Driving

I have two cars, one a 2014, Toyota Camary Hybrid, the other a classic 1982 Alfa Romeo Spider. The Camary is my daily driver and is the car I use the most. The Spider is a classic and registered as an “Antique Auto”, so is only supposed to be driven for special events. 

A Condo dwelling Alfa

When we moved to Toronto for our downsizing experiment we elected to leave the Camary behind and the Spider was put on a trailer and towed to Toronto behind a U-Haul containing our downsized life. The plan was to use public transit to explore Toronto and if we really needed a car, our son lives close by and his car was available if needed. I joined the Toronto Alfa Romeo car club, and I looked forward to getting together with other Alfa enthusiasts for classic car events. This plan worked exceptionally well; we became experts in getting around the city on subway, streetcars, busses and trains, we used our son’s car for trips out of the city and the Spider was so pleased to go on drives surrounded by other classic Italian automobiles. 

All good things do however eventually come to a conclusion and we will be moving back to Nova Scotia, convinced now that we can downsize to an apartment or condo, so the Spider would have to be taken back to it’s comfortable garage behind our house in Dartmouth. The parking spot under the condo we were renting did not belong to the condo we were in so it was rented from another resident who was not using it, but they informed us that they were selling the condo so would probably need the spot back, and searches for another spot in the parking garage did not get any results, so another solution was needed. 

When I got the good news that I was scheduled to finally get a new right hip at the end of the month the solution for the Spider presented itself. We would drive it back to Nova Scotia rather than flying. The Spider is an old vehicle and I felt it was important to have it checked out by George, a skilled and trusted  Italian mechanic to make sure the car was up to the 1700 km drive, and he gave the little convertible a thumbs up. 

We were concerned about driving the car that distance because it is old and has none of the creature comforts we were used to having for extended journeys; no cruise control, no air conditioning, no power steering and very limited luggage space. On the plus side, the Spider is known for being one of the most comfortable of the 1980 era sports cars, and on the drives we had done, my six foot frame was always comfortable. But I was going home for a hip replacement and one of my knees often objected to long drives. We looked at the route from Toronto and decided to take it slow, breaking the 1700 km drive into five days, stopping to visit friends and visit favourite locations along the way. 

Although the Spider’s trunk contained a basic tool kit of wrenches and socket sets, another wrench was thrown into our plans when my wife developed a painful foot issue and was diagnosed with bone spurs on her achilles, so was warned to stay off the foot and was given a big plastic boot to allow recovery. I had lost my co-driver! Fortunately a phone call to a good friend back in Nova Scotia provided not only a co-driver but also a skilled mechanic, so the plan was back on track. 

A one-way flight to Toronto brought my willing driving companion to the big city and the five day plan was revised to a three day drive. We checked weather and decided on safe dates to leave to get sunny weather, for the Spider convertible does not particularly like driving in the rain. 

Hey, where did the rain come from?

The drive went very well, but the weather did not cooperate and we ended up driving one whole day through heavy rain, and the convertible top only came down for the last hours drive, but the experience got me thinking about the whole driving experience. We drove three days through some miserable rain in a little car with no AC, cruise control, stereo system, or power steering and a leaky convertible top, but we really enjoyed ourselves. We discovered that we could not really carry on a conversation because both of us are slightly hard of hearing and the car is quite noisy, but the drive still went very well. We did not get tired, and my hip or knee did not object and my friend’s sore back actually got better over the drive; we were comfortable and finished up each day with a smile. How is that possible?

A wet rainy drive through Quebec

I decided the answer was that we actually were doing something that new fancy vehicles isolate you from; we were DRIVING, really driving the whole time. We are both “Gear Heads”, so driving a classic sports car was enjoyable and the effortless steering, mind numbing cruise control and surround sound entertainment systems were not there to distract us from the actual driving experience. As you passed the many tractor trailers, you are literally lower than their tires and you could count the lug nuts on the wheels as you went by. You had to shift the gears up and down and as you steered the car through the corners, you could feel the tires and the suspension doing its work. The little two litre dual overhead cam engine and the European exhaust system was as good as an expensive sound system to two aged car guys. I have driven this route many times over the past 20 years and always got lulled into a tired sleepy state after a few hours, but this time the little car kept us alert and happy as we actually enjoyed driving. 

Some "top-down" driving

Finally the sun came out

Dirty with road grime but home safely