Pickle’s Perspective

Some props still need to get brought in tomorrow.  Here’s a sneak peak.  Go to the show this weekend at the Winnipeg Convention Centre to See this awesome display!

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1 | F1 wins will decide world title.

My first reaction is YIKES!

With the new rules, how many races you win will determine who wins the title.  Points will only matter for tie situations.   Although I think this idea is interesting, I fear that this year we will see a severe injury or fatality due to this rule. (continue reading…)

I was looking through old photos while preparing the last post on Dirt bikes and kids.  I found this old photo Circa 1994 of a youthful GermanPickle deadlifting a dirtbike.

This bonehead move was inspired by Scott Summers, an enduro racer in the early 1990’s.  He appeared in a 1994 issue of Dirt Bike magazine holding up his Honda XR650R in the same fashion that I’m holding this bike.  The Honda XR650R is a much heavier beast than this bike.

Once I found out I could lift bikes in this fashion, I lifted a few other bikes, including Kim Houde’s YZ250 and the CR500, the CR500’s owners name escapes me at this point.

One the weekend a friend of mine sent me a facebook link about a new law in the USA that has now effectively made dirtbikes illegal for children in the USA.

The deal is,  in the metal industry, steel alloys can contain lead.  The addition of lead to steel allows for easier machining as it reduces friction on the cutting surface and improves chip breaking during the cutting.    Once mixed, the steel and lead frame of a motorcycle would essentially need to be eaten to be of any harm to a person.   However, the lead content in this steel does exceed 600 ppm.  The law in question is the  Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

I think back at my childhood and, my dirt bike probably had a more profound impact on my youth, morals, and state of mind than you would think.  Yes, an inanimate object has shaped my life.  Does that make me pathetic? (continue reading…)

Many may know that I belong to the Porsche Club or America. one of the events we host is an autocross. We make our event open to all who wish to participate. I wanted to take a few moments to tell you all why I think you should consider autocrossing your car. Whether you have a Corvette, Neon, Prius, Yaris, or an RX-8 (Yes that’s you Brad!) doesn’t matter, an unlikely car can be the overall winner in an autocross, and well even if you’re not competitive there’s benefits to trying it at least once.   In this photo  Leo  of the PCA  takes his 1983 Porsche 944 through one of the gates  at the  PCA Autocross held on the Springs Church Parking Lot in Winnipeg. (continue reading…)

More and more people I know are taking the jump from point and Shoot to dSLR. I believe that dSLR is probably more common now than 35mm SLR was when I was a teenager, although this could be because the people I know have more disposable income now than when I was in my late teens.

Although I don’t consider myself a great photographer, I do know a little about photography, and I wanted to dispense some of this knowledge for those wanting to move to shooting with a dSLR. Afterall…. Wayne Gretzky’s coach wasn’t a hockey super star. (continue reading…)

First let me say that I’ve been riding dirtbikes since 1987 and street bikes since 1993. My experience ranges from racing motocross, to Ice Racing. I’ve driven street bikes with street tires through soft sand, and I’ve blasted dirt bikes down a snow filled gravel road. I think it’s safe to say that I have sufficient experience to discuss the topic at hand. (continue reading…)

Another riding season is about to start, and with that comes another rate hike from MPI. In fact my 2008 rates are up 17% from 2007. MPI is sending out 10% rebates to auto owners again, and many four wheeled vehicles are seeing reductions again. It’s no secret that the public insurer is trying to kill motorcycling in this province, but there are many reasons to encourage motorcyling. Here’s my personal list in no specific order. (continue reading…)

It never surprises me how inconsiderate some Winnipeg drivers are. I could probably do daily posts about driving habits and rants. Very few things annoy me on my commute than seeing a very typical Winnipeg driver trait. The speed up and block maneuver.

This didn’t happen to me, but rather the car in front of me. I’m driving down a divided multi-lane road, three lanes of traffic each direction. I am in the middle lane, and traffic appears to be keeping an average distance apart. The vehicle in front of me decided to move over to the right lane. There was a vehicle beside me, but there was clearly enough room to safely move over to the right lane without cutting off the vehicle in the right lane.

(continue reading…)

I wrote this article about a month ago for the newsletter that a car club I belong to publishes. My article was bumped by a similar official press release sent by PCNA (Porsche Cars North America.)

I figured I’d post the article on my blog instead.

Since 2005 there’s been talk about Porsche building a gasoline-electric version of the Cayenne. At the 2005 Frankfurt Auto Show, Porsche announced that the Cayenne Hybrid could become available by the end of the decade.

(continue reading…)