Every moment is a learning opportunity when it comes to LuLu. Sometimes even surprisingly so. Up to this point, I’ve only ever driven a stick once and it was about a week before LuLu came home. Now that we’ve got her nice and tuned up and the weather is getting warmer, its time to learn to drive her.
I’m a pretty confident person. I assume that I can do just about anything I set my mind to. When I saw the shifter pattern diagram for the first time, however, I was absolutely shaken. It doesn’t look like any I’ve seen before. To then see everyone struggle in some regard, its safe to say it was pretty nerve wracking.
But guess what?
I did it! Learning to drive her was actually surprisingly easy – much easier than the first vehicle I drove. Once I got going, it was super easy to keep going. I imagine that’s most people’s experiences when learning to drive a stick.
Going is the hard part. Keeping on going is the easy part. I should put that on a poster. I think the difference between LuLu and my friend’s truck was that my friend’s truck’s clutch came about halfway up when you are shifting. LuLu, however, pretty much comes all the way up so I didn’t have to focus so much on where that sweet spot in the middle was.
I did have trouble with reverse, but I expected that. Literally everyone who has driven her has trouble with reverse. You see that diagram? You have to push down and then move it over, but the difference in location between reverse and 2nd is hard to find. That was actually probably the most exciting part, finding reverse. My mom even gave me a high five after we both struggled multiple times to find it.
Then, I drove her again later. And both times I had a car full of people. Thankfully, none of them judged me too hard! I think this means our adventure starts here.
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