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.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, 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 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!
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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/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!
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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 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.
Rainmaker rant: Race photo companies
If you read my blog often, you know that I have little love for the majority of race-day photo companies. These being the companies that are on the course during a race and take our photos, and then offer to … 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
Wanna buy a Kenyan bike?
Last week before my flight back to the US, I swung briefly through a Kenyan mega mart of sorts on the way to the airport. My coworkers wanted to pick up some coffee (nearby regions are known for it) at … Read More Here
Beneath the trees near the track
Up until now the majority of my weekday brick workouts have been done at home. I’d be on my trainer for the bike portion, and then just simply run outside for the run piece. Quick, and efficient. However, there are … Read More Here
Acting like a camel – or the water boy
At some point last summer while preparing for one of my long rides (typically 7-9 hours) I realized that I was packing more water bottles in the car than I preferred to have rolling around. And while re-using plastic bags … Read More Here
Goin’ compact on Skyline
One of the biggest benefits of having a coach is when he or she can look back at months of data and finds a way to assist you in getting better. In my case, it was almost a year’s worth … Read More Here
Zurich and a little run
I left Nairobi at 5 minutes to midnight on Tuesday night. My path would take us across the vast arid landscape that is most of northern and East Africa. About 7 hours and 24 minutes later, we touched down in … Read More Here
Swimming in Kenya’s Nyayo National Stadium
I arrived back to Nairobi Monday mid-afternoon ready to get my workout in for the day. I had done some research prior to arrival and found my best option (of only two options in the country) was Nyayo National Stadium, … Read More Here
24 hours in Tanzania
Sunday morning started early…but I was at least able to enjoy a breakfast before going as my ride to the next airport was slightly late. Because Sunday my place of work was closed for the weekend and Monday was a … Read More Here
Welcome to Tanzania, by way of Zurich and Kenya
There is early..and then there is damn early. Off to Tanzania: Saturday morning started damn early at 3:30AM to catch my first flight to Zurich (from Rome). The one par I love about flying over the Alps region of Europe … Read More Here
The Great Swim Search…and other Rome notables
I’ve travelled enough that very few things ‘worry’ me while travelling. While many of my co-workers travelling with my on this trip are worried about typical international concerns like current exchanging, finding food, and pick pocketing – I’m typically most … Read More Here
Run around Rome
After a 9ish hour flight (and only about 2 hours of sleep), I landed in the city of pasta – Rome, Italy, where I’ll be for a few days for work before moving on elsewhere. The above flight path is … Read More Here
Reston 2-Mile Race Report…and some BBQ!
Sunday morning brought a flurry of activity. First up, was injecting my pork ass with a secret sauce (see previous day). Well, technically it’s not too secret, especially since I’m re-publishing it here. But that said, but injecting the pork … 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
How to race tri’s with a Garmin Forerunner or Edge
While I have many posts on how to get the most from your Garmin Forerunner, it was pointed out to me recently that I don’t actually have any posts on how best to race with it. So this one will … Read More Here
Chicken!
Before I could go get my new grill, I first had to knock out my Monday swim workout. It wasn’t too bad though, it started off with a 2,000 yard continuous chunk of warm-up, drills and other technique focused stuff … 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
Cows and Corn? Welcome to Lincoln, Nebraska!
It becomes more rare with every trip I take that I actually get to go somewhere that I haven’t been to before. However, every once in a while comes along some trip that takes me to a place i haven’t … Read More Here
Aloha – from the Hawaiian islands!
After my race on Sunday, I had to quickly pack up everything and get all my stuff ready for a work trip to Hawaii. I took off early Monday morning, and after 12 hours of flying time, I descended down … Read More Here
Kinetic 2009 Sprint Tri Race Report
As far as race days go for triathlons, you couldn’t ask for a better day. Despite enough rain lately to consider building an ark, the sun decided to shine for just one day (in the middle of a 10-15 day … Read More Here
I’m no longer a girl, I’m now a male!
As some long time readers may remember, back a while ago I stumbled upon a little snafu where the US Government (in particular, the Social Security Administration) thought I was female. It all bubbled to the surface two summers ago … Read More Here
My requests to race directors
Over the past couple of years, I’ve come up with a list of things that I like – and don’t like – about races. I’m going to keep it bulleted, just to simplify things. I’m hoping that at least one … Read More Here
High Desert to High Mountains
Upon leaving the desert on Thursday evening I arrived just over two short ours later in Seattle – the next stop on the trip. This stop wasn’t for work though, it was for a nice enjoyable weekend of Seattle and … Read More Here
Two puddles of water and a desert
Wednesday brought a bit of improvement in the throat situation, which was good – as I had two workouts scheduled. But due to the conference speaking and other work schedule, I wasn’t able to tackle these until until around 5PM … 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
Ummm…it got hot.
I think this marked the beginning of the ‘busy season’, which officially goes from now until mid-November. Sorta like opening day in major league baseball – only much less relaxing. I honestly don’t remember what happened Thursday or Friday, so … Read More Here
Things are made for a reason: Bike rack locks and wheel clips
The last few weeks my bike rack locks have been rather temperamental. Not quite sure why, as I’ve been using them most of the winter for weekend rides out of the city. But while I was fidgeting with them last … Read More Here
The 2009 Boston Marathon Race Report
Despite the fact that the Boston Marathon starts at a rather comfy 10:00AM, I was up at a rather un-comfy 4:45AM in order to get to the buses on time. Buses you ask? Well, the Boston Marathon is a point … Read More Here
The Boston Marathon: The Expo
Ok sports fans, I’ve got less than 12 hours to the race, so this one will be quick. First off, the city is completely COVERED in Boston Marathon stuff. The subways, roads, signs – EVERYTHING. Here’s inside one of the … Read More Here
Boston Bound
This week has been crazy busy with work and late night training. Before Wednesday night’s run, I happened upon some Caps tickets (local NHL hockey team)…for the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs…in a luxury suite. SWEET!!! And without … Read More Here
Riding into the night…
Last night (Monday) I had a long ride scheduled. I don’t usually have long rides scheduled on weekdays, but with a short sprint race this past weekend, and the Boston Marathon this upcoming weekend (well, Monday) it was gearing up … Read More Here
Escape from Ft. Desoto Tri Race Report…btw…1st in AG.
Some races you just have a good feeling about, while others you don’t. Back a few weeks ago I had a ‘less than ideal’ feeling about the National Half-Marathon. But this past week, I was feeling pretty good going into … Read More Here
Packed and ready to roll…and run…and that swim thing.
I have arrived. Well, to the Tampa airport anyway…just waiting for my bike case to roll off the ‘oversized’ luggage area. But that should happen relatively soon. I had forgotten how much more ‘fun’ it is to pack for an … Read More Here
New DC triathlon race announced to go with ITU World Cup Race
I’ve heard about this for months and even had some e-mails with the ITU folks about it – and as of today, it’s FINALLY announced – The US Dextro Energy Triathlon. As many of you already know, there’s an ITU … Read More Here
Cherry Blossoms and gazillions of people
Every year about this time about 2,000 Cherry Trees around DC explode with little flowers. Not only does it seem to usher in the start of spring, but also the start of the main tourist season. I generally try to … Read More Here
