The Streets of Laredo

DATELINE: LAREDO, TX, 5:02 p.m. CST

Miles Today: 595

Aw, shucks! Not 600+ miles. But it was in only 9.25 hours of driving, with only 1 stop. So it felt like a L-O-N-G drive. I don't think I'm actually IN Laredo proper at the moment, but it's close enough to call it that. I'm at the Flying J on the northern outskirts of town, poised to get up REALLY early to make my delivery here, then proceed south to McAllen, TX for my 2nd delivery of the day. That's all I have on this load, just the 2 deliveries. Then I'll have to ask for my next assignment. Check back tomorrow to find out where that will be taking me.

I'm gonna have to get my truck in the shop. The air conditioner is not cooling my cab down at all, and it's in the 80s here with the sun beating down. (I can feel the sympathy oozing from all you Michiganders.) The heat and the long drives of the last 3 days are sapping my energy, so I'm gonna have to wrap up here and get to sleep.

Thanks again for reading and commenting, and keep on truckin'.

Drive, Drive, Drive

DATELINE: TEXARKANA, TX, 7:34 p.m. EST, 6:34 p.m. CST

Miles Today: 634

Zounds! Such a long drive! And man am I tired now. Not much to report for today except that it was all about driving as far as I could in my allotted hours, and the weather was perfect all day. Well, there was fog early in the day in the Kentucky mountains before the sun came up (I started driving at 5:30 a.m., EST--boy, that seems like a long time ago already), but the rest of the day was sunny and warm.

I've stopped for the night at the Texas welcome center (glorified rest area) just across the border into the Lone Star state. It's right alongside the highway (I-30) right in town, so I'll have plenty of highway noise to sleep to, besides the usual idling truck engines in the lot. But it was at the right place at the right time--right at the end of my shift. I was planning to stay at the Flying J truck stop 8 miles back up the road, but it was already pretty well filled up. So I just fueled up my truck there and continued on my way here.

Like I said--er, typed--I'm tired, so I'll finish up here. Have a great last 1/2 of the week, keep on commenting, thanks for reading, and keep on truckin'.

On the Road Again

DATELINE: SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY, 7:29 p.m.

Miles Today: 422

I'm back to work now. Many thanks to reader nancyr who gave me a lift to my truck early this morning, and helped schlep some of my stuff from the parking lot back to the truck. After she left, things went back to normal. And you regular readers know what that means...glitchiness.

When nancyr & I first got to my truck, we went in the passenger side of the cab. After I walked her back to her car, I returned to the truck to the driver's side. When approaching it, I noticed footprints in the snow at the back of my cab. Further investigation revealed that someone had made off with my battery cover. (The truck's batteries are not under the hood as in a car; they are mounted on a platform beneath the rear of the cab and covered with a plastic shell.) But the truck started OK, so all I had to do was drop by the Vandalia terminal on my way today to get a replacement.

Next, after I got my load assignment (pick up a trailer in Wyandotte, MI and take it to two stops in southern TX), when I attempted to drive off, I felt the unmistakeable tug of my trailer's brakes holding fast. GRRRR! Frozen brakes once again. So that delayed me an hour or so as I waited for a repair guy to come free up the offending brake(s).

Once on the road on the way to my pickup, after exiting the freeway and taking the surface streets, I (and many other motorists) came across a train stopped across the road I needed to take. It remained there for 15-20 minutes, delaying me even further. Once it had finally moved on, the rest of the day went pretty well. I did have another hour of delay once I got to Vandalia as I fueled up my truck then waited for the mechanic to put on the new battery cover.

So now I'm at a rest area just south of Louisville, KY. I perhaps sould have gone a bit further--I had 1 more hour of my 14-hour window available--but my last couple nights at home were rather short nights of sleep, and I am quite tired. So I'm going to finish up this update for you and get right to bed. I have quite a lot of driving to do the next couple of days to get to Laredo and McAllen, TX. I expect to blog for you somewhere between Texarkana and Dallas tomorrow night, if the roads remain clear the whole way. So keep an eye out for that.

Thanks for waiting out my weekend respite from this blog and coming back for more. Please keep your comments coming and, as always, keep on truckin'.

Finally Home, and Early, Too!

DATELINE: HOME! 12:52 p.m.

Miles Today: 12
Miles Yesterday: 210

Here's the scoop: After I got my truck fixed Wednesday evening, I didn't get a load assignment 'til Thursday morning. They wanted me to run a load to New Jersey for a Friday morning delivery. Well! Since I had already missed my scheduled home date because of the truck breakdown and had asked to get home on Friday instead, that load was out of the question. It would not have been possible to make it home without violating at least one DOT regulation. Plus the yard where I park my truck when I'm home is closed over the weekends, so waltzing in on Saturday would not have worked. So I objected to the NJ assignment and was instead given one that involved taking a loaded trailer from the Vandalia (Dayton, OH) terminal to Romulus, MI for a Friday morning delivery. That was MUCH better.

