Wednesday 24 January 2007

It'll be a bit longer until I get the hang of reversing!!!

I've just woken up to see a blanket of snow...yikes...it's about 3 inches thick!!! Our drive is incredibly steep so I'm very glad indeed that I have the new car to get up the drive - because my little Mazda Mx-5 (which is sitting ignored on the corner of the drive) simply wouldn't be able to get to the top.

Yesterday I went with Adrian to have my trailer towing lesson. Forwards was no problem at all - you just need to keep over to the centre white line as the trailer is wider that the vehicle, and obviously go quite a bit more slowly (30mph on ordinary roads and no faster than 50mph on dual carriageways and motorways). You need to brake more carefully - beacuse obviously you don't want to throw the horses around in the back. When turning out of a junction - you just need to go a bit further into the road before you start the turn. Last year I drove a lorry and it's a bit like that...easy peasy!

Reversing, however is a whole other story!!! We got asked to leave a Golf Club car park (they had some very nice white lines to practise going straight!) You turn the wheel to reverse in a certain direction and the trailer goes the opposite way...a bit like trying to rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time. I was fine if I turned round and looked behind me - but using the mirrors was so difficult. Also if you move the steering wheel more than a gnat's cock - the trailer exagerates it massively. So you have to hardly move the steering wheel at all.

After about 3 hours my brain was tired and we had to give up - but I half-way got the hang of it, and Adrian has left me with 4 cones and instructions to find a deserted industrial estate car park on Sunday...and practise, practise practise!!!

And to answer Victoria's question - I DO NOT DRIVE MY CAR WEARING GOLD SHOES!!! Au contraire, I was wearing muddy boots as I am a real countryside girl and therefore should have a 4-wheel drive! It is not a "Chelsea Tractor" - but a very useful tool which we need to be able to get the horses to competitions. The fact that it has heated leather seats, and a 6 disc interchanger is totally irrelevant!!! I'll tell you what though, people stay right out of your way when you're driving it!!! Other vehicles wait patiently and give way to me all the time - it's great!!!

4 comments:

  1. I think that you have a reputation as a driver which causes drivers to want to avoid you rather than them being polite.

    Don't feel too bad about not being able to reverse with a trailer attached, women have terrible spacial perception. It's why they can't read maps/follow directions/find their way from A to B.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think that you have a reputation as a driver which causes drivers to want to avoid you rather than them being polite.

    Don't feel too bad about not being able to reverse with a trailer attached, women have terrible spacial perception. It's why they can't read maps/follow directions/find their way from A to B.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know that women have trouble with distances and sizes...that's why so many of us are conned into believing that 3 inches is actually 6!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know that women have trouble with distances and sizes...that's why so many of us are conned into believing that 3 inches is actually 6!!!

    ReplyDelete

Beautiful New life