If you minus the other drivers, pot holes, retina-destructive headlights, and inconsistent lane markings – driving has been fun! Throughout the Autumn-Winter season, I’ve been adventuring around with my friends and family for our own wanderlust (and my mother relaxing as a passenger). It is a privilege to just step into the car and zoom off. I now somewhat mastered parallel parking, and I’m still enjoying night driving after that dreaded first night drive. My bay parking is getting better!
Adventures
Coventry
October 2024. My family has set me a side quest to pick up my sister from uni, and to return her for the weekend. It was a 122 mile (in total) journey. I won’t lie, my heart was pounding for the first 15 minutes, but it soon settled as I began to trust myself. The main thing I was worried about were the big scary roundabouts. My mother sat beside me which was reassuring. She kindly gave me advice in how to respond to different situations on the road, but I mostly followed my instincts. My early anxieties as a new driver were about controlling the car and unfamiliar places. I gave myself time to understand the ‘feel’ of my car and how much I could push it according to the road. In terms of navigating through unfamiliar places, I made sure to learn the route before embarking. Eventually, I am able to drive ‘blind’ and just use the navigator. It was good practice.
Now, the only annoying things that could happen are encountering traffic during rush hour and drivers not indicating!
Most of our time at Coventry were packing and unpacking, a massive food shop at Costco, and running away from geese.
I do wish my sister good luck in learning to drive there.
Sheffield
October 2024. My mother and I wanted a shopping trip to Meadowhall as it has been a while from our last visit. The drive was actually not bad! Mainly a crowded M1 drive, plenty of 50 mph limits, and several roundabouts. I did get my exits mixed up one time so we had to do a detour, which wasn’t bad at all. The wonderful part of the drive was the sun.
We had a shop and walk around Meadowhall (shopping is the best cardio), and drove back home in time for dinner.
Lincoln
October 2024. Lincoln was my first long distance solo drive. Naturally, my mother was anxious and reluctant to ‘let me go’ but I reassured her that I was ready. Of course, some anxiety was in the back of my head but I needed to do a long trip alone eventually. To get it out my system. I gave her a kiss goodbye and off I went.
The route was beautiful. Half of the journey was through the countryside and pretty villages, some where I’m envisioning what my home will look like. Plentiful of fast roads, too.
Driving around the city isn’t bad either, it’s just very hilly and a bit crowded! At least my routes had visible lane markings.
As it was near Halloween, we travelled to a local pumpkin patch. It was a nice walk around the farm, and exploring the countryside. We also spent a couple of days finding a pumpkin-carving kit, it took a lot of shops and frustration to finally find it! Of course, for being older Gen Z, we watched Twilight as our spooky movie.
When it was time to go home, the sun was already setting. I still enjoyed the drive back in the dark countryside. Ma was waiting for me outside and I gave her a big hug with a proud smile on my face.
(Credits to Gracie)
Nottingham (City and Warhammer World)
(someone free him)
November 2024. It was my first drive into the city, and I did expect some chaos. The main chaos were the potholes, faded lane markings, and inconsistent traffic flow. Who knew that in the middle of this specific road, you needed to switch lanes to go forward. Oh, the number times I missed my exit because I was in the wrong lane. Also the drivers are extremely impatient. I got beeped once for doing a hill start on a traffic light change. Very very very interesting drive. I’ll stick to the tram if I could help it. Parking is expensive anyway.
I picked up my friends at West Bridgford and off we went to Warhammer World – it was their first time! We had coffee and cake at Bugman’s (I’m still waiting for the white chocolate shortbread to return), painted their first minis, and looked at the exhibition. They bought the Lord of the Rings set and painted them over Christmas! I was surprised for how much smaller they were. I do recommend visiting, it’s a lot of fun and the staff are lovely. We drove back to West Bridgford to watch Paprika and relax for the evening.