The new assignment meant I could take a liesurely lunch in Vandalia, then an easy drive to my "home parking lot", get picked up there by my wife, then spend last night at home before returning to the truck this morning to make the delivery, after which I could begin my official home time for the weekend. So that's where I am now, home recounting the last couple days of work for you.

This morning's delivery went nearly without incident. I had to back my loaded trailer into a dock and drop it there, then pick up another empty trailer to take with me. The problem came with the empty trailer. They had it parked angled on a dirt lot that wasn't very deep and alongside a road. To back under the trailer, I had to back over a curb to get onto the lot. The problem was, when backing at an angle like that, the truck's drive tires don't all make contact with the pavement at the same time, so I (and another trucker trying to accomplish the same feat) spent some time literally spinning our wheels. We finally rocked ourselves free with the help of a railroad tie we found lying nearby to provide some traction, backed under our trailers with a head of steam up to get over the curb, and completed our missions. Just a little bit more "experience" than I needed when trying to get done and get home. But everything did work out just fine.

Thanks again for reading. I probably won't post another update 'til after I get back in the truck and work on Monday, so y'all have a good weekend, and keep on truckin' (even though I won't be for a few days).

Back to Work

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 7:39 p.m.

I'm finally back in my truck! About an hour ago I got the word that my truck was done, so I reported to the shop to pick up my keys, found an empty trailer and hooked up to it, sent in my "back to work" message to dispatch so they can find me my next assignment, and fueled up the truck. So now I'm sitting in the terminal's lot waiting for that next assignment.

I'm hoping that they won't give me one that will require me to head out right away, since I've been awake and waiting for the truck all day. I'd much rather get a load for which I can get started in the morning. Either way, it'll have to be a nearby run--or better yet, into Michigan--so I can head home on Friday, preferrably to get there early in the day.

So that's where things stand right now. I'll have to stay up a while to see if a load assignment comes in. (No doubt they'll wait 'til I've decided to bed down for the night and gotten comfy.) If I do have to make a run tonight, I'll only have a few hours to drive since I've been on duty since 11:00 a.m. waiting on the shop. And if I do have to do some work tonight, I'll give y'all another quick update when I've finished for the night.

Thanks as much as ever for reading and commenting. And keep on truckin' as much as ever.

Home? Yeah, Right!

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 11:00 p.m.

Miles Today: None Possible

Guess what. "Normalcy" has returned. Shortly after I posted last night's update, I attempted to set my truck's idle system to keep my cab comfortable through the night. To do so requires starting the engine as the first step. Well, it took me a while to get it started. I'd been having such trouble lately, but it usually only took 2 or 3 attempts before the starter finally cranked and the engine started. Last night it took probably 15-20 attempts before it finally started. Well, I wasn't going to risk the engine not restarting later, so I just drove the 2-1/2 hours back to the Vandalia terminal to get it fixed up.

Long story short time: They put me up in a Howard Johnson's hotel last night--or this morning, actually, since I didn't get there 'til 3:00 a.m. I slept in 'til after 9:00, then caught the hotel's shuttle back to the terminal. After an all-day wait while they tried charging the batteries, then deciding the problem was really the starter, finally getting around to making that repair, discovering another leak for which they won't have the part 'til tomorrow, they sent me back to the hotel for tonight. So here I am, instead of at home as I was supposed to be. Grrrr!

You'll recall from earlier posts that I was scheduled to head home today so I could be there for 3 days, including my daughter's birthday Wednesday. Due to this delay, and the fact that the yard where I park my truck while at home is closed on the weekends, I'm considering shifting my home time to Friday through Monday morning. (Look out MfM readers--you may see me Sunday night.) Assuming my truck gets fixed and ready to roll tomorrow, I'll see if my fleet manager can accommodate that request and find an appropriate load assignment that I can complete and get home on Friday.

As you can tell from the time on my byline above, it's late, and I'm tired from a long afternoon and evening of waiting around the terminal with nothing to do. (Plus, this is Ohio, to boot!) So I'll sign off with the usual (but sincere): Thanks for reading and commenting, and keep on truckin'.

Almost Home

DATELINE: GEORGETOWN, KY, 7:58 p.m.

Miles Today: 558

Another long day, but at least with the promise of behing home tomorrow to carry me through. I started early by picking up an empty trailer at our Spartanburg, SC terminal, then got my next load assignment: pick up at a town a couple hours to the west, just past Clemson, SC, then take the load to the Toledo, OH area, for delivery at noon on Tuesday. A perfect assignment for getting home at a reasonable hour on Tuesday. And the weather was pretty much perfect today, too, for mid-February; sunny and warm. So it was an uneventful drive up here to mid-northern KY (about 70 miles south of Cincinnati). I found refuge for the night at a rest area here along I-75. I was planning on stopping a bit earlier, but this was the first rest area that was open in KY, save for the one just over the border from TN, which would have been way too early to stop.

