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: Tour de France
Team Car Ride: Tour de France Femmes Behind the Scenes (and Smart Trainers)
As part of the time trial stage, I was checking out all the sports tech goodness the women had on tap. If you remember from my previous post, I dove into the cycling power meters and other pieces. However, for … Read More Here
Tour de France Femmes: Behind the Scenes & Power Meters!
The women’s Tour de France is in full swing this week, and most notably, in my country of residence: The Netherlands. That’s made it super easy to check things out this year, on a few different stages – both … Read More Here
Tour de France Bike Computers & Team Zone Behind The Scenes!
It’s time to look at bike computers of the Tour de France. I finished up the video first, above, but haven’t quite had a moment to write up all the details yet. Though, in short it’s very similar to … Read More Here
Tour de France Behind The Scenes & Sports Tech!
The Tour de France is in full swing, and with it, a few days ago, the time trial stage. That’s always an interesting opportunity to check out which sports tech riders are using, such as bike computers, trainers, as well … Read More Here
Women’s Tour de France: Time Trial Behind The Scenes & Smart Trainers
The last stage of the 2023 Women’s Tour de France wrapped up with plenty of sports tech and other tidbits to check out. In the above video I walk through all the team bus/technical areas to see what’s floating around, … Read More Here
Tour de France 2023: Which Smart Trainers Do They Use?
In this video I dive into all the behind-the-scenes bits on time-trial day, including which smart trainers they use. However, realistically, it’s actually quite a bit more than that in this video. I look at an interesting new trend in … Read More Here
Tour de France Tidbits: When A Sticker is Better Than Sports Tech
I spend most of my time at the Tour de France looking at riders’ handlebars. It’s sorta my thing. Back many years ago we started seeing teams add stickers on rider handlebars with details of the upcoming stage, notably the … Read More Here
Power Meter Pedals In The Pro Peloton?
One of the most common questions I got after my ‘Power Meters and Bike Computers of the Tour de France 2023’ post is whether or not any teams were using power meter pedals, and if not – why not? To … Read More Here
Tour de France 2023: Bike Computers and Power Meters
The Tour de France kicked off again today, this time in Bilbao, Spain, with 176 riders and 22 teams. And thus begins the annual tradition to ferret out not just the sports tech gear these teams are sponsored to use, … Read More Here
The Bike Computers & Power Meters of the Tour de France
As with smart trainers, bike computers and power meters are theoretically fully sponsored on almost every team. However, in reality, that doesn’t mean that’s actually what those riders are using – something that came true this year in both categories. … Read More Here
Tour de France 2022: Which Smart Trainers Do They Use?
When it comes to the massive logistical challenge that is transporting a team and all their cycling gear across 21 stages and four countries for the 2022 Tour de France, one perhaps unexpected bit of gear is their smart trainers. … Read More Here
Strava Launches Tour de France Hub with Routes/Segments/Rider Uploads
Back a few months ago, Strava teased an upcoming Tour de France hub that’ll allow you to track riders, stages, segments, and more – for both the men’s and women’s races this year. Today, that new hub launches ahead of … Read More Here
Lachlan Morton’s Tour de France Alt Tour: How the Tracking Device & Site Works
(Lachlan Morton and his full self-supported setup, credit: Grubers) By now you’ve undoubtedly heard of Team EF Education First’s Lachlan Morton’s so-called ‘Alt Tour’. In short, he’s solo riding not just the entire Tour de France route, but also all … Read More Here
Behind the Scenes on Zwift’s Tour de France TV Broadcast, Plus Zwift’s New RaceView
Over the years I’ve often dug into the behind the scenes technical aspects of the biggest cyclist races in the world. From rider live tracking to the facilities that TV broadcasters use to get that race coverage to you. And … Read More Here
Virtual Tour de France & L’Étape du Tour on Zwift: Everything You Need to Know
Today ASO and Zwift have announced a Virtual Tour de France, which will start taking place this weekend with 23 Men’s UCI WorldTour teams, and 16 Women’s UCI WorldTour teams racing. The truncated event won’t quite mirror that of the … Read More Here
Tour de France 2019: The Trainers & Power Meters
Which smart trainers and power meters are the Tour de France riders using? Here’s all the details you wanted to know. Read More Here
Friday Tech Tidbits: Banning power meters at Tour de France, Polar Vantage now shipping, new COROS APEX GPS watch
Here’s your (occasional) round-up of Friday randomness within the sports tech world. These are items that I felt I wanted to provide a bit more commentary/detail on than just a quick one-liner note in my usual Week in Review post, … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017- The Finish in Paris
Ahh yes, one of the best days of the year for a cyclist living in Paris. No, actually, definitely the best day of the year for a cyclist living in this city. And this year didn’t disappoint! This was, I … Read More Here
Tour de France Behind the Scenes: How Dimension Data Rider Live Tracking Works
If you’ve been watching the Tour de France over the past week and a half, you’ve likely seen either the little gizmos pointing off the back of rider’s seats, or the constant stream of data on your TV about where precisely … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017 Behind the Scenes: Stage 6
Looks like there’s going to be a bit more cycling on the blog this week. At least for today. Don’t despair runners – there’s non-cycling stuff soon arriving! And if you like cycling? Don’t despair there either, almost more of … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017 Behind the Scenes: Stage 2
We left off yesterday with the first of my two weekend days at the Tour de France. Don’t worry (or maybe you will), I’m not going to all the stages. I’m going to pop in and out where it seems … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017 Behind the Scenes: Stage 1
This weekend was a whirlwind of time spent at the opening two days of the Tour de France. I took over 1,000 photos on the first day alone. About 100 of those ended up in my Tour de France 2017 … Read More Here
Tour de France 2017–The Trainers, Power Meters and Gadgets of the Pro Peloton
How quickly the 2017 season is moving forward. Back at the Tour Down Under doesn’t seem all that long ago, neither does the Giro d’Italia – yet it’s been almost two months since I was there. Still, it’s always interesting … Read More Here
La Course, Le Tour, and the Paris Finale–2016 Edition
While almost every day is a great day living in Paris, there are a few days that really take the cake: Bastille Day (Fête nationale), and the finish of the Tour de France. Over the last three years however, ASO/UCI … Read More Here
A Day at the Tour de France: Time Trial in The Mountains
While I typically get in a number of Tour de France stages each year, this year was a bit different with the arrival of our little peanut. The Girl went into labor a few hours before Le Tour began Stage … Read More Here