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.
ZEO, Fitbit and other tidbits
First off – sorry for the slight silence the last few days. I’ve been fighting a cough for the last three weeks, and it seemed to be winning the war over the last few days. Between the 12-14 hour workdays … Read More Here
2010 Athlete Gadget Holiday Gift Guide
It’s that time of year when people stampede into their local mall in search of the perfect gift. But choosing gifts for an endurance athlete can be tough. Endurance athletes are picky by nature – for example, you’d never dream … Read More Here
India Part II: Crouching Tiger
(Quick note: You can see the first half of my brief trip to India here in Part I) As a general rule of thumb, when you want to go see unique things in the wild, it takes a bit of … Read More Here
India Part I: “For some things, there are no explanations”
We arrived into Delhi, India – the country of 1.2 billion people – quite late Tuesday night…errr, rather Wednesday morning I guess. We were supposed to be there Tuesday night – but because the coffee pot on the airplane wouldn’t … Read More Here
Week in Review–Nov 27th, 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
Guest Post – Cold Turkey: Tour De Cleveland
(Note from Ray: I’d like to introduce you to Lindsey and Carl, two good friends of The Girl and I. You may remember our early summer training adventures together. Given I’m out of the country, they offered to maintain a … Read More Here
A very short stay in Bangkok
I can’t say I was able to spend much time really seeing much of Bangkok during my short stay in Thailand. While I was initially scheduled to be there some 5 days, in the end, I’d only end up staying … Read More Here
Featured Guest Post for Onlineshoes.com
A wee bit back (ok, a long ways bit back), I was approached to write a guest post for Onlineshoes.com – which…well…sells shoes…online. Actually, they sell all sorts of other things, but shoes is their starting point. And they have … Read More Here
How calorie measurement works on Garmin fitness devices
There are few topics that cause more confusion, intrigue and general ‘Huh?’ in the sports world than calorie burn. While many runners or cyclists often estimate calorie burn (and thus cookie allocation metrics) using borderline sketchy back of the napkin … Read More Here
Garmin plans to keep on selling FR305
Whenever anyone starts to look at purchasing a GPS enabled watch, they invariably start with virtually all signs pointing towards the Forerunner 305 as a great starter watch. The reason for this is partly due to the overwhelming number of … Read More Here
A weekend in Vietnam
When I started this multi-week international work trip through Asia early last week, there was no plan to spend any time in Vietnam. It simply wasn’t on my itinerary. I was to work until Friday in Seoul, and then head … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 21st, 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
Forerunner 210 Giveaway Results!
Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway! Apparently quite a few want a new Garmin Forerunner 210! That said there were about 1300 entries after accounting for ways to double-up, into the giveaway, and another bunch from Active Duty folks.I then … Read More Here
A moving bit of Seoul Food
I arrived into Seoul in a general state of confusion. Usually I have a much better handle on travel logistics for cities I’m arriving in, but somehow things got busy and I didn’t quite have the time to ensure I … Read More Here
Quick note: My Slowtwitch post on Garmin/Road ID combo
As you’ll know, I don’t normally ‘promote’ another one of my posts directly with a post of its own. But in this particular case, I wanted to make a small exception for a quick heads up about an article I … Read More Here
10 interesting items from the USAT 2010 Business Plan
Back a few months ago I was poking though the USAT charters, financial statements and annual reports for some information related to spend on their Olympic athlete programs. While doing so, I stumbled into the USAT 2010 Business Plan document … Read More Here
My Movie Star Trip to New York City
Despite having just arrived back home in the US, that didn’t mean I was going to stay put for very long. Early Friday morning I joined The Girl, her sister and her parents for a weekend in NYC. We all … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 13th, 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
November Forerunner 210 Giveaway
Over the last week or so I’ve been testing out the Forerunner 210 GPS running watch, which is brand spankin’ new and just released in time for the Holidays. I’ve been so happy with it to date, that I’ve decided … Read More Here
Sport Device GPS Accuracy In Depth: Part II
(Note: If you’re just joining me in Part II, be sure to read Part I, which covers the first half of the tests) As we left off in Part I, the tests thus far had been largely easy. By that … Read More Here
Sport Device GPS Accuracy In Depth: Part I
Newcomers to GPS sport devices like the Garmin Forerunner or Timex Global Trainer often wonder exactly how accurate the devices are. And seasoned users occasionally notice small oddities when comparing their run totals between training partners on the same run. … Read More Here
How I ran into a WWII tank on my swim
Alternate Title #1: The Americans invaded during my swim! Alternate Title #2: How I got tanked on my swim Alternate Title #3: Down Periscope Fail (Really, I could go on and on…) Of course, you’re probably wandering what I’m talking … Read More Here
A weekend in Saipan
Over the last 8 weeks or so I’ve been jetting in and out of countries all over the place, mostly in Central America. In the vast majority of the cases, I was there working for only 24 hours, sometimes up … Read More Here
Week in Review–November 6th, 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
Fitness Related Analysis from the Garmin Q3 earnings call
I spent a bit of time this evening listening to the Garmin 3rd quarter earnings call. The primary reason is that often times companies will either purposefully or inadvertently release tiny snippets of information via these calls. In many cases, … Read More Here