Whoa! Although I wasn't while I was driving, all of a sudden, now that I've had my dinner and had a chance to unwind, I'm feeling like I've been working all day. So I'll wrap this up now and save you the inane babblings of a fatigued truck driver. Thanks once again (and again, and again, and again) for checking in on my progress, please keep sending me your comments, and keep right on truckin'.

Well-Earned Day Off

DATELINE: BLACKSBURG, SC, 4:38 p.m.

Miles Today: 0, Zero, None, Nada, Zilch, Zippo

It's my day off, mandated by DOT regulations 'cuz I worked so many hours the previous 7 days. So I've spent most of the day in my sleeper berth with my laptop, cruising the 'net and playing online games. I slept in good and late--'til 7:00--before crossing the street to McDonald's for breakfast. Even though I like Flying J's, they can be relatively expensive places to eat if you don't just take a hot dog. The buffets in their restaurants are good (usually), but a bit pricy if you're trying to stay within a budget of, say, $15 per day for food.

It's nice and sunny here today, with temps in the 40s, probably. It has gotten really windy the last couple of hours, though. My truck is rocking pretty steadily from the gusts. But it sure beats the frigid north. To which, of course, I get to head back starting tomorrow for my home time.

I entered "reluctant trucker" into Yahoo Search to see if this blog would show up, and I came across this site: http://home.bluemarble.net/~sml/welcome.html. The guy does an excellent job of conveying our shared thoughts about this job. Skip the first couple of paragraphs and start reading at "So why am I a “reluctant trucker,” as opposed to an enthusiastic trucker?" It'll give you an insight that I have been unable to express quite so eloquently.

That's about all I have to report for today. I hope I get to see some of you when I'm home this week (Tuesday to Friday). Have a good week, thanks for your readership, and keep on commentin' and truckin'.

Note to the Mrs.: Pick me up one or two custard-filled Paczkis for Fat Tuesday. I doubt I'll get an opportunity to stop on my way to get some before they're sold out. Oh, and make up some more cheddar cheese rolls, too. Yum! Thanks, Hun!

Downtime Beginneth

DATELINE: BLACKSBURG, SC, 6:23 p.m.

Miles Today: 459

Today was about getting the load I picked up yesterday from Louisville, KY to USA's terminal in Spartanburg, SC, then starting my 34-hour downtime. Mission accomplished. I drove through a few snow flurries, but nothing that caused any worry about road problems. And I must say some of the route was some of the most scenic roads I've driven in my truck yet. That would be I-40 in eastern TN and western NC. Just gorgeous. I hope to drive it sometime when everything's green. Then again, since I was hauling a fairly heavy load, the twisty, downhill road did require my full attention. Fortunately, it didn't snow any during that portion of the drive, so I didn't have that stress added on top.

So now I sit at yet another Flying J, this one, as the dateline above indicates, in Blacksburg, SC. I was planning on sitting out my downtime at the Spartanburg facility, but once I got there (this was my first time there), I discovered it's mostly a parking lot and shop/garage. I didn't see a drivers' lounge or any other accessible accommodations, so I consulted my truck stop directory and found this "J" just 30 miles up the highway. Much better. So after dropping my trailer (someone else will pick it up and take it to its destination 'cuz the delivery date is during my home time next week), I booked on over here. I've had my dinner and am now ready for some quiet time with my computer and Prairie Home Companion on the radio right now.

Thanks once more for participating in my audience. Have a great Sunday, and keep on truckin'.

Another Long, Boring Day

DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY, 8:12 p.m.

Miles Today: 518

Today was another ho-hum day of drive, drive, drive for 8 hours, deliver my load, wait for my next pickup assignment, get it, drive 2+ hours to get there, drop & hook, drive a mile to my overnight campsite. At least it was bright and sunny all day. It did feel good to drive the familiar highways of my hometown & state for the first hour of today's shift. Now I can't wait to get home next week for a few short days off.

My delivery today was in Mt. Sterling, KY. After that, dispatch sent me here to Lousiville to pickup my next load. I love how they give me the assignment after 3:30 with a pickup appointment of 5:00, and I'm 115 miles away. But it wasn't a problem being late. Since I was approaching the end of my shift, I was wondering where I would spend the night. Fortunately, I passed by a yard of a trucking company that USA has a relationship with within a mile of my pickup site. (The same company that lets me park my truck at their yard near my home when I get time off.) Bingo! A place to set up camp. So here I am, filling you in on today's details.

