Tour du Nord IV - February 2008

[MinorRoadsKill]

As you may recall, I pledged to practice driving a manual transmission before next year's rally.

Ann, myself and the two kidlets just got back from a week in La Ceiba, Honduras, where I rented, yes, a manual.

Driving in Latin American cities is usually quite challenging, but fortunately La Ceiba falls on the easier end of the spectrum. Nonetheless, I found myself out of my depth in stop-n-go traffic, where any hesitation or the leaving any gap reveals a weakness to be quickly preyed upon. What fun, kids crying in the back, stalling on the main road, snarling traffic, buses and trucks immediately pulling out to flow around me on either side... and we won't soon forget the scores of lunatic bikers and apparently suicidal pedestrians, not to mention the complete lack of road signage. Thank God it isn't a mountainous city, or there could have been carnage.

Somehow, we survived, without incident. I can't say that I'm ready to keep up with George's 80mph in blowing snow in Newfoundland, but I am a little closer.

Ross

[NoNo]

See, when I learned stick, I made sure I wasn't in a foreign country. Tends to reduce some of the stress. Just a thought.

[ravioliworld]

I was sort of relieved that they gave me an automatic during my Scotland trip last month. First day was pretty scary, with the rain and the driving on the wrong side. After a week, I was wishing I had a stick. Funny thing was, the rental guy pulls up and say, it's an automatic, are you able to drive one?

[NoNo]

Um, put my foot on the gas and steer?

[Oldpaint]

When I was learning to drive fork lifts, the only one I felt comfortable on was the ancient one with a manual transmission. I didn't have to look at my feet to go from forward to reverse. (On automatics the forward or reverse is selected with your right foot)

[MinorRoadsKill]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoNo (original)

Um, put my foot on the gas and steer?

I'm sure the difficulty of transition between habits is highly asymmetric, but an automatic is quirky since it rolls when you take your foot off the brake, given that neutral is mostly superfluous.

If I've been driving my (manual) tractor for a couple hours and then immediately jump in my car, it takes a couple minutes to get used to the automatic again.

[NoNo]

Oh, now that I'm used to stick, I'm absolutely fumbling around when I get into an automatic. Not that I don't know how to drive it, but my left foot is looking for something to do. I usually stomp around a few times while trying to start the car before I remember there's no clutch.

[ravioliworld]

Left foot stomping is fine on startup, but I did that once rolling up to a stop sign. Left foot went down hard, hilarity ensued. Good thing nobody was behind me.

Another funny thing about driving right-hand drive, was the pedals in the car don't line up correctly. Here, the gas pedal is usually buried in the right hand corner. Other there, there was a lot of empty space to the right of the gas pedal sort of like the dead pedal space to the left of the clutch. It was weird. I'd put my foot on what I thought was the gas, and I'd go nowhere.

[Oldpaint]

Good point.
When driving my right hand drive Super 7, there is no place to rest my left foot as the clutch pedal almost touches the transmission tunnel.

[MinorRoadsKill]

Quote: Originally Posted by ravioliworld (original)

Another funny thing about driving right-hand drive, was the pedals in the car don't line up correctly. Here, the gas pedal is usually buried in the right hand corner. Other there, there was a lot of empty space to the right of the gas pedal sort of like the dead pedal space to the left of the clutch. It was weird. I'd put my foot on what I thought was the gas, and I'd go nowhere.

I always wondered what right-hand drive pedals were like. My nightmare would be finding that they reverse the order of pedals.

[NoNo]

But that would almost make more sense, since everything else is reversed, too. I think I'd be more thrown off by the fact I'm using my left hand to shift, but still using my left foot to hit the clutch. I didn't drive when I was in England, but I immediately felt "normal" sitting in the car. I think you'd adapt more quickly than you think.

[Oldpaint]

Shifting with my left hand for the 7 and right hand for the MINI lets me keep the shift patterns straight.

[uptick]

I have no idea how I got on such mailing list, but is it coincidence that I received in the mail today a bunch of post cards from Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism - promoting HIKING there?

Forget about the Air Canada insert. When we go to Newfoundland, we motor there.

[MinorRoadsKill]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoNo (original)

But that would almost make more sense, since everything else is reversed, too. I think I'd be more thrown off by the fact I'm using my left hand to shift, but still using my left foot to hit the clutch. I didn't drive when I was in England, but I immediately felt "normal" sitting in the car. I think you'd adapt more quickly than you think.

No, no.... definitely no.

Shifting - of course, I shift a lot less using an automatic - doesn't come anywhere close to the muscle memory built up for the pedals. Reverse the pedals, and someone will die at my hands, er, feet.

[MinorRoadsKill]

Quinn turned 2 yesterday, the same day that the average price of gas in Canada topped $5/gal

In places like Lab City, it's more like $5.50/gal