Royal Leamington Spa
February 2025. Leamington was a very pretty historical town – clearly only made for walking. I did struggle with the confusing and squiggly lanes, and that interesting moment of approaching a roundabout without any signs to warn you. Also, that time driving into a narrow open tunnel at night with long scratches on the walls. Very good times. A friend of my sister who driven there also disliked it – glad I’m not the only one!
My family and I spent the entire day eating out at Giggling Squid and walking around. My brother is on the hunt for distressed jeans. He is still looking for them ‘til this day.
Leicester
February 2025. A dear friend shared an early Valentine’s Day idea with me as he wanted to gift his partner a new Build-a-Bear, which was very sweet! We decided to do a trip to Leicester Build-a-Bear so my friend can surprise his partner. He was so thrilled by the surprise and ended up choosing the Heartwarming Hugs Teddy Bear. We had a major catch up on each other’s lives. It’s so nice to hear they’re doing well.
The drive to Leicester was pretty simple after I picked them up from Nottingham City Centre. The route was fast and had little traffic.
We then drove back to Nottingham to get coffee at Coco Tang and ‘yap’ all night. It was such a fun day, I instantly crashed into bed once home. Nottingham is not bad during a Sunday night.
Home
September 2024 to now. I’ve been driving my family to Giltbrook for the occasional Ikea Breakfast and shopping sprees. Sometimes our friends drive up to have coffee with us too! I do love a small treat at the M&S bakery and strawberry tarts. JD Sports recently opened and my brother is still looking for the distressed jeans. McArthur Glen is an easy drive from here too.
My hometown offers a semi-rural lifestyle so you get the easily accessible city life, and the beautiful country life as we’re surrounded by farms and dainty villages – Newstead Abbey is only a 15 minute drive away. Driving around, especially when sunny, is the best. I should do a farm-shop run this spring. It’s only now that I am older, I began to appreciate my hometown’s rich history and heritage. Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer, is resting a short distance away. She was one of my role models as a young girl. Innovation and technology will forever be my passions because of iconic women like her. I’m also looking forward to Rolls Royce’s Flight Test Museum which will be opening here soon! Additionally, we have a history of framework knitting (Nottingham Lace) and textiles.
For the less fun aspects, I do help my mother in taking the school runs. Excellent practice for chaos.
Jinba Ittai
The more I drive Cereza around, the more I can understand how she feels. It’s like a mechanical bond (or mechanical sympathy.) There is a Japanese term (endorsed by Mazda) called “Jinba Ittai”, it means “horse and rider as one.” That’s a very poetic description of what it’s like to feel connected with your car. Cereza may not be the fastest, nor the most luxurious – but she’s good enough because she’s my car.
I do get a bit anxious beforehand in driving around. I think about the what ifs and the terrible conditions of the road, but I always remind myself that cars are designed to be driven. That’s what keeps them healthy (along with servicing). A bit like living beings, you do need to ‘exercise’ them from time to time. They don’t like sitting around all day. Movement will keep the engine happy and components well-lubricated. Engines don’t like low-rev driving all the time due to carbon build up – so you have a perfect excuse to do the Italian tune up AKA (safe) road zoomies. Floor it.
I have realised how much details can affect your experience as a driver. For example, I absolutely hate gear boxes that feel “angular”, which doesn’t feel intuitive for me. Some people prefer that. I also like buttons in cars. Having essential car controls on a large iPad feels dangerous to me. As I expressed before even as a tech enthusiast, electronics are not always reliable and can misinterpret. The steering wheel design matters a lot to me as I have small hands and drive 9-3 position, with the occasional 5. There are many aspects that I’m beginning to understand which I like and don’t like. It is a bit of a struggle for me as a short woman, since most cars are designed around the bodies for an average man. I’ve heard supercars prefer shorter people anyway.
A side note, I do love the motorsport-inspired fashion that’s currently trending, such as the Puma Speedcat. The thin soles are excellent for manual driving. Well, they are inspired by ‘80s F1 drivers!
See you on the road,
