Stick Shift
Monday, I got a start on my stick shift lessons. My practice car is my mom's awesome 1965 VW bug. It's charmingly simple, with these funky seatbelts that latch onto a hook between the seats (there are no seatbelts in the back, riders beware). The gas tank is under the hood at the front, and you have to kinda "guess" when it's full by looking into the tank to see how high the gas is. The gas gauge is broken, so you also have to kinda guess when you need gas. There's only one sideview mirror, and the top speed is about 60, so my parents almost never take it on the freeway anymore. But it is immaculately maintained, and sometimes they take it to a local classic car show.
The good thing for me is that my parents tell me it's one of the easiest cars with which to learn stick. After getting gas, my mom and I went to a flat, remote part of the neighborhood to practice. I already knew some of the basics - put it in first gear, clutch, then gas, while gradually letting up the clutch, then clutch, shift, gas, etc. - but it took a while for me to get the feel of how hard to press with my feet. I don't quite have the magic touch, and sometimes the car roared a little too loud if I didn't let off the clutch soon enough, and sometimes I was afraid to press the gas because the engine revving scared me a little. I also had to put most of my body into braking.
I also had trouble feeling when the car was in neutral. Sometimes I thought it was in neutral but it was really still in 1st or 3rd. I would jiggle it and think it was in neutral, but then I'd turn off the car and discover it wasn't. Thankfully, I didn't stall until the very end, after I'd driven up our driveway. Stalling in my husband's old car was a violent, bouncy experience that scared the crap out of me. The bug just kind of shut off, mercifully.
I wasn't as nervous this time, so I think this might be possible. Soon, I have to try taking it on a heavily trafficked road. Yikes!
No comments:
Post a Comment