Tomorrow I will take this new load to USA's new terminal in Spartanburg (UGH! Those of you who know me will understand that exclamation.) SC. I haven't been to that state during this career yet, so I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to use up the rest of my alloted 70-hours-in-8-days to get there, so I'll be sitting through another 34-hour reset there. I hope they have lots to keep me entertained (a drivers' lounge with big-screen TV would be nice, plus well-stocked vending machines). I'll tell you all about it in tomorrow's update.

For now, I'm pretty beat, so it's time to hang up. Thanks for eyeballing my missives, keep those comments coming, and keep on truckin'.

A Truckin' Easy Day

DATELINE: HOWELL, MI, 9:24 p.m.

Miles Today: 405

Well, I've come full circle. The DATELINE, above, is my original hometown, the town where I was born. I wasn't actually born at this rest area (and it wasn't even here way back then), but it's close enough to town to say I'm home...at least for the night.

Today was mostly another ho-hum day: Get up & have breakfast at the truck stop restaurant, drive to the delivery in Sturgis, MI, back into the dock, wait for them to unload, drive to another truck stop to fuel up while waiting for my next load assignment, drive 3-1/2 hours to the pickup in Grand Haven, MI, back into that dock and wait for them to load, drive for the rest of my allotted hours, pull into this rest area for the night. I had a little excitement from a couple of snow squalls on the way to pick up my new load, but that's about as "good" as it got. Otherwise a routine day. For which I am very thankful and glad! No glitchiness!

I have to get up early to haul this load to mid-Kentucky, so I'll cut this off right here. Wish me more ho-hum days like today. Thanks ever so much for reading, and keep on truckin' and commentin'.

Note to reader RPICARD: I'd love to have copies of the old radio shows, but I don't have a CD player in the truck. Could you do cassettes? Thanks very much!

Drive, Drive, Drive

DATELINE: GASTON, IN, 4:32 p.m.

Miles Today: 520

G'day, readers. It's been an uneventful day, thankfully, considering the weather in this part of the country yesterday. I must commend the state of Indiana for the fine job they've done getting their interstate highways clear so quickly and so well. I had no trouble at all getting here, which is about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. "Here" is a Petro truck stop, another national chain. They have a Taco Bell Express here, and I was feeling the urge for a burrito, so that made my decision easy to stop here for the night. Besides, I had been driving for 10 hours already, and I was getting tired. So here I am.

As I said, it was an uneventful day, all driving, save for some rest stops and a traffic jam in Nashville. So I have nothing else to report. I am looking forward to getting home for a couple days next week for my youngest daughter's birthday--sweet 16!--which happens to fall on Ash Wednesday. How's that for a day to set the mood to celebrate your birthday? But we'll make it special for her.

That's all for now. Thanks again for your patronage, and keep on truckin'.

Whither the Weather

DATELINE: RESACA, GA, 7:03 p.m.

Miles Today: 203

A short drive today, as planned, due to the bad weather up north. I hit the road at about 6:00 a.m. from the I-20 rest area west of Augusta, got to Atlanta around 8:15 or so, then spent the next hour in mostly stop-and-go traffic on the I-285 loop around the city. Finally free of that, it was just another hour to get here, back at the Flying J I called home two nights ago. So I've had lots of down time today to get myself cleaned up and do a load of laundry, too.

As it looks now, I probably could have pushed north into TN and KY and driven through rain today, but as I was leaving this morning I didn't know where the freeze line was. Better safe than sorry. Now I'm hoping that the active part of the storm passes east of my intended route overnight so the roads up north can get cleaned up by the time I get to them tomorrow. I plan to head up I-75 to Chattanooga, cut northwest across TN to Nashville, then north from there through Louisville and Indianapolis on my way to soutwest MI. We'll see how far I can get.

Speaking of nasty weather, we do have the possibility of severe thunderstorms here tonight. Right now the storm cell is over Alabama, so I'll have to keep an eye on that in case I'll need to seek refuge inside the building.

A note to reader "hrr": I do know about the plug-in coolers. Bruce, my trainer, had a nice one. I'm hesitant to spend a lot of coin on accessories for the truck since I don't know yet how long I'll be in this "career". But one would come in handy. Then again, it would be nice to have for trips in the family car, too. So that's something to consider.

That's my report for today. Please leave a comment (or two) letting me know what's up in your world. Thanks for reading, and, as ever, truck on keepin'.

It Won't Last

DATELINE: SOMEWHERE ALONG I-20 IN EASTERN GEORGIA, 5:30 p.m.

Miles Today: 287

Today included a delivery and a pickup, which is routine. I hit the road at about 4:15 this morning, headed to the delivery point. That was just a bit early in case I hit any bad traffic on the I-285 loop around Atlanta (I was coming in fromthe north, the customer was just south of town). Since traffic was good, I stopped at a truck stop alongside the loop for some breakfast (which turned out to be a microwaved breakfast burrito) and a quick 20-minute nap in my truck. Both really hit the spot.

