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.
How to properly recover after a Half-Ironman
So after Saturday’s Half-Ironman race I decided that there was only one way to recover: Step 1: Depart (limping) finish area 90 minutes after completing race Step 2: Race to the airport 80 miles away (via car, not biking/running or … Read More Here
Oceanside 70.3 Race Report (aka: There be big hills in California)
Remember yesterday’s post about how the Oceanside area is beautiful? Well, it is – that’s still true. Except, I probably should have withheld a bit of judgement until AFTER I had to cycle over 56 miles of hills. In.the.wind. With … Read More Here
Let the games begin!
I arrived relatively late (ok, technically really early – 1:15AM) last night into the Oceanside area – about 30 minutes north of San Diego. This where tomorrow 2,000 less than smart people will set off onto a 70.3 mile journey … Read More Here
Busy Busy Bumble Bee
Today was nothing short of long. Not quite exhausting though – just tiring. So much stuff packed into so little time. Up at 5:35AM to catch a 6:55AM flight from Reagan National Airport to Atlanta. The cool part about DCA … Read More Here
Pain, Noodles, Less Pain, Bike Bunnies
I semi-intended on writing a blog post up Friday afternoon about one thing. And then I planned to do it Friday night. And then Saturday I had a different one planned, and then I realized I spent every waking second … Read More Here
Blame Canada – Canadian Blogger Infiltrates DCRainmaker grounds
A few weeks back Canadian* blogger Bruno from 70.3Challenge e-mailed me to let me know he’s going to be in town. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to take an ‘out of towner’ on a whirlwind tour of the city. … Read More Here
Are you in the lost and found bin?
We’ve all eagerly awaited for our race-day photos to appear on the photographing companies web site. Sometimes we get awesome shots, most times we get unflattering shots…and then sometimes we’re missing in action. You then ask yourself: How could they … Read More Here
Whirlwind Weekend Wrapup
I knew going into this weekend that things were going to get interesting….and busy. But that’s all good – I like being busy.Day Before SaturdayBut my weekend really started on Friday morning… with my first technique session with the new … Read More Here
Time Capsule: My First Triathlon – Seafair Sprint Tri 2007
Last summer I did my first triathlon. This was before my blogging days. I originally wrote up this race report for a triathlon distribution group/list within my company, as is customary after a race. I realized I had never posted … Read More Here
Bike, Work, Bike, Bike Again, Run, Jump
Tis the story of my day. For some reason, I rarely think through how it will all fit together – until after I do it. I just simply take one item at a time and then deal with the next … Read More Here
Milking the chocolate cow
There is no greater food than chocolate. I’ll do just about anything for chocolate. Perhaps the only thing that’s greater than chocolate itself, is some other item covered in chocolate. Like chocolate donuts, chocolate covered raisins, or chocolate lava cakes. … Read More Here
Running in the rain
The training continues on. Just under three weeks left till the first race of the year and things are coming together fairly nicely. I was somewhat worried just 3-4 short weeks ago as my knee was seemingly off in it’s … Read More Here
Sausage Fest!
It was time. It was time for a collection of the male species to gather and fest. This could only be done properly in the company of over 25 sausages. We’re talkin’ about tasty, juicy, thick and plump ones. Ya … Read More Here
Fearing the swim? Fear not.
It’s been less than a year since I started swimming. My first pool swim was on April 9th, 2007. That day it took me 40 minutes to go 750 yards, or an average of 5:00/100 yards. Seriously. I think doggie … Read More Here
Review of new Computrainer Interactive Real Course Video’s
I have impeccable timing. I choose to get one of the new CompuTrainer Interactive Real Course Video’s during one of the last weeks that I’ll regularly use my trainer this year. With the weather today hitting 70*, and with daylight … Read More Here
The Cycle of Running
There are those ideas that are technologically impressive and useful – like the dimples on aero wheels to make you faster. And then there are those ideas that you can do nothing more than shake your head at. The following … Read More Here
Weekend Wrap-up
For the first time since last fall, I was finally able to complete a full week’s worth of ‘normal’ workouts without worrying about injury – nor paying for it later with an annoyed knee. While it certainly wasn’t a super-heavy … Read More Here
One big ice cube – swimming in cold water
Many of us ‘retire’ from open water swimming for the winter. Some of us have the excuse that our dear little puddle of water is frozen over. And then there are those of us that simply turn off the thought … Read More Here
Lucky Number Slevin
So I was tagged by Ironmatron back last week to share seven random things about myself. Here’s my seven pieces of random information that you likely didn’t know. I ran x-country my freshman year of high school. And then didn’t … Read More Here
Quite simply: Dinner
So after only one workout today – 3,000 yards (split in two due to a minor incident at the pool, I ended up lounging on the pool deck for an hour) – I had more energy than I knew what … Read More Here
Four Mile Run Master Plan (or: How to spend $350 million dollars)
If ya live in the DC area, then this post is aimed at you. If not…well..ok. Many of you are likely familiar with – and probably even occasionally use Four Mile Run. It’s that semi-functional trail that in theory connects … Read More Here
The Greatest Store on Earth
No not Ikea. Not your local LBS. Not REI. It’s Costco. Cause where else can you buy a massive gazebo, a pair of jeans and a full uncut beef tenderloin all in the same place? My day was basically a … Read More Here
How to ski with your Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS
Like most Garmin users, I’ve run with my Forerunner, as well as the normal mountain or road bike journeys. But as frequent readers will know, I’ve also pushed mine a bit more. I’ve taken it on lake and ocean swims, … Read More Here
Woohoo – snow!
I haven’t had much snow this year here in DC. Very disappointing. Really only once while I was actually in town, and it simply made a mess of the roads and hosed up a long bike ride. So when it … Read More Here
Jumping Houses
We spent the morning of our second and final day skiing in France on the Courchevel side of the Three Valley’s Resort. As I mentioned yesterday, the ski area is really a collection of a number of resorts all seamlessly … Read More Here