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.
Tag Archives: Washington DC
Running from the police (Part II)
I was downtown (DC) today for a series of meetings and related stuffs, which is somewhat unusual in that I generally work from home. I had finished up my day and was heading out of a building and made it … Read More Here
Cycling and cupcakes
This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind, sorta like the time-lapse video I put together. Saturday morning was spent trying to catch up on sleep before heading down to Prince William Forest National Park to get in a solid … Read More Here
2009 Army 10 Miler Time-lapse
I went out earlier this morning to watch a bit of the Army 10 Miler race, which has over 21,000 folks running in it. I was also playing with a new digital camera, so I ended up creating this time-lapse … Read More Here
Weekend Part II – Just hanging around
Following a few days of triathlon related goodness in Luray, the Girl and I bailed back up into Shenandoah National Park to our mountainous hideaway for a few days away from it all. We stayed at Skyland (within the park) … Read More Here
Soccer, Sockeye, and Sights
Outside the realm of training, the weekend was also full of all sorts of other things. In particular, Sunday was rather busy…here’s a recap. Following a Sunday noon-time 4,100 yard swim, we rushed out the door and off to Fedex … Read More Here
A sporting weekend
This weekend turned out to be full of sports, and not just of the Cupcake Creation variety either (which, of course, is an official sport around these parts). But I see no reason to skip over the cupcakes.. As I … Read More Here
Per the schedule: “Rest and Recover”
Before we can get to the rest and relaxation part, we gotta get through the less than relaxing part. But it was pretty fun! Ok, well, actually, back to rest and relaxation first. Friday evening post-long-swim, the Girl and I … Read More Here
Washington DC ITU Pro Race Spectator Report
If you’ve been following along in the tri world you likely know that this past Sunday here in little ole Washington DC there was a major pro triathlon as part of the Dextro Energy ITU World Championship Series that’s stopping … Read More Here
2009 Washington DC Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Race Report
The first order of business in any triathlon is packet pickup, which I accomplished the day before downtown at the Hyatt. It as pretty cool seeing a number of the pro’s hanging out in the lobby, preparing for their race … Read More Here
Dinner with the First Lady
I feel like I should at least mention it, albeit briefly. Tonight, when The Girl and I arrived at the restaurant (Tosca) in downtown DC for dinner, we were met with Secret Service agents and wands to check us for … Read More Here
New DC triathlon race announced to go with ITU World Cup Race
I’ve heard about this for months and even had some e-mails with the ITU folks about it – and as of today, it’s FINALLY announced – The US Dextro Energy Triathlon. As many of you already know, there’s an ITU … Read More Here
Cherry Blossoms and gazillions of people
Every year about this time about 2,000 Cherry Trees around DC explode with little flowers. Not only does it seem to usher in the start of spring, but also the start of the main tourist season. I generally try to … Read More Here
Ya win some, ya lose some: National Half Marathon
I knew on Tuesday things were going to be rough. My HR’s were way higher than normal – both on and off the track. I was hoping I might slide by with enough recovery such that by Saturday things would … Read More Here
Packing your nuts
Tonight I handled a lot of peoples nuts. Thousands of them…and it was spectacular! Tonight Rob and I pitched in and helped with the National Marathon and Half Marathon setup. This is the same race we’re both running on Saturday … Read More Here
Cycles and Cupcakes
There are few things I like less than waking up early. I define early as any time before the sun rises, or any time before 10AM, whichever happens to occur first on that day. Saturday however brought a 10K race … Read More Here
The inauguration as seen from the masses
We survived. Which, is about as much as one hope for when you go fish with a few million of your friends. We walked a lot. About 7 or so hours worth of walking, standing, walking, more standing, and more … Read More Here
Run towards the buns
Saturday is all about the run. Run far, run sorta fast…but run long. So I did. Just shy of 21 miles worth of bank deposits in 2.5 hours. I was a bit unhappy though as I couldn’t get the speed … Read More Here
Wanna build your own bike path?
Over the last week and a half I’ve had the entertainment of watching various road/construction crews rebuild the bike path in front of my house. I have a ‘running path’ on the side closest to my house, and a ‘bike … Read More Here
A ‘relaxing’ loooong weekend
Well…that was the plan anyway. Sometimes things doesn’t exactly go according to plan.Post-Ironman is an interesting time. Once the initial muscle pain subsided I still had the general fatigue in my body. Just always tired, but not always sleepy. For … Read More Here
Enjoying the Taper
I continue to have more time that I know what to do with. So, I’ve been filling up the rest of the days will all sorts of fun things to keep me busy. Friday: After knocking out a mini-IT2 trainer … Read More Here
Touristica
After the century ride on Friday, it was time to clean up the pad and prepare for my parents to arrive painfully early Saturday morning. I spent the weekend (and today – Monday) running around doing all sorts of interesting … Read More Here
Boo-Boo and Bambi
Today…well today was a long day. I knocked out my first century ride. Technically 101 miles. Except, this wasn’t no flat-ground century. Nope, this was back up on Skyline again (in case you haven’t noticed by now – every one … Read More Here
Yogi!
In many ways, my weekends are somewhat predictable. Run, Swim, Laze Around, Sleep, Bike, Run. Repeat. But, I try and mix things up as much as possible to keep the routine from becoming stagnant. Saturday: I met up with the … Read More Here
Faux Race
This weekend was a solid mix of different stuff, not overwhelmingly busy – but just good-type busy.Saturday:At 6:53AM I was laying in bed deciding whether or not I wanted to join up with the running group to do loops around … Read More Here
Let the sun shine…and the rain pour.
Sometimes, you’ve just got to stop and enjoy the day. So I did just that. While last weekend inaugurated the warm weather back to DC, this week brought in the *nice* weather. Woohoo! After my 20 mile run and then … Read More Here
The Squirrels are out to get me
This weekend was chalk full of stuff. Let’s begin where all weekends begin…SaturdayA few weeks prior a local race director/triathlete (really good one) had e-mailed me asking if I wanted either into either the National Marathon or a local sprint … Read More Here