I arrived at the customer 1/2 hour early--along with 500 other truckers all walking up to the receiving office at the same time. (OK, so maybe I exaggerated a little there.) Since so many were there, all of the dock doors were taken, so I had to park and wait for an opening. That only took about 1-1/2 hours. After backing into the dock, the unloading took about another 45 minutes or so. Once that was done, I headed over to a small truck stop that was only about 1 mile from that customer to await my next assignment (and get some lunch, even though it was still only 10:30). There is a McDonald's across the street from that truck stop, so I had a 2nd breakfast today. (LotR fans may enjoy that reference.)

Finally, my next load assignment came: pickup a load in Augusta, GA (130-ish miles east of Atlanta) and take it to Sturgis, MI. So I'm headed back to the frozen north. (Did I mention it was warm and sunny down here today--I was running the AC in my truck.) I hear there's a winter storm headed between here and there, so I may not get very far tomorrow. Fortunately, this load isn't due for delivery until Thursday afternoon, so I have plenty of time to wait out a weather delay. But I do plan to head at least back to northern GA (such as Resaca, where I spent last night) tomorrow, perhaps a bit north into TN if the weather's cooperative enough. We'll see. Check back for tomorrow's update on this same station.

Anyway, back to my current load. The pickup was a mostly simple drop-and-hook (swap my empty trailer for a pre-loaded one), so that process didn't take very long--once I had swept out the empty trailer and passed the customer's inspection. No problems there, by the way. But after the 3-hour drive from Atlanta (plus a side trip to check something for my dispatcher), my day's hours allotment was getting low, and I was getting tired, so I just drove the few miles west from Augusta along I-20 to my current perch at a rest area.

Some of you may remember an earlier posting in which I bemoaned having to eat vending machine food for dinner while stopped for the night at a rest area. I have remedied that problem. A while back I bought a small "oven"--it looks like a workingman's lunch box--that plugs into a 12-volt outlet (or cigarette lighter, if you want to harken back to the old days) and heats up whatever food you put in it. I also stocked up on ready-to-heat-and-eat meals just for such occasions, so I don't have to resort to chips, candy, and Hostess as dinner. Tonight's feature was Chef Boy-ar-dee Ravioli. Yum!

So now you're caught up with my current state of affairs. Well, except for the part where I twisted my ankle a bit. But my ankle-high work boots seem to have saved it from any severe injury. It just hurts a tad, but not too much to make me unable to push the clutch with it. Thanks once again for being a member of my tiny audience. Please be a member of my corresponding audience by submitting your comment(s) to my post(s). And, as always, keep on truckin'.

Escape

DATELINE: RESACA, GA, 7:15 p.m.

Miles Today: 495

It'll be another short update tonight. Today was a long drive following picking up a load, and I have to get up early again in the morning to make the delivery on time. Speaking of which, my current load is destined for just south of Atlanta. I'm about 100 miles north of there now, at yet another Flying J. So I've managed to escape the frozen north for the time being. Whew! It was gorgeous on the drive down today; sunny and warm (probably only in the upper 40s and lower 50s, but compared to what I've been in the past few days...). So you northern readers, eat your hearts out. ;-)

Nothing else to report, so as I said, this is a shorty tonight. Thanks for reading, keep commenting PLEASE!, and keep on truckin'.

Fixed and Breaking

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 9:35 a.m.

Miles Yesterday: 378

Yesterday was a lot longer than I wanted it to be. Although my total on-duty time was "only" 9-1/2 hours, I only had about 4-1/2 legally available. I had wanted just to drive here to USA's terminal to get my truck's health issues corrected, but dispatch needed me to go pick up a load first. It was only a couple hours away, in the opposite direction I needed to take to get here. And, of course, it was a heavy load (44,000+ lbs.), so that slowed me down, too.

In my last report I mentioned that I would be taking the load to Bethel, PA at the direction of dispatch. Well, that was the night-time dispatcher's idea. When I "phoned home" after picking up the load and mentioned that I was on my way to Bethel, the daytime dispatcher (my fleet manager) let me know that the plan was to drop the load here in Vandalia, instead. That sounded better to me, because it was a slightly shorter drive, and I wouldn't be going through mountains the whole time with the heavy load.

I arrived here in Vandalia at about 6:15 p.m., cranked down the trailer's landing gear, unhooked the electrical and air lines, and released the trailer hookup so I could pull out from under it. I climbed back into the cab, turned the key, and the batteries were dead. How's that for timing? To save you the boring details, the shop had it in and out within about 3 hours, ready to go. The truck starts just fine now, and the idle system worked as advertised all night, so I'm ready for more work. Except that I've used up my hours allotment.

