I’m DC RAINMAKER…
Here’s how to save!
Wanna save some cash and support the site? 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!
In the UK/EU/Australia/New Zealand? Then hit up Wiggle at the link below!
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 GPLAMA, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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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.
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Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here's my most recent gadget recommendations guide and trainers here - covering 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!
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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 and Equipment 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! 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 2019 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 2018 Gear Guide too.
Search results for: ''skyline drive''
Past Header Images
Starting this past April, roughly every week I’ll be changing out the header image on my blog to reflect something that happened in the past week – either in training or just in general in my life. Here’s a quick … Read More Here
Skyline, Pork and Penguins
Today was (and still is) a busy day. We were on the road shortly after 6AM for the first Skyline Ride of the season. For those not familiar, Skyline Drive is a long 100 mile road that rides along the … Read More Here
Yogi, more Yogi, and Boo-boo
It’s been quite busy over the last week, with being just on the edge of full taper for Ironman, you think you have more spare time to do other random things than you really do. I think mentally I’m expecting … Read More Here
Blue Angels, Blue Suits*, Blue Ridge Mountains
This weekend was both busy and relaxing at the same time. Just depended on which day you were looking at. As we left off on Friday, I had finished up the Bike to Work with the bagel, and then biked … Read More Here
An awesome training weekend here in DC
This past weekend has been both crazy busy – but also amazingly productive! While it’s not over here in the US (we get three days!), I’m going to recap two thirds of it, and save you from hearing about my … Read More Here
A return to Skyline!
(Quick Administrative Note: If you don’t normally read the Weekly Mailbag – I’m looking for some feedback on whether or not you’re interested in having integrated ANT+ sensor technology in Smart Phones, particularly Android ones. This would allow you to … Read More Here
Washington DC Resources
I get a TON of questions about the best places to train or do anything related to running or triathlon in the general DC area (Northern Virginia and portions of Maryland included). So I figured I’d start to stash together … Read More Here
Weekend Part I – Luray Triathlon
For all three of you who may have noticed, I haven’t posted since last Thursday (almost a week ago!). That’s been due to a lack of internet, land telephone or even cell phone coverage where I’ve been staying since Friday. … Read More Here
A Weekend of Trail Running and Mountain Riding
While I spent quite a bit of time myself working out, I started the weekend watching others work out. Or, more accurately, watching them race. The Carpenters Shelter 10K race was held on the street in front of our place, … Read More Here
My favorite workouts in each sport
Yesterday while reviewing my schedule for the week ahead, I realized I’ve been on a run of workouts I really enjoy (or plan to enjoy). Saturday I’ve got my first trail long-run, and Sunday I’m back in the mountains for … Read More Here
Shenandoah Squirrel Showdown
Alternate titles: “My new girl is bi”*, “Sorry Mr. Squirrel”, “Rainmaker: 1, Squirrel: 0”…. So my Sunday ride started more or less like any other. I got up at the asscrack of dawn (literally, before dawn) and jetted out to … Read More Here
The Almost Half-Iron
Just a quick training update (see, I can be quick on occasion). Yesterday I did a nice brick in the mountains, starting from Luray. Luray is a town in the shadow of Skyline drive, where I usually do my long … Read More Here
Weekend Part II – Just hanging around
Following a few days of triathlon related goodness in Luray, the Girl and I bailed back up into Shenandoah National Park to our mountainous hideaway for a few days away from it all. We stayed at Skyland (within the park) … Read More Here
Two rocks and a chain
Now normally after a weekend I would talk about my typical Skyline drive bike ride, for example, we’d start with the night before with mixing up drinks… …using a KitchenAid blender of course. How else am I supposed to mix … Read More Here
The Last Century (condensed version)
In an attempt to appease the blogosphere, I will try and make this weekend workout recap short. Really…I promise Sarah and Peter. So let’s jump right in. Saturday: Continuing the week over week increase in swim time, I swam 1hr … Read More Here
Riding along in a fog
Before we get to my foggy ride, we’ll start with my trail run. Coach and I made a last second change of venue to Prince William Forest National Park, instead of Fountainhead. The reason was that he came up with … Read More Here
I found some Red Rocks
So far…so good. Well, as long as you don’t ask my throat. I came into this trip with a slight head cold and a sore throat. Speaking for 75 minutes at a shot multiple times a day…did not help the … Read More Here
It’s cheaper than a night out…century rides.
After attending a wedding Saturday evening, the girl and I were mixing up our nutrition for our long ride the next day when I realized that I had just gone through an ENTIRE CONTAINER of my sports drink (EFS) for … Read More Here
One way ticket
Typically my weekly long ride involves a long out segment…and a long back segment – all on Skyline Drive up in da mountains. However, this week…I’d be purchasing a one-way ticket. Instead of normally turning around at the 50ish mile … Read More Here
Free National Park Access for a week, starting Saturday! Wootage!
As many of you know, over the past few years I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time up on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, which…is part of the National Park System. Not only is it probably the best cycling … Read More Here
A relaxing weekend
This weekend I decided to lie low a bit. The last few weekends (ok..more than a few) have been so jam packed that I barely had time to breath. With the next few weekends returning to the same (race, family … Read More Here
Bikes, Bubbles and BBQ’s
I’m now back on my ‘normal’ time zone, at least for another week anyway. This means a fairly relaxing Saturday. My only workout for the day was a 4200 yard swim, which ended with a 500 time trial (TT). This … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag–July 17th, 2010
Here’s this week’s edition of the weekly mailbag. This is a weekly series where I feature a handful of the e-mailed questions I received from the previous week or so. I try and pick a wide variety of questions. Some … Read More Here
Spending time in Boston and Washington–without leaving Virginia
Within the US there exists boatloads of cities that have identical names to those of other far more prominent cities in far away lane. For example: Florence, SC (have spent a fair bit of time there in fact). Or Paris, … Read More Here