. Jason Newville

    Recovering from my 100km trail race.

  59. Fman

    Zwifting each day, building endurance

  60. Remco te Hofstee

    On Sunday a mtb ride to my parents in Law. Also riding the new MTB track in Ruurlo (Netherlands). Should be nice.

  61. Harry Pals

    A new bike gps on my mtb.

  62. Tim Cree

    Recovery from hip flexor and tennis elbow in both arms. Hoping to be able to run again this week!

  63. Brandon Simpson

    Mostly riding my Salsa Warbird. Little running these days. I enjoy long rides on back country gravel roads of Johnson County KS.

  64. JonD

    Zwifting (again) to avoid the smoke…

  65. Lane Coddington

    Get my pain cave set up for the winter and ride on Zwift.

  66. Șerban Mestecăneanu

    Recovery. Recovery. Recovery. With just a few mountain walks.

  67. Jared F

    10 mile run on Saturday and a nice 40 mile indoor trainer ride Sunday watching football on the TV

  68. Seth Anderson

    Long run and then some nice walks

  69. Peter Fulton

    Saturday – 3 km trail walk
    SUNDAY – 10 km trail run

  70. Nate

    Today was a short run. Long trail run with some hills and a buddy tomorrow.

  71. David

    My workout plans for the weekend involve running up and down the steps to Race Control at Goodwood Speed Week, see link to goodwood.com for live streaming…. (shameless plug!)

    So far 43 floors, Friday, 38 floors Saturday….

    🙂

  72. Casey Ross

    Weekend workout includes unpacking boxes in my new house! Hopefully some hiking/rides on the indoor trainer as well

  73. Andras

    Hello, my weekend plan is the following, some cardio with my toddler son, practicing the sleepwalking and then do some biking outdoors

  74. Gene Fitzhugh

    I’ll get two long rides this weekend to get up to 300 miles for the week… oh, and a martini or two…

  75. Greg Brennan

    Sufferfest on the Wahoo on Saturday, a run on Sunday!

  76. David Napoli

    Riding the trainer and grading my students’ projects

  77. Vivian Newkirk

    I’m enrolled in all three Zwift Academies: Road, Run and Tri. I’ll be in the pain cave if you need me…

  78. Tanel

    Go to the gym two times.

  79. SimonL

    I will do an hour or two on the bike.

  80. Ruben Kuperus

    I did a nice walk at the coast today and I’ve planed to get my bike ready for a trainer setup so I can start my winter training rides indoor…

  81. J Francisco

    35 Miles and 4k’ of Climbing on the Hardtail Single Speed 29er.

  82. Todd Streiff

    Road ride of 60m on Saturday followed by a rowdy 25m mountain bike ride on Sunday

  83. Phil

    10k walk on saturday and 15k run on sunday

  84. Aaron Denman

    20 mile run today with either a recovery run or ride tomorrow. Enjoy the weather while it lasts!

  85. Larry

    Short trail run in the mountains

  86. Dave

    Not doing a dang thing! Crummy weather and pulled hamstring.

  87. Jonas Elmered

    Insulating the garage to prepare for winter time trainer rides

  88. Evert

    I’m in Valkenburg for the weekend, the real Dutch mountains. Doing an alternative Amstel Gold Race with my friends.

  89. Paul Mackenzie

    Marathon recovery so a couple of shorter runs.

  90. Johan

    Cycling in Limburg. Keutenberg et. al.

  91. John Bravenec

    hour zwifting

  92. Michael Ogilby

    I worked out today by giving a load of flu vaccinations, tomorrow will be a slow run around my favourite 5 mile route, hopefully with lots af autmin leaves

  93. Stefanie

    A fast paced 3.5 mile virtual run and 4-5 easy miles in anticipation for upcoming half marathon next weekend.

  94. Taniwha

    Walking my oldest daughter to her ice hockey session.

  95. Jurjen

    Riding over de Utrechtse Heuvelrug

  96. Paulo

    Intense weekend: bike in the rain, run in the rain, and a nap at the fireplace.

  97. Bernard

    Started this morning with a 12k run and got a 3 hour Zwift session planned for tomorrow – not looking forward to that one.

  98. David

    Getting in 30 miles on Zwift, while watching college football on TV.

  99. Daniel Lott

    For the love of trail running!

  100. Frank Peri

    Riding with friends and enjoying fall weather

  101. Patrick

    Testing the Pace Partners in Zwift.

  102. Tom

    I ran 15 today, will run 8 more on Sunday

  103. Patrick

    Testing the Pace Partners in Zwift.

  104. Sean K.

    Tempo run on Saturday 30min
    Long base run on Sunday 45min or so
    Some upper body workouts with dumbbells. Going to try to use one of Garmin’s workouts with my Fenix 6 Pro Solar.

  105. Steve saltzman

    2 hours of gravel riding in a state park today and 15 miles of single speed mountain biking tomorrow

  106. James Ritchie

    Hi Ray, I’m transitioning from the real world to the virtual world this weekend.
    Thanks for having the awesome giveaway!

