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/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!
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.
A Prague, Czech Republic Runaround
The past two days I’ve been here in the city of Prague, which is located in the Czech Republic. While I’ve been largely inside in a windowless conference room, I did briefly get to go outside during daylight hours and … Read More Here
A Queen Mary 2 Runaround
The past few days we’ve been floating along on a rather large boat. Technically more of an ocean liner, but still, it did float. The Queen Mary 2. Yes, a long lost but still rather close relative of the Titanic. … Read More Here
The Amsterdam Runaround
As a general rule for Runarounds, they tend to run…well…around something. Usually that’s a city. In most cases I start at the hotel and then make a big loop back to my starting point. In some occasions (such as in … Read More Here
A weekend enjoying a Spanish island
After zipping back from work meetings in New York City, The Girl and I caught a flight down to Palma de Mallorca (a Spanish island), via Barcelona. They are two relatively quick flights from Paris. The first about 80 minutes, … Read More Here
A London Runaround
After finishing up a day of meetings a little after 6PM, I zipped back to the hotel via two different trains in the London Underground (subway system). While light was slowly fading, I was able to make record time in … Read More Here
The Saint-Malo Fort Swimaround
Yes, I swam around a castle. Perhaps technically a fort I suppose, Le Fort La Reine. But in either case, no, it wasn’t in a moat (or a boat). When we arrived in Saint-Malo I figured I’d be able to … Read More Here
A Dublin Runaround
When I heard that I’d be going to Dublin about 40 hours after arriving back from nice sunny…warm…sunny…warm…did I mention sunny…Australia, there weren’t many positive thoughts in my head. There’s nothing wrong with Dublin – it’s just that (like my … Read More Here
A Stockholm (Sweden) Runaround
I’ve been in Stockholm for work meetings since very late Sunday night (actually, technically, Monday morning). My schedule had a 2hr 20min run on the docket, with the flexibility to place that either on Monday or Tuesday, depending on what … Read More Here
An Istanbul Runaround
While I’ve flown through Istanbul a number of times this year, this would actually be my first trip where I didn’t make an onwards connecting flight. Albeit true, I was only here about 30 hours. Still, in between my meetings … Read More Here
A Vienna Runaround
This was the runaround that almost wasn’t. But thankfully, the calendar gods parted just enough to squeeze in a run…but only barely. I arrived into Vienna late last night (Wednesday night), and was just here for a couple of meetings … Read More Here
A Warsaw Runaround
I arrived into a dark, cold, windy – and snow filled – Warsaw, Poland late Sunday night. But shortly after getting to my hotel room fourteen stories up I was already plotting my morning run the next morning. Luckily (well, … Read More Here
Norway in a Nutshell
I’m typically not a terribly big fan of organized tours. I like to get out, explore, and wander around a bit on my own timetable. Just the way I am. But in Norway without either a car or many days, … Read More Here
A Norwegian Runaround
There are few things I enjoy more than running in new places. It’s an easy way to check out ones surroundings and get a bit of exercise in – especially after travelling. After making the relatively quick 800+ mile trek … Read More Here
The Nuremberg Runaround: Flock of Sheep Edition
Since leaving London and the Olympics on Tuesday evening, I’ve been in Nuremberg, Germany for work (though in German it’s spelled Nürnberg) . It’s a relatively small little town, but it’s plenty cute and old world. The whole center of … Read More Here
A long ride from Paris
This weekend I was back in Paris, following up on a trip from a few weeks ago with a pile more meetings on Thursday/Friday. Given the opportunity to tie it into the weekend, I figured I’d forgo traditional American BBQ … Read More Here
A Paris night run from Notre Dame
(Quick Heads Up: REI has the Garmin FR610 down to $299 (with the heart rate strap, usually $399) on some sort of temporary sale. Thanks to all that sent this in. And, that particular REI link helps out the site … Read More Here
A weekend in Paris: Chocolates, Cycling and Running
On Friday and Monday, I had/have work related meetings in Paris, so I decided to make it a bit of a weekend, and The Girl came along as well. From the moment we got off the plane, we knew that … Read More Here
Hanging out in a Greek Olympic Stadium (a really old one)
The other night I was moving a bunch of photos from our Honeymoon around to a different computer when I stumbled on some photos from Athens. Once I got past all of the pictures of Gyros, Ice Cream and Souvlaki, … Read More Here
The Honeymoon: Part II
We left off yesterday with us leaving the Amalfi coast town of Positano. From there, we headed northbound on an assortment of trains via Rome, eventually ending up in a big long town that started with a ‘C’. I could … Read More Here
The Honeymoon: Part I
There were very few people who knew of our honeymoon plans. In fact, there was really only one who knew the entire plan…me. There were a few reasons for this – but mostly the simplest was that The Girl and … Read More Here
Time Capsule Trip Report: Flying the Concorde
In lieu of a current trip report (since I’m in the middle of my honeymoon), I thought it would be fun to go back a few years ago to a trip report I wrote for friends and family about a … Read More Here
The Not-So-Big-Fat Greek Runaround…and a side trip to Switzerland.
(Note: The results of the giveaway will be posted this weekend…after I sit down and sift through the 1,500 entries…that.might.take.a.while. A long while.) For those who follow along on The Twitter, you know that I’ve been bouncing around Europe the … Read More Here
A day of Chocolate in Zurich
After a long string of flights originating from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and visiting both Halifax and Montreal on our three-province tour, we finally arrived in Zurich, Switzerland. And while our stay in Zurich would be brief – only 16 hours … Read More Here
Zurich and a little run
I left Nairobi at 5 minutes to midnight on Tuesday night. My path would take us across the vast arid landscape that is most of northern and East Africa. About 7 hours and 24 minutes later, we touched down in … Read More Here