I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.While I don't partner with many companies, there's a few that I love, and support the site. Full details!
Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
Wanna create comparison chart graphs just like I do for GPS, heart rate, power meters and more? No problem, here's the platform I use - you can too!
Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
A week in South Africa
After finishing up eating chocolates in Zurich, we boarded our Swiss airlines flight for the 10.5 hour journey south to Johannesburg, South Africa. This would be the start of a two week trip in the region, with the first leg … Read More Here
Week in Review–January 1st, 2011
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
A day of Chocolate in Zurich
After a long string of flights originating from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and visiting both Halifax and Montreal on our three-province tour, we finally arrived in Zurich, Switzerland. And while our stay in Zurich would be brief – only 16 hours … Read More Here
FINIS Swimsense Performance Monitor In-Depth Review
While my pool time has been severely restricted lately with all the international travel, I did get a short opportunity to jump into the pool with the Swimsense while up in Newfoundland. For those not familiar, Swimsense is like having … Read More Here
A Newfoundland Christmas
As I’ve come to realize over the past few months, that when going to Newfoundland (home of The Girl), the journey is half the battle. I’ve yet to experience a trip there free of flights being dorked up, and this … Read More Here
So you just gotta Garmin Fitness watch? Start here.
A whole lot of ya just got new Garmin Forerunner’s and Edge devices over the last few days, so I figured what better way to get you all kick-started into the world of GPS running devices than a consolidated post … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 26th, 2010
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
Have a Merry Christmas!
To all those that celebrate Christmas, have a Merry Christmas tomorrow! And remember, it’s not all about training. One or two days a year you can enjoy it and just relax. (Photo from when the Christmas Tree fell over into … Read More Here
On the LA Talk Radio Show later this morning
Just a quick heads up to all that I’ve been invited to be on a show on LA Talk Radio today (Thursday, the 23rd) at 11AM Pacific Time. I’ll be covering a variety of topics mostly centering around sports gadgets … Read More Here
Feeling lucky? Water immersion tests with Garmin Edge and CycleOps Joule cycling computers
I had actually planned a different post for today. Both actually occurring in water – but with an entirely different product. However, during the course of the day I was casually e-mailing back and forth with a Garmin support engineer … Read More Here
Swimming with sharks
(It’s Tuesday, and everyone’s looking to get to the weekend, so we’ll keep today a bit entertaining) It’s no secret that I enjoy mixing sharks with my water. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tiny little shark that I sit … Read More Here
Zeo – In Depth Product Review
WARNING: Zeo has since gone out of business. When I first heard about the Zeo I assumed it was simply yet another device that ‘measures’ sleep. But once I got the unit and started to dig into it, I realized … Read More Here
Back in the ice…
I arrived back in the United States from India on Saturday morning at 5:14AM…which I was pretty excited about. Mostly because it was over an hour prior to our scheduled time. Secondly, because I had run out of movies to … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 18th, 2010
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
The India Runaround
With my work completed yesterday (Thursday), I had the morning in Delhi to do as I saw fit before my flight later this afternoon. I initially thought I might go do some touristy stuff, but after it was found out … Read More Here
Behind the scenes on product reviews
It occurred to me recently that it might be a bit entertaining to get a ‘behind the scenes’ view on how product reviews come together. While product review posts actually total a very small number of the total posts I … Read More Here
Swimsense, FR410, Garmin Connect & Bing, and Giveaway Results….oh my!
[Note: If you’re looking for my In Depth Swimsense Review – you’ll want to mosey on over there.] I’ve got just a few minutes before my flight takes off, so before they get into the final boarding calls I wanted … Read More Here
Back to DC…and time to cook a grand dinner!
But…before we cook, we must take care of business. And takin’ care of business means a new rolling pin. Why a rolling pin you ask? Well, frequent folks to my product reviews know that I often use the rolling pin … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 11th, 2010
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here
The Elusive Wahoo Fitness iPhone ANT+ Bike Case Giveaway
As of today, you can’t get the Wahoo Fitness ANT+ Bike Case. Well, can’t legally get them without breaking into either my house or the Wahoo Fitness headquarters at an ‘undisclosed location’. Otherwise, they aren’t available till January. But I … Read More Here
Paratriathletes are real athletes too, and how you can help them before this weekend
Over the past few days you may have seen some rumblings around an upcoming vote in Guangzhou, China this weekend that will decide whether or not to allow the sport of triathlon into the Paralympics. As you probably know, triathlon … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 210 In Depth Review
There was no doubt when the Forerunner 210 was announced that the goal was to offer a more feature rich version of it’s slightly older brother – the Forerunner 110. The Forerunner 210 touted new features such as foot pod … Read More Here
How Sports Technology companies could learn from Southwest Airlines
If you follow the all of the Internets much, then you probably saw a flurry of news activity around Southwest airlines early last month. These were from reporters large and small – everyone from the local paper, to the major … Read More Here
A weekend in Seattle
For me, this past weekend was all about recovery. But the real kicker was… I wasn’t actually recovering from anything. Well, any training or race event anyway. Instead, I was recovering from the effects of 40,000+ miles of travel in … Read More Here
Week in Review–December 4th, 2010
I’ve long since wondered what to do with all the random tidbits of things I collect each week – or the little thoughts that don’t quite make for a full post. But I finally came up with a solution: The … Read More Here