Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Being without a vehicle has been tough.

I joined ZipCar, the nearest station is only .5 miles from my home. But it is pricey. I attempted the bus, but my PTSD has been a barrier. Same holds true for ride shares.

A lovely group of folx have been offering me rides or handling chores that require a ride. I can’t thank them enough for their kindness and flexibility.

Now there is St. Gertrude aka Gertie. She is a 1991 Land Rover Defender. A good friend has lent her to me because she is an extra vehicle. How about that?

Gertie has a great backstory that I’ll flesh out in another post.

I picked her up on Halloween so its been three weeks. During that span of time, I went from nervous to feeling rather confident, not overly so.

So Gertie isn’t just an ordinary Land Rover. She was used in rallies throughout African nations (I’m only sure about Morocco so far.) Rallies aren’t races, they are more like a group of enthusiasts completing tasks such as climbing sand dunes or driving in rivers while transporting humanitarian aid. I’m sure there’s competition, but it is not a race. And they help each other when things go awry. I’ll learn more about that.

She’s a bright orange color – can’t miss her. There’s a roof rack that prevents me from parking in garages. The cabin is two seats and after market console that wiggles. There’s also a radio with a rear view camera. No interior light. Seat doesn’t move so I use a pillow for my back. Two cup holders circa 1991. Heat also circa 1991.

Gertie is a stick shift, a five speed with a floor shift. She’s completely manual including steering, windows, door locks. She has tremendous offroad features that I have yet to even look at too closely. The passenger door was rigged to only open from the inside to prevent car jacking. That’s both useful and a PITA for a shortish person like me.

The rest of the space is insulated with a cork like material. Also, no light. I can’t get into the back so I had to buy a step stool. There’s a secret compartment that rolls out – perfect for bags of cat good. A winch. Obviously a hitch. Anti-theft deterrents. Just so much interesting stuff.

Oh, she runs on diesel.

Gertie rattles and hums. Marie says she can hear me coming a block away. Perhaps sputters is a better term. But once she’s going, she’s going.

Driving Gertie is smooth actually. Sure sometimes I get a little out of sorts when shifting, but for the most part … it is fine. At least on the flat roads. I’m working me way up to hills. She climbs them fine. But it scares me a bit to go from a complete stop because she rolls back a little and I could crush a lot of cars. Or it feels that way. So I keep practicing.

Gertie also doubles as storage for donations of cat food. As you do with your Land Rover.

The best thing is the sense of freedom. I’m not trapped. I can go to the store or the pharmacy or just go anywhere (without a steep hill.) That has eased my mind a lot. I feel lighter and more independent.

Yes, I do like that she’s a cool vehicle. It is fun. Everyone gets out of my way. I get a lot of nods and steering wheel waves. She’s easy to find in a parking lot. My cool aunt factor increased a bit. Everyone wants to drive the Land Rover.

About the manual transmission. I learned to drive on a stick. My first junker car was a five speed. My first (and only) new car purchase was a five speed, a car I drove all over the Eastern states for ten plus years. It wasn’t hard to pick it up again. Not that I’m perfect -I occasionally stall and I can ride the clutch a bit. But I’ll get my groove. Listening to the transmission so I can shift is just natural.

My driving training was big on backing up using only mirrors. My Dad made me practice backing into our driveway over and over again on multiple vehicles. That’s proven to be a great skill. I park Gertie in our parking pad and haven’t run anything over yet.

There’s a lot of doodads and modifications to learn. I bought an adapter for the cigarette lighter – remember those – that has USB ports. A phone holder was already fused onto the dash, so I’m good with phone GPS, music, etc. I also purchased a head lantern to double as an interior light. Works like a charm.

So I’m driving a Land Rover. And I like it.

Stay tuned for chapters on Gertie’s history, my first time on the interstate, the heat in the winter, having to add windshield washer fluid and more …