Right Means Left

Had a nice run out into the countryside today -- I'm getting used to the 9-speed, trying to embrace a 'new truck' after growing so comfy with the 10-speed. What's the big deal, you ask?

In a 10- speed, you begin the pattern, selector down and the gear low and inside -- 1st. 2nd up, 3rd down, 4th up, 5th down. Selector up. Move over and down for 6th.

In a 9-speed, it's closer to your H pattern car. Selector down. 1st is up, 2nd down, 3rd up, 4th down. Selector up. 5th over and up. 

When you're new, the shift pattern change is tough to wrap your head around. Most of the other students are "car guys" and even they have trouble. My Sweet Babboo despairs of ever teaching me the difference between a '63 Cadillac and '69 Cadillac. Grills. Lights. Fins. blah blah blah. Do they have airbags? That's what I want in a car. Airbags, crumple zones and good engines.

Anyway, we spent most of the day working on backing up the trucks. The primary difference between a class A and a class B or C is the ability to reverse a tractor trailor. Honest.

If you want to push the trailer right, you steer towards your left. My trainer-gurus have a great way of simplifying -- if you're trailer is drifting right, steer right. In other words, they focus on where you don't want to go. Strangely enough, that works. Quite well.

I have a tendency to get in my head and overthink things. (Surprise!) ... I'm-a-werkin' on that.