Post #70977 by Humuhumu on Mon, Jan 19, 2004 1:51 PM

When I confessed to my very dear friend Patrick that I was nervous about setting out solo on my two-week road trip earlier this year, he sent me this story to cheer me up:

Don't be nervous. Just look at it this way: you could not possibly be worse at it than I was as a postdoc:

I used a case of oil to get to the bay area, in fact needed to stop for oil more often than for petrol. The only reason I remembered to stop frequently enough was that I was also drinking a case of beer and needed to get off the road to pee. The driver side door didn't work, and the passenger side door needed to be closed from the outside where you could lift it, otherwise the latch wouldn't engage. Since I wasn't flexible enough to climb out the window, I exited and re-entered via the passenger side. Upon re-entry, I rolled down the driver's window (passenger window
didn't work), re-exited, lifted the passenger door shut and then climbed in the driver's window (climbing in I could manage). The ignition lock rotated freely when you turned the key, so you had to reach under the dashboard and hold the housing.

A rear wheel brake fell apart once as I was driving: the shoes actually just slipped the spring and fell into the drum (horrible racket) (I pulled over, pulled off the wheel, reassembled the brake, and continued on). In order to use a turn signal, you had to wiggle the handle until you were
able to engage the switch's peg inside the steering wheel. Once, right before I entered the freeway, the steering wheel came off (I am not making this up).

Have fun!
Patrick