dods gigs + other things

Ladies Driving Challenge – Sunday 16^th September 2007

I had spent the last few months raising money for this challenge. The minimum sponsorship was £95, but I was really chuffed with the £260 that I ended up with! All the money was going to ChildLine.

We drove down to Edinburgh in the pouring rain (a challenge in itself!) and arrived excited about the day. I got kitted up in my overalls and ChildLine t-shirt (which was unfortunately hidden by the overalls!) and waited to be called. Luckily the rain had eased a bit by the time we got outside, so we didn’t get too soaked walking between vehicles.

The first up was the Double Decker Bus. It looked quite daunting as I walked up to it, and I’m not the most confident driver at the best of times. The bus instructor was a nice chap and was really helpful. I settled into the seat and he pointed out all the controls. I asked whether to put on my seatbelt and he pointed out that buses didn’t have seatbelts on! Crazy! The bus was fully automatic so basically all I had to do was stop, go and steer. Near the beginning I tried to break and ended up screeching to a halt which sent both the instructor and Dod flying! Oops! It wasn’t too hard to drive, the steering was the hardest part as the axle is far behind the front of the bus which means you turn much later than you think you should.

Next we headed over to the Articulated Lorries. They had gears, but were virtually impossible to stall (so we were told). Driving it around was ok, I was a bit jerky to start off with. It didn’t feel like a heavy vehicle. Going through puddles was weird as you couldn’t even tell that they were there, whereas in a car you’d hear and see the water. I stunned the driver by stalling when I finished, but we were supposed to stop anyway so I guess it didn’t matter!

Next up – Fire Engine! This was great! The fireman was really helpful, and I was very pleased when he asked me to put on my seatbelt. I said that he was the first to get me to do it and he pointed out that he’d had too many occasions of cutting people out of cars not to use one. Sobering point. As I started the engine the seat rose up – it was so that drivers weren’t thrown about if they went over dips at high speed. We set off and I noticed that it felt heavier to drive than the other vehicles, but on the straight parts you could feel the power. It was fun to drive and easier than the others, plus you got an idea of what it would be like to drive fast. Some girls put on the siren, I was concentrating too hard to think about putting it on!

We got a lift over to the next area, which was the JCB diggers. We didn’t drive these, but got to dig a hole instead! They were very much about hand/eye coordination, and I think my hours of playing on games consoles helped. Each hand had a lever – one controlled the arm by moving it left and right and up and down. The other moved the scoop and lifted the arm up and down (in a different way!). The guy instructing me was very funny and had a giggle. He said I was the best at it he’d seen all day, but I’m not sure if he said that to everyone! I was quite proud of my neat hole I did though!

Lastly we had the Quad Bikes. Now I hadn’t been that excited about this as I used to instruct Quad Biking to kids, and doing it every day took the fun out of it. However these bikes were much bigger and more powerful than I had ever used, they even had gears. The other two women I was with both backed away when asked if they wanted to go first, so I leapt on and gave it full throttle… it was great! We were told the bikes would go up to around 45mph on tarmac down hill. Our track was muddy and round corners so I don’t think I got near that, but I certainly gave it some welly and had a whale of a time! I splattered mud all over me, and even caught up with the lady who went on the bike behind me. I could have gone on for ages!

So that was that. I enjoyed myself, even if the first two vehicles weren’t up my street. The others certainly made up for them! And I won’t complain now when bus drivers bump the bus around, I know how hard it is to drive them smoothly!

So what can I do next for charity…?!

more pics at  http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f67/upsetter/sally%20driving%20challenge/?start=all