  107. Christopher McDougall

    Going to do a TrainerRoad workout on Saturday, then help my in-laws move some stuff. Sunday I’m going to ride our local 10 mile trail with some buds in the morning and do a TrainerRoad workout later in the day. No rest for me!

  108. Eric Lechler

    Workout on Zwift.

  109. Norman Teinowitz

    Hike on the PCT

  110. Gordon Lau

    Low and slow long run this weekend

  111. Steven Pierce

    Going for a run up the canyon!

  112. Steven K.

    Beautiful weather here in the mid Atlantic region of the US. Planning on an easy run on Saturday and harder 60 mile ride on Sunday.
    Have a nice weekend everyone.

  113. cycloscott

    MTB ride before the temperature hits 90. Srsly, no way it should be 90 degrees in Berkeley. Let alone in mid-October.

  114. Steve Clegg

    Going for a run with my son!

  115. Erlend Claussen

    Some short rides and some tenting.

  116. Jonathan M.

    A 10 k run and a 2 hr ride on zwift

  117. Niklas Stenwreth

    I Will do a 70 km road bike workout on Sunday – hopefully in sunshine.

  118. Marc Zugschwerdt

    Hiking in the mountains in the north of Sweden! Winter is coming!

  119. David C

    Hike on Saturday w/some gal leaf raking. Sunday looks like either a Sufferfest ride on the new HH Kickr, or a Fitbod workout session.

  120. Thomas Farabaugh

    Long trail run enjoying the fall leaf colors in the NE US!

  121. Adam

    Sat: 50mi bike. Sun: 45min run. Maybe a swim too.

  122. JeffStemm

    Couple sufferfest videos and trying to keep up with the kids

  123. DaveMac

    Saturdays rain means Zwift. Sunday looks to be road ride day. Recovery drinks (beer) both days.

  124. Erik Muller

    Easy run weekend – still recovering from an achilles tendon injury, so have been needing to take it easy for several weeks now and I’m going a little stir-crazy

  125. I raked a lot of leaves.

  126. Andrew

    Carb load and compete against myself in my very own ByMyself half marathon.

  127. I’m recovering from major heart surgery, so most of my weekend will be spent recovering on the couch with naps. I did get in my first very slow 8 mile ride postop.

  128. Loren

    This weekend I am taking long walks with my family whilst on vacation. Congrats on the backcountry.com partnership.

  129. Shelagh coutts

    Zwifting as it’s snowing here. 🙁

  130. Jon Tiktin

    Indoor Zwift racing with the Herd Summer Racing League since I’m only allowed to go 5km outdoors here in Melbourne

  131. Bill Vest

    Weekend: Outdoor ride with friends on Saturday and a Peloton workout on Sunday.

  132. Lance Liljenquist

    My weekend workout will be a mountain bike ride followed by a 5 mile run on Sunday.

  133. Steve M Martin

    Ran 14 miles on Saturday and then plan another 8 to 12 miles on Sunday.

  134. Ian James

    Running the Margaret River Ultramarathon, running one of the stages in a team entry.

  135. Jurgen Radier

    Taking advantage of the nice weather for a 45km ride around ‘de Ronde Hoep’, and waking up a bit too early for a run tomorrow!

  136. Blaine Nichols

    A nice 10 mile run on Saturday and movie Sunday! Going to be a great weekend

  137. Peter Höglund

    Gym and trail intervals in great autumn weather.

  138. Linda

    This weekend, I plan on walking outdoors and playing some frisbee if the weather is not super cold.

  139. Ian Benett

    Since I ran the Army ten miler yesterday (more like a fast shuffle and stagger and swearing), I plan on napping today and doing some yoga (ish) tomorrow. Once upon a time I was much more spry. Now it takes about a week to recover from successfully making it out of bed. Here’s to good intentions and lofty goals!

  140. Anthony S

    cycle-paddle Saturday, cycle-paddle Sunday

  141. Myrna Gonzalez Childress

    My workout plans include taking it easy so I can recover from a hip injury after killing it on a run and bike workout one day after another.

  142. Russ Lilley

    This weekend is 16 trail miles running on Saturday and 8 trail miles running on Sunday. The jfk50 miler is just around the corner

  143. Zan Horvat

    Two long and slow (~5h) MTB rides over the weekend. The weather just improved so I’m very much looking forward to it!

  144. Tom earls

    15 mile run

  145. Laurie Kutter

    I will plan on golfing this weekend. I’ll also take my dog for a hike and maybe a short MTB ride. We’re having beautiful Fall weather so I’m going to make the most of it!!

  146. Eugene

    all the rock climbing! 🙂

  147. GARY WIMENITZ

    Saturday road bike 35 miles
    Sunday road bike 35 miles w climbing

  148. Steven

    Took a long break from training. Doing a get “back into it ride” this weekend.

  149. Joe

    Breaking in my first trainer, a brand new Kickr Core. Just in time for the cold weather. Someone convince my wife to let me get the headwing and climb to go with it. Thanks!

  150. Juan

    Two days of sweet spot training in TrainerRoad, inside with my tacx Neo

  151. Kathryn Powers

    Easy road ride on Saturday and a mtb ride on Sunday.

