718 Life.

Firsts? The first time doing something can be a nerve-wracking, scary, anxiety-inducing, whole-body stress-filling-nervousness moment, this I know. First time wet sanding your new car's clearcoat? Nerve-wracking. First time navigating a mountain pass at speed with sheer drop offs in that new car? Scary. First time driving up an uneven dirt road in that BRAND-NEW, extremely low-slung sportscar? Anxiety-inducing. First time taking her on the 'Ring. Next-level nervousness. All successfully conquered, giving you the satisfaction of having done something for the first time, and having it work out well. So, a new nervous first: a couple of weeks ago I plugged a puncture in a tire for the first time. I know, hard to believe in 41 years of driving, I'd never plugged a tire. But as far as I can recall, I've only ever had three flat tires and all were in the sidewalls of the tires and unrepairable. The most bitter of those was one in a brand new rear tire on the S2000, that nece...

Short and sweet. In the interests of keeping the pursuit of fun driving alive, I propose an 'intro' curvy road drive to some friends and they agree to take me up on it. I'll introduce them to you. Let's call them A and L. Heh. Each have been out on the track before, over the years, A starting with a Honda Civic and moving to an Audi S3 and a BMW Z4 3.0, often times together with me as I wrung out my S2000. A started young, like me - pretty sure we were at Mont Tremblant doing track sessions around the same time, long before we knew each other. L has been dragged into the fold, and enjoyed some track sessions with us now too, enjoying the S3 to its fullest - and beyond! A is the only person I had let (gleefully) drive the S2000 on the track ever, and so when the time came for that car to move along to a well-deserving home, to make space for 'Red', there really was no other choice that made sense - in 2023 A lovingly took ownership of the little red Honda rocket....

Hooray for weekends! Thanks to them, I'm starting to get to know the roads in my locale. At least the curvy ones to the west, within a couple of hours drive. Last weekend was a chance to connect up with my GT Silver Cayman S buddy and take a drive out for breakfast at the roadside diner near Griffith, ON. I figured I'd get a few more kilometres of life out of my front Michelins before I change them out for fresh ones this week - they definitely have worn out less than the rears, but as they are getting close to the end, and there's a fresh set waiting at my mechanic's, swapping them seems like a good idea. But one last little jaunt out for some curvy fun was on the cards, so I Google-mapped up a route for us that did a bit more exploring. There's not a lot to choose from in this area with respect to twisty roads, but finding new ways to get to the ones I do know is a pleasure. This time I charted a highway-avoiding path up through Packenham, up to Calabogie Road and...

A quick update today. Just got the Boxster back from The Wrap Factory , where the excellent fellows there did a quick PPF job on the rear of the 718. Specifically just aft of the rear wheels. You might not have known it, but there is a high degree of scuffing that happens back there with dirt and debris kicked up by the massive rear tires. Last year we had DIY'd putting pre-cut protective film on the GTS Chronicles Cayman, and it had turned out well, even if wrapping the edges was a bit of a pain in the butt. Surface preparation is key, and we had done a good job cleaning, polishing and touching up the surfaces before we applied the film. More than a year later, it's holding well and doing the job it's supposed to do. Unfortunately, we never got back around to doing the Boxster in the same manner, and I put another summer's worth of driving on it before finally getting around to it. Wish I'd made it a priority before, as there was quite a bit of 'rash' that...

Summer vacation. A time to throw off the shackles, turn off the (depressing) news, step away from all of those daily responsibilities, and just relax. Maybe it's a cottage rental. Or an all-inclusive getaway to the south (although really that feels more like a winter break thing here in then-frozen Canada). Or perhaps it's backpacking into the wilderness, and spending the night under the stars. Some people like to jet off to Vegas, while others just like to spend time in their backyards, saving money and eating BBQ every night for a week. This time around it was another trip to my folks in New Brunswick, a story I've told before. This time with a little bit of a twist to try and keep things interesting, a longer visit was planned, which gave me more opportunity to play with the Boxster on some previously-unexplored back roads in southern New Brunswick. The weather cooperated pretty much the whole time we were there, so I had many short trip outings to put a smile on my face...

