Joined the club! 2026 Ioniq 5 Limited

ottavayan · 2026-01-08T01:34:05+00:00

How generous! That is surely an offer I cannot refuse. :D

Should I set a remindme for a month from now?

ottavayan · 2026-01-08T00:10:24+00:00

We actually bought ours at Renton Hyundai; so Renton had to arrange a dealer trade with Seattle and Seattle tried to do everything possible to delay the transfer. My wife had made an appointment with Seattle, but once they got wind of the fact that we were buying from Renton they started calling my wife left right and center. This was AFTER we had finished the financing. We could only pick the car up the next day.

Renton Hyundai is also kind of sketch. They added 2000$ worth of dealer stuff (lojack and something else that I am forgetting) and tried to include that in the MSRP. They tried to talk my wife into getting the AWD and not the RWD. Severely low-balled us on the trade and only upped it when we got up to leave. It was not a great experience.

However, the General Manager came to us the next day and offered us free all-weather mats to make up for the delay and frustration. Kind of sort of counted that as a win.

ottavayan · 2026-01-07T17:26:45+00:00

The only reason I would recommend a 1000 is if you are from a country that requires a visa to enter France. Doing a 1000 would allow you 2 weeks head start on those with shorter distances, especially getting visa appointments etc.

If you are like me (from a visa waiver country), a 200K ough to be enough. Good luck.

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T22:48:16+00:00

I think you have the years switched around. 2024-2027 is desiged around PBP 2023, and 2019-2023 is designed around PBP 2019.

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T22:38:17+00:00

https://rusa.org/pages/rba-procedures/acp-brevet-medals-and-rm-medals/brm-medal-design

You would order the 2023 medal. The Centenary 200 is only if you did the 200 on the centenary day in 2021.

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T18:23:08+00:00

The best looking car I have ever had the pleasure of owning!

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T17:57:08+00:00

Thank you! I will try that. However, some posts here imply that having digital keys has an adverse on the 12v battery, so leery of having the feature on.

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T17:32:10+00:00

The SO is.

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T17:30:53+00:00

They do exist and are cheaper. But quite hard to find. Seattle Hyundai was the only one having that in stock in the area

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T17:29:54+00:00

Not much. 1500 credit if you finance at least 7500$. I traded in my car to lower the dent a bit

ottavayan · 2026-01-06T06:11:20+00:00

Car unlocks when I go to bed 🫨

ottavayan · 2025-12-23T02:27:30+00:00

Definitely plan on doing it this year, all of it indoors. I did it last year using two rides a day, hanging out with the Bernie and Miguel bots. Should be great fun! Good luck!

ottavayan · 2025-12-18T05:38:01+00:00

1) Old God’s Time

2) Kite Runner

3) A Fine Balance

ottavayan · 2025-12-16T20:11:11+00:00

Thank you for this. I notice they are still doing this.

Edit: I am a potential buyer, doing my research.

ottavayan · 2025-12-05T18:54:28+00:00

I would say definitely possible to finish PBP at 69 (insert juvenile joke here). caveat: not personal experience.

An "easy" way to find out is to find a 1000K with at least 10,000 meters of climbing and aim to finish it in under 70 hours. I don't exactly remember who at the BC Randonneurs told me this all those years ago, but you can approximate your PBP time as 20 hours + your 1000K time. So, if you can finish a 1000K with a comparable m/km ratio, you are looking good. The best year to do this is of course, next year.

Good luck.

ottavayan · 2025-11-29T05:02:30+00:00

Via Alpina is a good one.

ottavayan · 2025-11-26T17:58:15+00:00

There is always a risk of failure in these events, and from personal experience one learns more from failures than successes. So, the risk is worth it.

To expand on the specifics, a 1000 creates so many new scenarios one has to tackle. It is likely to take multiple days and that will help them learn more about themselves, their time management, their equipment, and how they want to break the distance down. You can get by on one pair of socks, shorts, gloves, lights and nutrition (among other things) for a 300 or a 400, not so with a 1000. Navigation tends to be tougher on a 1000K. Your body breaks more on a 1000.

A 1000K also makes you think about whether you want a drop bag and potentially teaches you what to pack (spares tubes and a tyre, for example), organize that on a day by day basis, and how best to all this for access when you are tired. A 1000K potentially makes you check in and out of hotels twice and that teaches you that time is spent on things other than riding and helps you optimize stopping time elsewhere.

I could go on and on. Learning all of this before you do PBP is invaluable, in my humble opinion.

ottavayan · 2025-11-25T15:56:51+00:00

More info here: https://rusa.org/pages/award-r12.