  152. Dave Boggs

    Short run this morning with my daughter, MTB ride tomorrow.

  153. Jpulfer

    Kayak and a rouvy spun for this weekend

  154. Brian Faure

    Hills and Hill….then more hills.

  155. Lisa T.

    A little training on Zwift on Saturday and then a cardio workout on Sunday.

  156. David

    Running the Naperville Half Marathon, virtually of course!

  157. Torgeir Hasås

    Hopefully getting time for the next workout in my swift training plan!

  158. Sebastian

    My weekend is filled with recovering from a back surgery.

  159. Andre

    Writing my thesis. Definitely, I need a rest soon

  160. Eric Roe

    Getting dropped by my friends on the local climb

  161. Zs.

    Santa in October

  162. Kurt M

    Some zwift academy workouts, and IRL ride, yard work, and wine by the fire pit!

  163. Brian Reese

    Run with my dogs one day and a good interval workout on the new Peloton we just got on another day.

  164. James

    Run on Saturday, Bike on Sunday…

  165. Ellen

    I am working my fitness back up after some time off so weekend plans include a 50 min “long” run on Saturday!

  166. Paul Csonka

    Taper for the Great Floridian Triathlon

  167. gpb

    Trail run today! Lotsa fun.

  168. John Fox

    A run and a nice cold swim in the ocean

  169. John Friesen

    It’s a lazy weekend for me!

  170. Rob

    Going for one last century ride before packing things in for the winter!

  171. Stephen

    Sneaky bike Saturday and sneaky run Sunday while peeping the nursery for our first born.

  172. Jacob DeWispelaere

    Saturday was a road ride and Sunday will be a mountain bike ride. Good to balance things out 🙂 500 Gels!

  173. Nick

    I’ve been talked into doing Mega Pretzel on Zwift tomorrow.

  174. Rob Fears

    Did a group ride with my buds this morning. Planning on a little Zwift Academy tomorrow. Also Pumpkin painting and Apple picking with the family too.

  175. David Brand

    Sunday morning ride on zwift!

  176. Dave M

    get some miles in on my new Xeros shoes!

  177. Francisco

    Short bike ride with my 7 year old daughter and my wife.

  178. Lennart R.

    A long walk to get some winter mushrooms.

  179. Nice Samret

    Been cycling on Zwift for months due to San Antonio being to hot for this Wisconsin guy! Anyways road 15 miles today and it was great!

  180. RC4

    Short ride with my wife and a beginner cyclist, followed by some quality time on the trainer. Then a longer ride on Sunday with the “gang”. Followed by recovery and working on the list of chores and projects that get longer every day.

  181. Erin Reis

    Recovering from a skull fracture after a bad mountain bike wreck so food prepping for the week and trying not to look at all my friends rides on strava

  182. Doug Shotts

    Century+ ride planned for Friday and a shorter recovery ride on Saturday. Sunday is off.

  183. Eduardo

    Gained weight during the quarantine. Must keep doing at least some maintenance runs!

  184. Greg

    Weekend workout plans are typically a long run (or long for me at least, still new to this) on Saturday and Sunday is a burst of chores as fast as I can while listening to podcasts.

  185. Shannon

    Hiking in the woods.

  186. Michael

    Hiking in Zion and Bryce. First time. Can’t wait

  187. Paul

    50k rail trail ride, help a buddy with a gazebo build, repeat the ride home. Thanks Ray and good luck with the new partnership!

  188. Rusty Austin

    Zwift group ride yesterday. Gym session today. Outdoor ride to lunch with friends tomorrow.

  189. Doug Gordon

    Sadly, I hurt my back again and am out of commission for a while, but as soon as I’m able I’ll finish setting up my smart trainer and start pedaling indoors for the duration.

  190. z

    Weekend workouts include Zwift racing if it’s too hot, or riding outside if I can get out early enough to avoid crowds.

  191. Pat Kennedy

    Unfortunately, my weekend and the rest of 2020 is consumed with recovery from cancer surgery which is keeping me of my bikes for three months. Cabin fever is definitely an issue. I’ll be spending time checking your website daily for the latest as well as watching GCN and GTN videos.

  192. Yves

    I will head out for a run with my neighbor.

  193. Winter is coming, so is indoor bikeing.

  194. Carl Quirion

    It’s getting cold outside, so I’m pretty much only zwift’ing at this point!

  195. S Michael

    This weekend is a 10k time trial (yippee virtual racing!) and a rest day with percussion massage.

  196. Dan Kothlow

    Get the Ven-Top Zwift Route Badge

  197. Maria MacCallum

    This weekend I drove on a 5 hour round trip to have a private kung fu lesson to get ready for my next grading, when they do start up again, I’m a 2nd degree black belt so it’s tricky to find people to train with and even trickier at the moment. Mind you saying that I used do this trip once a month while training locally.

    Let’s hope the covid vaccine is put soon and works well. I recommend your pages several times a week on the running groups I’m on ad I think your reviews are the best ?. Take care and thanks for this awesome competition!!!

  198. Tim Agnew

    Turbo Zwift sessions with friends.

  199. james

    my best impression of a lumberjack. a weekend full of felling trees and splitting logs.