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Happy Friday Y’all! Wow wow wow, how in the name of Pete is it August 30th???? Well, knowing its Friday and everyone’s looking forward to the long weekend… well North Americans anyways… I’m going to try to keep the round-up to the point! Then you can feel well informed going into whatever shenanigans you have planned for the next 48- 72 hours. First though - a super quick heads up that Clever Training US is running a 20% off Labor Day sale this weekend on a huge pile of stuff in thier 'Tent Sale', which does include a number of sports tech items (primarily in the $100+ section). For example the Polar Vantage watches are in there, Fitbit ACE Kids tracker, the CycleOps Hammer 2 (the H3 just came out yesterday, but still, it's a good trainer), the Garmin Vivomove, a Quarq DZero power meter, and the COROS APEX GPS watch. You'll get the discount upon checkout with coupon code LABORDAY. There's also shoes, Oakley's, and all sorts of other things. Free shipping for most things too.
First up, Ray made us all just a little jealous with his 3 day round up post “A Few Epic Days in the French Alps”. With a handful of new devices in his possession, off he went to the make the most of his 3 days, 2 nights without kiddos pulling at his shirt tail. The data, device testing opportunities, photos, and videos that came out of this trip really were fascinating. If for no other reason than to burn some Friday afternoon time, go check out this post for some travel eye candy!
Next up we have the Hands-on post for Wahoo adding Radar Support for multiple devices. I was surprised to see some commenters semi “poo-poo” this type of technology. But from my standpoint, any steps we can take to create a safer cycling environment is progress! Afterall, most of you reading here are not so lucky to be living in the cycling safety haven of the Netherlands. If Ray and I were living back on the East Coast in the USA, undoubtedly my bike would be kitted out with this system.
As you might have expected was coming, an update from Fitbit. While it’s not necessarily an “official” conference like EuroBike, MW, or SeaOtter, I feel like each year I get used to Ray buzzing off to certain events throughout the year. For me, I just automatically assume Ray is headed to NYC for a few days in late August without him even telling me. Anyways, as per usual, here’s the latest and greatest update from Fitbit. It seems now Fitbit is now playing nicely with Amazon Alexa.
Currently the blog is buzzing with interest from readers, and over what? The release of the In-Depth Review of the Garmin Fenix 6 Series that is. In general the Fenix 6 Series really seems to have it’s $*!@ together, Ray is impressed and commenters are also in agreement. Also, there are two tidy videos that might save you some reading time on this sunny afternoon, so look out for them in the YouTube section below. For those of you wondering, Ray comments that on the Fenix 6S they have reduced the size of the lug to lug section on the watch. I haven’t personally tried it on yet, so maybe when his EuroBike craziness calms down I can get my hands on the watch and get some side by side photos for you. Maybe I’ve just been wearing the 5S (non-Plus) for so long now the size doesn’t bother me anymore? But I do fall into the category of “tiny wrist person who likes big watches”. So, keep that in mind too. I’m sure more to come on this device anyways. Stay tuned.
Last but not least, heading into your weekend we have one more In-Depth Review to add to your reading list; the Saris H3 Smart Trainer. At first glace (sorry) I was scratching my head “who is Saris” and then the light went on, duhhhh, Saris is/was CycleOps! By the end of the review I get the feeling Ray is liking this trainer quite a bit, especially given the price point. Kudos to Saris for getting out in front of the EuroBike craziness that is about to ensue. I imagine we will see more than one other bike trainer announcement, so hold on to your hats (and maybe credit cards) before you start shopping. I’ll also put a little bit of friendly pressure on Ray to maybe get a trainer recommendation post out by the end of September as well. That way you guys can feel fully informed of what’s coming before the holiday season! Annnnnd that’s it the for week! Woot! Let us go see what other places you can find Ray spreading technology cheer around the internets. The FIT File with DC Rainmaker and GPLAMA: The FIT File podcast with Ray and Shane continues and on behalf of everyone, I have to say thanks for your support here! It seems you really enjoy the banter of these two going back and forth over the latest announcements and news in the sports tech world. I’m always wildly impressed with how natural Shane has slid into sort of the host of the show. From my knowledge he hasn’t ever hosted a radio show or worked as a commentator before... so yeah, it’s pretty awesome. You can listen for yourself and find the latest episodes of the podcast on a variety of platforms, iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify. As always, don’t forget to hit those subscribe buttons for updates… and to make Ray and Shane feel warm and fuzzy inside. YouTube YouTube has been on fire over the last week, and there is no indication of it slowing down! So, if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel for the most up to date notifications of new videos! · Fitbit Versa 2 with Amazon Alexa: Hands On- Top New Features Explained |
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In-Depth Thoughts from The Girl Hey Hey! Are you still with me? Or is it time to check out and head to happy hour? I’ll try to keep it short for you here today. First up, I’m always chatting with readers who casually mention/ask how can they best support the site. Or there are often comments after long reviews by readers saying “thanks so much for your review, how can I support the site”. This is a conversation Ray and I have every few months, how can we “do better” explaining to readers (some daily readers, and some total strangers to the site) how or where to support the site WITHOUT it becoming a constant commercial like programming for you guys.
Honestly your best and easiest “everyday” bet is to click on the Amazon link on the website (for your correct country) before doing your shopping. Toilet paper? Diapers? Books? You name it, it doesn’t have to be a sports tech product. Boom, that in and of itself is an awesome way to say thanks to Ray for his work. We thank you big time for taking the extra time to click over to Amazon via Ray’s website (or the buttons at the bottom of this newsletter!).
If you’re not into Amazon, or it’s not available in your country, you could make your next sports tech investment be a purchase via our partners at Clever Training, there is even a money saving incentive in it for you. Last but not least, you could simply just become a DC Rainmaker VIP Supporter. Or, you could be a super cool friend, teammate, significant other, and buy a DC Rainmaker VIP subscription for someone else as a present. Cool? Okay, hope that wasn’t too commercialized for you, I’ll move on now. It seems this time of year you could basically fly a heat-seeking drone over Amsterdam and you could likely find Ray. With the amount of work he has been cranking out, I would imagine his fingertips slamming into the keyboard would be producing the amount of heat comparable to nuclear power plant. It has been non-stop in the Ray-world since at least last Tuesday. I think I’ve clocked about 1 hour with the man since last Sunday, and I don’t plan on really seeing him again until September 7th or so. Genuinely I don’t know how he functions. Well, I do actually. Coffee, Haribo candies, and fresh pasta from Albert Heijn. Occasionally I’ll get the man to drink a glass of water. Please, if you see the man at Eurobike, please offer him a piece of fresh fruit or a vegetable slices?!?! I’m looking forward to the day the tech devices can call your BS on quality of sleep and nutrition. And possibly disable your electronic equipment until some data field of your over all health has been improved!!!
Yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Aren’t you the one who just baked him a belated birthday cake?”. Yes, and that was an exception. As for me? Yep, I’m still sitting for about 50% of my day on this “semi” bedrest state. I guess that’s cool, it would in fact be nice if Ray wasn’t in an RV at Eurobike when P3 comes along. So with that added pressure on my shoulders, I’ve agreed to sit, brought in family for back-up, have weekend babysitters hired, and so forth. But I am a tad bored, and the Chamonix pics from Ray’s travels last week didn’t help. Anyways, with my lack of exercise lately its obviously compromised my brain power. This has been the most disjointed and boring “In-Depth Thoughts” section I have done in a long time. So I’ll cut it off here and let you go enjoy the feeling of “Friday!”. As always, thanks so much for reading, we will see you here next week! ~The Girl |
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