So today I'm sitting out a 34-hour break. Whew! I can use it. I was pretty well exhausted last night, even though yesterday was a "short" work day. The previous few long, stressful days took a definite toll on me. But I did have a good night's sleep (9+ hours) and feel a whole lot better today. I'll take it easy today, rest up, catch up on e-mail, and get to bed early tonight so I can get back at it early tomorrow (my 34 hours are done at 4:15 a.m.).

There. Now you're caught up with the story. I hope you have a good weekend with plenty of time to read this and send me your comments. Thanks for reading, and keep on truckin'.

Back to "Normal"

DATELINE: I-76 in NE OHIO, 7:10 a.m.

Miles Yesterday: 409

And you know what I mean when I say "normal" as it refers to my trucking career: glitchful. Let's start back while I was composing my last update. While doing so, I had been working on setting my truck's idling system. As you recall from an earlier posting, that's the system that cycles the engine off and on throughout down time in order to maintain the engine's and cab's temperatures. I had been having trouble getting it to set the previous couple of nights, but had always managed to. Wednesday night I never could get it to set and stay on, so I finally gave up and called in to USA for help. To sum up, I wound up spending the night at a hotel that was luckily right next to the truck stop where I was parked. I would have to wait 'til I could get to one of USA's terminals to get the system checked out. However, since it was such a bitterly cold night, and the truck was not running at all through the night, you can probably guess what I found when I reported back to duty yesterday morning.

Yep, the batteries were dead. Again, to make the long story short, it took another 4+ hours of calling Breakdown, waiting for a jump start, the jump start not working, getting my tractor towed to a garage to "thaw it out" and started there. And I spent much of that time exposed to the cold--zero or below with much colder wind chills. Brrrr! I had a 1/2 bottle of Dr. Pepper in my cab overnight, and it was frozen solid by morning. So getting into the truck was no escape from the cold, except from the wind.

Anyway, once fixed, I had to return to the truck stop to fuel up (the truck and myself), hook my trailer back up (they couldn't tow both the tractor and trailer), and hit the road to make my scheduled delivery. I had to traverse northern Indiana and Ohio to reach my destination. I would have had to take a US highway (smaller highway that passes through town after town with stoplights and lowered speed limits, etc.), which would have taken quite a while. However, since I was behind schedule with the load, my dispatcher approved using the IN and OH turnpikes, so that sped me up quite a bit. It still took about 7 hours (with a couple of stops) to get there, though. But despite missing one turn and having to retrace a couple steps, I made it to the customer, dropped the trailer, and hooked up a new empty one.

I had expected to be able to just head to our Vandalia, OH terminal for service, but dispatch, of course, has other ideas. They despise the idea of these trucks running around empty, not under or headed to a load, so they promptly assigned me another pickup. In northwestern PA, NOT in the direction of Vandalia. With my hours for the day running low (in fact, they were gone because of the time I spent resolving the breakdown, but I was willing to drive to the terminal), I could not make the pickup (scheduled for 10:30 a.m.) without having to spend the night in the truck. I replied back that I had to get to a terminal for service that night, because I couldn't sleep in the truck due to the idling issue. To show where we drivers and our safety rate, the response was, "It's almost 200 miles to Vandalia. You need to get the load & then head to Bethel." (Bethel, PA is the site of another USA terminal.) Too tired to fight it out, I headed east. I noticed a rest area on the map along the highway I needed to take, so I headed for it, hoping 1. that there would be an open spot for me to park, and 2. that I could get the idle to engage.

At the rest area, both of my hopes were fulfilled, sort of. There was a parking spot, but the idling system had another idea. Instead of not running at all, it decided to run continuously without shutting off. I figured that was acceptable--at least the cab would stay warm, even if it was burning the company's money in the form of extra fuel. But at least I'm still on the job, heading to the assigned pickup.

So here I am, waiting to finish my 10-hour break. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, since I've gotten used to waking early. Lucky for you, I decided to take the open time to fill y'all in on my lastest travails. I hope ya'll feel my pain. ;-) Today I'm going to go pick up that load and drive to Bethel (200+ miles east of Pittsburgh). It'll be my first time there. I hear it's off the beaten path, up some country roads and through a small town or two, so I hope I can find it without any problems. I'm bumping into my 70-hour-in-8-days limit again, what with 4 straight long days (and 5 of the last 7), so I'll have some free time to blog and catch up with some other work. Now it's time to start preparing for they day's journey, so I'll wrap up this posting here.

Thanks once again for reading my rants, and do please keep those comments coming. And, as ever, keep on truckin'.

The Best Laid Plans...

DATELINE: LOWELL, IN, 7:20 p.m.

