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.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 and Equipment 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! 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 2023 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.
Tag Archives: Seattle
A Few Days of Christmas in Seattle
So I’m running a wee bit behind on getting posts up, as I’m currently underwater with Consumer Electronics Show (CES) related prep posts for next week. But I figured I’d fill in some of the non-tech things that we’ve been … Read More Here
The Paine Field Runaround
I’ve been heads down the last few days concurrently writing a bunch of upcoming reviews for the next few weeks – so we’ll keep today’s post somewhat short so I can go back into the abyss of processing photos and … Read More Here
A week of swim, bike, run in Seattle
I sit here climbing away from from Seattle, with Mt. Rainier off to my left. It’s been a rather sunny week here this time, I think my 3rd trip to Settle in the last 3 months. Apparently it’s been sunny … Read More Here
A really cold swim in Seattle
It should first and foremost be pointed out that I don’t particularly enjoy openwater swims where the temperature of the water is colder than that of an iced beverage. Yet somehow, I keep getting myself into these situations. Obviously the … Read More Here
A weekend building a (cardboard) boat before the Super Bowl
I’ve got meetings this week in Seattle, so Saturday mid-day I packed things up in Paris, connected to a flight in London and flew 9 hours to Seattle. I love these flights – the early-mid afternoon departures from Europe where … Read More Here
A weekend in Seattle playing with the Garmin Fenix and other gadgets
Important Note: I’ve published a full-scale Garmin Fenix In-Depth review (13,000 words!) over here at this link. The below were initial thoughts on beta hardware with highly beta firmware. Specific hardware changes were made since then to address some altitude … Read More Here
A bit more than a weekend in Seattle
For roughly the past week I’ve been hanging out in Seattle for work. Of course, since Seattle is where I grew up – that also means I get to spend time with the rest of my family, and enjoy some … Read More Here
Fitting it all in: Work, Run, Fly, Blog
On Sunday evening I realized that Monday was going to be a bit of a whirlwind day – starting on one coast, and ending on the other, so I figured it might be a bit fun to simply put together … Read More Here
The Seattle Century 2011 Ride Report
Since my triathlon season has largely transitioned to running for the rest of the year, I was able to mix things up a bit and enjoy doing a fun century ride with my Dad while I was out in Seattle … Read More Here
Loops around the track and airport in Seattle
This week my workouts have largely been centered around my hometown in Mukilteo, WA. I’ve been out here for work all week, but I stay with my parents and do all my workouts in the area near my house. For … 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
A brief tour of my hometown…Mukilteo, WA
While the initial driver of my weekend at home was my 10 year high school reunion, and then the Kirkland Sprint Triathlon – I was also looking forward to showing off a bit of my hometown to The Girl in … Read More Here
Kirkland Triathlon 2010 Race Report
With the past week as busy as it was travel-wise, I really had no idea what exactly to expect when it came time actually throw-down at Saturday’s race. Luckily, the distance was a sprint – otherwise I suspect the week’s … 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
Christmas in Seattle
We made the 2,306 mile aeronautic trek into my hometown of Seattle late Tuesday night (well, actually, my hometown in Edmonds…but those are just details). After a short weight at the baggage claim for our bags, we were off to … Read More Here
It’s getting hot in here
The good news is that I didn’t have to run. The bad news is I still had to bike…on the trainer…without a fan…indoors. And thus was the start to my birthday, a nice 65 minute trainer ride on little red … Read More Here
Tour de Seattle
It’s getting hot (in) here…perhaps my new bike shorts has contributed to the record temperatures here in Seattle. Either way, it hasn’t stopped my training. Though this is a recovery week (well timed to a travel week), I’ve been busy … 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
Back to the track…and Seattle.
The last few days in Seattle have been great. I’ve been out here for work, but I’m able to get a ton of non-work things in as well.After arriving Monday afternoon I swung downtown to pickup my relevant conference speaker … Read More Here
The Trifecta
Yesterday was a busy-bee day here in Seattle. I had three sports planned, plus a full day of work sandwiched in between.It started off with a hour long bike ride out to Alki point and back (from downtown along the … Read More Here
Pushing through a 95MPH Headwind
I’m sitting here at 36,000 feet and cruising across over endless farmland with a solid 100+MPH headwind, working our way towards Seattle for a quick 48 hour set of meetings. I’ve traded a very wet (and warm) Washington DC, for … Read More Here
Pool Frustration
Grr…I’ve never had this much trouble trying to get in my swim workout. Normally I swim Wednesday/Friday/Sunday. This week I’m out in Seattle for work related stuff so I’ve converted to running/biking around Redmond and on the Burke Gilman trail, … Read More Here