I would like to preface this by saying that I do not know how to drive a manual car well.
Thanks to my good friend rob and a few hours in his car I had a pretty good idea of the concepts and how to shift, stop, and start. I learned all this on Monday of this week.
Fast forward a few days and I find myself on an thirty mile long island with 1500 feet of elevation change, That drives on the left side of the road with left hand drive cars. So I guess that means its time to drive stick for the second time in my life right?
It's all going well until we reach this switchback hill, which would be find if I had actually been able to drive up it, but instead there's a stop sign at the apex. Needless to say trying to go forward again I stalled the car. After about five minutes of trying to get going again I started to overheat everything. Smokes pouring from the radiator, the smell of burning clutch permeates every surface; With about five cars behind me it was about time to let my friend Sean take the wheel again.
After we got home, we did a bit more practice starting and stopping on hills until I felt a lot more comfortable. So comfortable that I drove to go pick up a friend from work. No stalling since, Though I'm sure that I will stall again. Good thing It's legal to drink and drive here on the Island because I'll need something to calm my nerves.
-Byron
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