MILES TODAY: 235

I'm thinking I should have a new favorite Elton John song: "The Glitch is Back". I was all set to get started dark and early this morning, in fact I DID get started dark and early, on the road at 3:00 a.m. Then to the shoulder of the road at 3:01. I saw some smoke coming from the trailer tires area, and knew what it probably was: frozen brakes again. It turns out it was only one brake shoe that was stuck, but it took 4 hours of waiting for roadside assistance and getting it unstuck before I could get on my way. Sheesh! So much for an early start getting me along nice, nearly-traffic-free roads from Chi-town to Milwaukee. Instead I had plenty of traffic to deal with, and a big slow-up in Milwaukee. Actually, it was probably a good thing I had to wait, 'cuz when I finally got into Wisconsin, many cars were off the road and/or banged up on the road, so it seems the roads were a bit icy this morning.

Anyway, I did finally make my delivery; I dropped that trailer and picked up an empty, then got my mext assignment: pickup a load near the WI/IL border that I will take to the Akron, OH area. By the time that pickup was loaded, I had just enough time on my 14-hour clock to make it here to a Flying J that's on USA's network list. So here I sit and compose for you. I did take time first to grab a shower and some dinner, so you know where you rate in the list of priorities. ;-)
But since it's been a long day, I'll have to cut this report short once more. So keep warm, thanks for reading, and keep on truckin'.

Just a Little Bit Short of the Target

DATELINE: LAKE FOREST, IL, 5:30 p.m.

Miles today: 338

Whoa! Not many miles today for the effort I expended. As you recall, my goal for today was to drive up to Milwaukee from my starting point in southern IL to make my delivery. Things started out fine early this morning. I drove for 1-1/2 hours before stopping to fuel up in the city named for an accursed pork product--wait for it. . .Effingham, IL. I also fueled myself up with a good breakfast, which was a good thing 'cuz I wouldn't get to stop for lunch. As I was eating breakfast, it started snowing. And it kept on snowing and snowing and snowing as I drove north. Gradually conditions worsened on the road, though I never felt any trouble in my truck as I kept the speed down. But cars were sliding off into the ditch all over the place. Finally, after about 4 hours of driving through the snow, I came upon a spot where the police had closed the northbound lanes of my highway, I guess for an accident. So I (and the rest of the northbound traffic) had to hit the surface streets to find our way back to the open portion of the highway (I-57, by the way).

Once back on 57, this was nearing Chicago. Which meant--LOTS of traffic. I spent the next 4-1/2 to 5 hours in my efforts to get through the city. And when I made it out of the city, I-94 was slick, which caused a lot of accidents, which turned the road into a parking lot. I finally came upon the Lake Forest Oasis (the rest area built above the highway...those of you who have made the trip north out of Chicago know what I mean, and may have stopped here yourselves) and decided enough was enough. I had been driving for 10+ hours of my 11, I was tired and hungry, so I pulled in and will spend the night here. I'll have to deliver my load late, early tomorrow morning. I plan to be on the road at about 3:00 a.m. since I stopped at 5:00 tonight.

Anyway, to recap, it was a long day of driving, full of external stressors (snow & Chi-town traffic). I'll have to sign off now so I can get some sleep before tomorrow's early start. Keep warm, keep dry, keep reading and commenting, and keep on truckin'. Thanks.

P.S., from where I'm parked, I can look out my windshield and see I-94. The northbound side is STILL a sea of crawling taillights.

Heading Back North

DATELINE: BENTON, IL, 8:40 p.m.

Miles Today: 501

Not a lot of news today, just a lot of driving. I made my pickup this morning outside of Tupelo, MS and hit the road north. I'm now holed up at a rest area along I-57 in southern Illinois for the night (for my requisite 10-hour break), and will get up and on the road early to complete the trip to the Milwaukee area. I do have a reprieve; if you read yesterday's post, you remember that my delivery appointment for this load was originally 9:00 a.m. Tonight dispatch told me they had 10:30 p.m. as the scheduled delivery time. Why the discrepancy, I don't know, but OK. Since I'll just be dropping the trailer there (as opposed to backing into a dock for them to unload it while I'm there), I can stick to my plan to just get up early and get there when I can. I prefer to do my delivering and picking up during daylight, especially when I'm going to places I haven't been before. However, tomorrow's delivery is a repeat. It's the site of my very first pickup on this job back in December. But it's gonna be COLD!

Well, it has been a long day of driving, and I'm surprisingly tired now that I'm outta' the driver's seat. So I'll sign off here for today. Thanks for your patronage and comments, and keep on truckin'.

Short Work Day

DATELINE: WEST, MS, 11:12 p.m. CST

Miles Today: 81

So I had my delivery to make this evening at 8:45. Since I was encamped about 1/2 hour away, that left pretty much the whole day for off-duty pursuits. So most of the time (after I woke up sometime during the 6:00 hour--I forget exactly when) I was refining my online poker skills. And I had some pretty good success, too. I played a few "Sit-n-Go" tournaments, where once a table fills up with 9 players, the tourney starts. I think I played in 4 of those, and I finished 3rd twice, 5th once, and won the last one! These tourneys paid prizes to the top 3 finishers, so I finished in the money 3 of 4 times. (I also played a 45-player sit-n-go yesterday and finished 4th, also in the money.) Unfortunately, these are VERY low stakes games that I play in, so I won't be retiring from the trucking industry just yet. So that's how I spend my free time when I have lengthy periods available.

