This is Randy. Dena has done a great job documenting our adventure. She has learned so much and stuck with it when it would have been much easier to just give up, especially when she was so sick.
To what she has written, I might add that they separate husbands and wives for the in town training but keep them together for the 30 and 60 day out of town training phases. Now that we have completed the in town training we should be together the rest of the time. That is important to us. The weird part will be when we start driving together. I have never been in the truck with Dena while she is driving and visa versa. I have no idea how she is doing nor her of me. Will we be able to sleep while the other is driving? We'll see.
The hardest part of driving, for me, was also shifting. I have been shifting cars for 40 years and have had to totally reprogram my muscle memory to shift this new way. It's not a double clutch. That would have been easier. It is like Dena has sad. It's really hard to get used to. But I think I have it pretty good now. Also, the transmissions have a low and a high range. You go through gears 1-4 in the standard "H" pattern and then pull up on a little lever under the shift handle to go into high range and then shift gears 5-8 just like you did 1-4 (except you don't use 1st). The problem comes when you start down shifting and have to remember to push the lever back down to the low range gears when you go from 5th to 4th. Down shifting can also be a little tough as the transmission is not synchronized so you have to rev the engine to get the gears to mesh properly. All of this while you are trying to brake. Think about it. How do you brake and rev the engine at the same time without passing up the stop sign?
I am as excited as ever about getting out on the open road with my honey. What an adventure we are having!
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