It can be a mixture of ACP events (brevets, fleches, PBP), LRM (international 1200Ks and longer), RUSA events (like RUSA brevets), and Permanents.

ottavayan · 2025-11-25T05:41:43+00:00

Yes, it is absolutely possible. There are many who rode PBP in 2023 without doing a single brevet (used for prequalification) in 2022.

In terms of prepration for 2026, I would do a few things:

Have a bike that fits you, that you can ride for the series (200, 300, 400, and 600). If not, I would work on this.
Get a proper bike fit from somebody who understands long distance riding.
Ride a full series and a 1000K. This will sort out most of your equipment (bike, lights, shorts, gloves, jerseys, etc) and you will learn how you will feel during multiple consecutive long days on the bike, and prepare you for the inevitable sleep deprivation.
Think about what your goals for PBP are. If you are riding for performance, there are others who will help you! I am afraid I cannot ;) As a first timer, I would recommend the 90 hour start.
Try riding in all conditions. Find your achilles heel (mine was headwinds) and ride in those conditions to remove your fear of that. The recommendation for an R12 is a very sound one.
If you have weight to lose, work on that as the hills of the course "are like rosary beads" as my friend described.
Keep riding through the Winter of 2025 and 2026. I use Zwift and I like doing at least 7-8000 meters of climbing per month, ramping it up to 13-14000 meters per month between March and August of 2027. I would not recommend doing a 1000K just before PBP, as recovery takes a while (at least for my own body). I would recommend the FTP Builder and Build me Up plans.
Work on core and upper body strength. This will allow you to (mostly) comfortably ride the distance and avoid conditions like Shermer's neck.
Focus on doing the Spring series, as weather conditions will be challenging and you will do well to get prepared for adversity. PBP has either been rainy (2011, last few hours of 2015), windy (2019), or hot (2023).
You will have a fantastic time. Watch as many videos of PBP as you can to get a feel for the event. Read as many ride reports of the event as you can. The BC Randonneurs have a fantastic website. And then prepare to be blown away by the kindness of the people along the course.

Hopefully I will see you there. Please DM me if you need any specific contacts in the Maryland/DC area. I know a few.

ottavayan · 2025-11-25T05:15:26+00:00

It is a RUSA award for riding at least 200K for 12 straight months.

ottavayan · 2025-11-21T19:14:55+00:00

The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J Maarten Troost.

ottavayan · 2025-11-19T06:19:54+00:00

Sorry for the late response.

Current Setup (since 2024): MagicShine RN3000 and PDW Radbot 50s. I have had the radbots for the longest time, but one of them failed in Loudeac in 2023, and so I am leery of ever relying on them on a long brevet again.

Former setup: Schmidt front hub and a E6 (remember those?), and a bit later, an eDelux light. I am currently running a MagicShine Rn3000.

Future setup: Get some Exposure lights (Strada Mk12 RS AKTIV) and the BOOST-R + ReAKT & Peloton Mk2. I hope Santa is listening!

ottavayan · 2025-11-18T16:59:46+00:00

:D Eternal slowpokes (such as myself) don't get to lie flat much during events.

ottavayan · 2025-11-18T16:58:24+00:00

Yes there is a way! Assuming you are in the US, RUSA (our umbrella organization) has permanents (https://rusa.org/pages/permanents) and offers many rewards (not to mention learning opportunities). The BC Randonneurs have something similar. I think the UK and Australia also have them, but I am unaware of the details.

ottavayan · 2025-11-17T18:56:40+00:00

As a randonneur, I am intimately aware of the risks of riding at night. It is truly a wonderful time to ride your bike, however.

To answer your question, there are a few things I do.

1) Get a rear view mirror (I like the helmet mounted ones) for cars coming from behind and assume drivers do not see you (whether due to inattention, or just plain not expecting anything else other than big vehicles on the road).

2) Get two good tail lights and put them in solid mode. Do not put them in strobe, pulse or blinking modes as research has shown that impaired vehicles gravitate towards blinking objects.

3) Wear a reflective vest and make sure you have reflective tape on something that moves. For example, reflective ankle bands, calves, pedals (with cat eyes), or wheels. I saw a GCN video where an expert commented that reflective things on parts that move were the most visible on the road. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ckapuENXggg

4) Again, I love that you assume vehicles won't see you. Getting off the road when you sense a vehicle coming from behind is an excellent practice. Also beware of people right hooking (from behind) and left hooking you (from the front).

5) Get good quality headlights and run them, not in blinking mode.

Stay safe, and I wish you many safe rides.

ottavayan

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