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.
Averting disaster in the Dark Hills
Anytime you have 2-3 hours of workouts to do on a weeknight, you have to plan a bit. Most of that planning for me falls into two buckets – scheduling of the actual workout itself, and scheduling my caloric intake … Read More Here
Understanding the importance of Garmin firmware updates
One of the more common questions/comments that I answer on many of my review posts are technical in nature – and often times covering specific issues or problems a person is running into. As a result I end up doing … Read More Here
A meaty weekend
This weekend was full of all assortment of activities – from the usual swim/bike/run to cooking up a storm on Saturday night. We start with a 10 mile run on Saturday morning along the Potomac river on the Mt. Vernon … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag – April 24th, 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
The Rumpass in Bumpass 2010 Race Report
If there was ever a race to do based on name alone, this would be it. I mean – really – how many races have the ASS word not once – but TWICE in name of the race? The RumpASS … Read More Here
Thoughts from a (new) USAT Referee (or…what I’m looking for)
In addition to racing this past weekend, I also became a new USAT Certified Official Referee. The process involves wading through an extensive 91 page manual (very in depth by the way, but also fairly well written and easy to … Read More Here
Adventures in triathlon RV’ing
I have officially discovered there is no better way to do local or semi-local race weekends than renting out a little RV and going full tilt at the race site. Let’s do a not-so-quick recap on how it all goes … Read More Here
Weekly Mailbag – April 17th, 2010
While I was sitting on my flight back from Seattle a few weeks ago I was working through the small pile of questions from folk just like you (well, actually, specifically – some of you). While doing this I realized … 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
Sous Vide Awesomeness
You may remember a fair while back I started a little project to build my own sous vide machine – more properly known as an Immersion Circulator. As I mentioned then, using an Immersion Circulator isn’t something particularly new, it’s … Read More Here
Choosing your Garmin device data fields
When you first get your new fangled Garmin Forerunner or Edge device you’ll probably be using the default data field views that show commonly used metrics like pace and distance. After all, these are some of the key benefits of … Read More Here
101 Runs on the Wall
This weekend turned out to be pretty darn busy, lots of running, running around, and everything in between. It started early Saturday morning with a run with the Pacers group. The plan was 10 miles easy, but somewhere along the … Read More Here
A list of cool tri/running/cycling wallpapers
Back a bit ago I was stumbling around Garmin’s site trying to find something or other and I bumped into their nifty collection of wallpapers that you can download. From there I got curious and started poking around other companies … Read More Here
Troubleshooting your heart rate monitor/strap HR spikes
For those who train with heart rate monitors often, you probably know all too well know the tell-tale sign that your little device is lying to you about your heart rate. It starts off fairly innocently with a gentle rise … Read More Here
Someone left a floater
Due to a flip-flop in the weekly schedule of runs, both the Girl and I were in position to be able to enjoy a nice 10 mile run with our friends on Saturday morning. Normally the 10m run run occurs … Read More Here
A whole lotta updates
It’s finally the end of the week, and I’ve got a bunch of little tidbits from races schedule updates to technology stuff to toss out into the wind, so without too much more babbling, let’s get on with it. Schedules: … Read More Here
Applying Toilet Water
As I mentioned on Sunday, I had a small collection of boxes arrive last week while I was out. I generally buy everything online, so me and the FedEx man and the UPS women have a special relationship. Though, from … Read More Here
Garmin Forerunner 110 – First Look Review
You may have noticed earlier today that Garmin announced via press release their latest GPS watch – the Forerunner 110. Given I get a lot of questions about their new watches when they come out, I figured I’d get ahead … Read More Here
Little Washington
The weekend started Friday after a nice flight back from the West Coast. Upon arriving home I found all sorts of packages had arrived. While some weren’t terribly exciting (new seat post for an older bike), I did get one … Read More Here
A week of training in Seattle
After a pretty darn successful Sunday race in the Rainman Triathlon, I got back to work – and training on Monday. That included a relatively straightforward swim of a tad over 3,000 yards. One interesting thing is there are far … Read More Here
A night with the Cervelo Technical Folk
Last Friday I got an invited to hang out with some folks from Cervelo for a night at the local tri shop (Bonzai) going through a fairly detailed technical presentation, primarily focused on aerodynamics of bikes. I happily accepted the … Read More Here
Seattle Rainman Triathlon 2010 Race Report
If there were ever a triathlon to do, having one virtually named after oneself seems like the kinda event I’d want to start with. I heard about the Rainman Indoor Triathlon back a few months ago, and a bit later … Read More Here
Coned
Earlier in the week I had finished up my bike and run and was delegated to go to the grocery store to search out options for dinner. Meanwhile, the Girl was just leaving for a short run. Given I had … Read More Here
How to create maps/courses for your Garmin Forerunner
One of the most common questions I get is how you can create routes and maps that you can follow on your Garmin device. Many of the most popular devices support this feature – including the 305/310XT/500/705 – however most … Read More Here
St. Patrick’s 8K Race Report
Alternative Title I: Finally! Alternative Title II: Adventures of blurry cam! But more on the alternative titles in a bit. Let’s get to the start first. And getting to the start required the Metro. It’s just so much easier for … Read More Here
