Session 14 Debrief: Solved the Shifting Problem

I was about to take the car out last night to run a few city laps. The broader objective was to get the signal checking and gear shifting right.

However, a friend called up a couple of hours earlier to suggest a morning drive would be better. 

I concurred and decided to wait another eight hours.

The drive began a little late in the morning. Fortunately, I have the weekends off.

Session 14 Recap

We went out to the outskirts of the town. Overall the drive was smooth. I checked the mirrors appropriately and shifted gears at the right instant. Additionally, I held track position in relatively narrow streets by maintaining pace.

While most shifts were smooth, there were a couple of instances when I messed things up.

The shift from second to third once took me to fifth. And a shift from third to fourth took me to the second one.

As anyone can imagine, this is a huge error when driving. The engine could stall in the middle of the road as I panic out of my mind. Alternatively, I may not increase my pace as interpreted, which will stress the engine up due to high revs and lose track position.

We stopped after picking a spot and filled the windshield sprinkler tank with water. The return trip was driven by my friend. I took over the wheel as we neared my house to practice parking the car once more.

I did require some directions, but felt comfortable turning the car while the proximity sensors went off.

Area of Improvement

There is a major impediment in my driving at the moment — shifting.

My buddy offered a simple solution — go to neutral first.

Up and down from that position will get you third and fourth. When shifting to first and second, I will just push the stick toward the left and while selecting the fifth, I will pull it right.

It is quite likely that my next driving opportunity will come tomorrow morning. Before the session begins, I will try a few dry shifts and then attempt to implement my mate’s advice in the practice run.

Moreover, for the remainder of the month, I mustn’t worry about adding any more sessions to my schedule as they may come naturally, considering another friend will be joining us. He is particularly fond of quick morning drives, so there’s that.

Looking Forward: Putting Things Together

Things have been quite hard since 2024 and 2025 will be harder albeit in a different way. Six months ago, I was bent out of shape and now I am seeing a glimmer of hope that circumstances will improve over the upcoming months.

Buying a car and learning how to drive is an essential life skill that I should’ve developed a few years ago. But that’s just life and better late than never.

Plenty of additional strategies are in progress related to my content creation efforts, career, and life in general. Thankfully, I integrated the car and driving element amid all that chaos gracefully.

The remaining ten months (almost) of this year will be mostly spent in working. Whether it is exercising, writing articles for our agency’s clients, or creating content to develop my portfolio, I will be occupied throughout the year.

Godspeed.

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Next Chapter: Session 15 Debrief: One Crash, Two Stalls, Three Friends

Previous Chapter: Session 13 Debrief: By the Sea

Index (with Prologue): The Path to Driving License

Session 4, as per my notes, are yet to occur