"Belt up!" A rather British saying, meaning - nicely - "be quiet" but probably more accurately, "shut up!". But I use it in a more 'prepare-to-launch' fashion, as in "Put your seatbelt on, we're about to take off!" Because 'take off' is what the 718 does. It doesn't take much pedal input to launch the Boxster off the line, and rapidly you find yourself grabbing for second gear without really even thinking about it. Lovely. Being a bit fastidious about my red beauty, I saw something the other day. Or rather I heard something: a little scritch, scritch sound. Now car interiors are the worst place for annoying squeaks and rattles, niggling auditory 'splinters' that burrow their way into your consciousness, especially on a long drive. With my traditional summer drive to NB planned starting tomorrow, I had to get this travesty dealt with, otherwise I'd have a 1000+ kilometres of annoyance plaguing me. After some exp...

Thursday. After work. The sun is out, with a bit of cloud cover and a pleasant temperature. No thunderstorms in sight, and the forecast is clear and dry all evening. What better time than to wrap up work for the day and meet up with a certain Carmine Red Cayman? The brief? Go and check out "Norton Road" out Calabogie way. We'd spotted it before, but hadn't yet sampled that bit of Eastern Ontario / west-of-Ottawa pavement. Meeting up at a local mall parking lot, we make a rough plan to head out of Ottawa, avoiding the highway. It takes about 30-40 minutes to leave the dull straight roads behind and at least get into some gentle curves west of the city, so why not at least get off the truck-haven of the 417 and use the side roads to make our way? After a quick pre-drive clean up, I'm ready. After all, you can't go out in public not looking your best, right? It's a perfect late afternoon for the Boxster. The top is down and will stay that way for the next fou...

Is that a CRV in the lead? Look closely. What do you see? A sunny day? A straight road? Some Porsches? Look closer. That's right. A morning drive with some Ottawa P-car friends out to some curvy roads just west of Ottawa. And no, we aren't stuck behind some slow-as-molasses SUV. Not this time. Leading the way in his trusty Honda CRV is our very own @alavigne . You see, the morning roads were still damp from all the rains we've been having, and the factory Pirellis on his Cayman GTS are worn down to practically being race slicks, so he didn't want to risk it out there. Never one to be put off by a little hiccup though, he took it upon himself to be the best lead vehicle possible. I've not followed an SUV handling curves quicker, that's for sure, and I'm certain he was enjoying the challenge of not being too much of a hinderance to the three gorgeous 718s behind him. For fun, to spiritually bring the Cayman along with him, the safety car driver* had one of the...

What are weekends for? Too often we find ourselves 'catching up' on the things we didn't manage to get done during the week.  Lives are so busy these days (maybe they always were) that it seems to get increasingly hard to carve out time to follow our non-productive pursuits. There's always something that needs doing; a lawn that needs mowing, groceries to get, fixing that loose door hinge, re-grouting a tiled floor, you name it. It's about maximizing the enjoyment times that come in between all of the 'have to do' things, isn't it? Granted, trying to enjoy all the mandatories is something I strive to do, but sometimes drudgery is just drudgery. That's why I spend lots of time trying to get through the things that need to get done during the week, so that I can then enjoy some of the things I really enjoy doing and not be feeling guilty, or pressed for time come the end of the week. I'll throw a load of laundry in while washing the dishes in the e...

I did a thing today. A subtle homage to my S2000; those in the know will know. I didn't quite get the angle right in the Porsche photo today, but you get the idea. I still marvel at how low the hoodline is on the S2000; how the Honda engineers managed to tuck that double-wishbone setup in there and give the car it's wonderful 'rake'. Side-by-side the two cars are strikingly similar in some ways, and truly different in others. Overall though, the Boxster is the more 'muscular' design - more beefy in the fender flares and rear haunches.  The front clip is altogether more aggressive, and unlike the S2000, the openings serve real purpose, channeling air into the three (three!) radiators. It's cool to see the colors side by side. The S2000's 'New Formula Red' is much more 'Guardsy'. Would have been a highly satisfying choice for the the GTS Chronicles for sure. But the optioned-Porsche colour is so rich in person - a deeper, redder, red, with...