Anyway, back to the work news. I made my delivery (it was another drop-and-hook) just a little early, then got my next assignment. USA's dispatchers are back to asking for the impossible. They assigned me a pickup just east of Tupelo at 10:00 a.m. (should I get some Tupelo Honey on my way through? I hear it's pretty sweet). However, I got that assignment at roughly 9:30 p.m. With the trip from the Jackson area to Tupelo being at least 3 hours, and me needing a 10-hour break in there, the math just does not work out. So I've holed up at this rest area here for the night, will get a good night's sleep, then head out early and get to the pickup when I can. THEN they want me to haul it to the Milwaukee, WI area by 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday. That would be 23 hours to drive 674 miles with a 10-hour break in there. Hmmm. I think I may be a tad late there, too. Especially since a large chunk of the drive will be straight up most of the length of Illinois, which has a 55-MPH speed limit for trucks. Again, USA asking the impossible. But I will do the best I can.

Well, it is late and I need to get to sleep, so I'll sign off here with the usual: Thanks for reading, keep on commentin' and truckin'.

Downtime

DATELINE: JACKSON, MS, 3:40 p.m.

Miles Today: 218

Well, they kept me on my original load to this area, the one with the delivery time of 8:45 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday). No switch-off in West Memphis. So I figured that I'd rather sit at a truck stop with a restaurant than at the terminal with only vending machines. Plus I figured the weather would be just a bit warmer 200 miles south. So I boogied on down here. My truck stop directory listed a Flying J truck stop--my favorite chain--nearby, so that's where I headed, and where I am now.

The weather is marvelous here; sunny and warm. Guess I'll have to take that as a trade-off for having to make my delivery during the 2nd half of the Super Bowl. Grrrr! Oh well, I've gotten used to missing what's going on in the "real" world. Somebody will fill me in on what's going on.

Ya' know, even though I have all this down time--26+ hours 'til I even have to THINK about starting up my truck again--I really can't think of much to report on to you. I guess I'll just keep this short for now, and if something comes up, I'll put up a new post. Thanks once again for reading and commenting. 'Til next time, keep on truckin'.

New Plan

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 9:35 a.m.

Miles Yesterday: 197

Good morning, readers. I have just few minutes to dash off this quickie update before I have to hit the road at 10:00. Everything went fine yesterday. My pickup was a drop-and-hook (park and unhook my empty trailer, zip over and hook up to a loaded one at the dock), which went smoothly. The drive down here to Vandalia also passed without anything newsworthy occurring. So now I'm getting ready to hit the road to our West Memphis, AR terminal. That will be a full 11-hour drive, and it looks like it'll be through light snow for at least the first few hours. So hopefully that won't slow me down any.

Remember yesterday's post when I told how I'd have a liesurely time getting to the delivery point for this load? Well, I forgot an alternative: dispatch will have me drive it like mad to West Memphis and have me switch it out for another load so this one can sit for a day before another driver can get it to its destination. In the meantime, I'll keep rolling up the miles on another load, being used more efficiently. Good idea, no?

Anyway, like I said, just a quick update for now. If I'm not exhausted after today's drive, I'll dash off another post when I get to West Memphis. Have a good day, thanks for your readership, and keep on commentin' and truckin'.

Ready to Get On the Road Again

DATELINE: ROMULUS, MI, 4:00 p.m.

Here I am, back in my truck again after less than 48 hours at home. :-( But it's a job and I need the money. Anyway, I sent in the requisite message that I am back and soon after got my next assignment. I have a pickup at 8:00 tonight about 1 whole mile from here ("here" being the yard where I can park my truck during home time). Hence the time available for me to compose this update. The load I'm picking up tonight is destined for mid-Mississippi, and I'll have 3 full days (73:45 to be exact) to get it there. I plan on driving to our Vandalia (Dayton), OH terminal tonight. Then I'm gonna have lots of extra time to get to the delivery, so I'll be able to take shorter drives each day and not burn through my 70 hours right off the bat. (Then again, since I get paid by the mile, this will lower my next weekly paycheck by a bit.)

Anyway, I just wanted to take a few minutes to fill you in on my return to work. I haven't had any fallout from my little incident last weekend, so I'm not going to dwell on that at this point. If that's something that takes a while to work its way up and down through the chain of command, and something happens later, I'll certainly let y'all know about it. But for now, the status is quo.

Thanks again for reading and commenting. Keep those coming, and keep on truckin'.