This week was a lesson in striking while the iron is hot, or rather perhaps not striking. I struck when the airfares were good and the weather was bad, and I booked myself a trip out east via Air Canada, instead of via Air Porsche. By that I mean I flew to visit my folks instead of taking the red machine. When I booked the trip, April sunshine seemed an eternity away, and fresh dumpings of snow had threatened to make a springtime East Coast drive miserable, and probably not even viable. Of course, my luck being what it is, the weather in New Brunswick for the week I was just there was beautiful. Perfect convertible driving weather, with sunny and high cloud days, no precipitation, and lovely moderate temperatures. While the Boxster sulked at home in the garage, I endured four aborted takeoffs on two different flights (not that I'm complaining as I'd rather those pilots were overly-cautious). Of course that led to long delays with connecting flights. Misery. At some point, sitti...

Thursday, August 10, 2023 It's travel day, and final pack up in the morning which goes OK. We have to shuffle things around between bags to make sure that the checked bags will come in underweight. Worst case scenario we will obviously have to deal with it at the airport but for now we feel reasonably confident. We grabbed the shuttle to the airport, with a very nice and chatty driver who is interested in our trip in our observations. Very pleasant. Then it's lineups and waiting to get the big bags checked, which we have a little bit of difficulty with as the Air France lady says the weight is fine but the length is too long. We point out to her that in over 20 years of travelling with these exact type of duffle bags, we have always been fine. And besides, we flew to Europe on Air France no less, without any problems whatsoever! Anyway, after some re-jigging of the duffle and some tightening of straps we get them accepted without the €250 per bag overcharge for oversize!!!! Now...

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 It's a super early start at 3:30 AM to drive to drop the cars off, as we have a ways to go and we have to get there by a specific time. The first part of the drive in the dark is misty and rainy, tricky, but the  headlights are really impressive. Definitely the best of any car I've ever had. We breakfast en route, as we are keen to make good time, though  construction on the Autobahn makes the lanes narrow and dicey at times. I see a large truck come awfully close to Andrew ahead of me at one point, and he backs off rapidly stay clear. Yikes.  We reach Sindelfingen in time to be able to give the cars a proper wash, before the shipping broker. Important to do, I think, as they are grubby and particularly coated in brake dust. We definitely want to get that off before the cars sit in transit for several weeks. Who knows whether they wash them before shipping or not. We highly doubt it, and we don't want to take that risk. With the cars reasonably c...

Tuesday, August 8, 2023 Today is our last day at the Nordschleife but we will make the most of it! First things first in the morning, it's time to check out the Nurburgring museum. It's in the main complex right next to the Formula One GP track and it is very good - lots to take in. I'd venture to say it is better than the Porsche museum; not as big for sure, but the stories in it speak to me a little more. And maybe because it's not only about cars but also about people.  There is an extremely moving video tribute and installation for Sabine Schmitz, "The Queen of the 'Ring". Once again, I find myself getting choked up. Lots of emotions near to the surface on this trip! The whole complex is a huge facility geared around the Grand Prix, complete with car dealerships even - makes Montreal look decidedly second rate (tho to be fair, the Montreal racetrack is way better!). Ironic, as this massive facility is currently not used for Formula One. The last F1 rac...

Monday, August 7, 2023 I wake up and immediately make a conscious effort to push the rather downer track experience of yesterday out of my mind. Here we are at the Nordschleife at last and I am bound and determined to enjoy it. Helping with that is the fact that it's looking like a nice day for the later part of the afternoon when we are scheduled to go on track. Yesterday was just a little too nervy in the rain for me with those grip levels, and I'm glad we only did a feeler lap. It's an easy morning, and I rise late while Andrew works on his laptop creating more awesome GTS Chronicles Instagram content. He's really gotten into it in a big way, and it's a great way for us to share a little bit of what we have been experiencing. We visit the grocery store to get supplies for the day and the price relief is palpable as things are WAY more 'normally' priced here than in Switzerland jeez. Breakfast buns, yogurt, fruit and milk for coffee. Perfect. There's a...