Another Long One

DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, Thursday, 8/16/07, 7:00 a.m.

Miles Yesterday: 599

Chalk up another long day on the road for your humble correspondent. I woke up early, realized I had another couple hours before I could legally start my workday (I had to wait out my requisite full 10-hour break), and went back to sleeping some more, mostly unsuccessfully. Eventually it was time--6:30 a.m.--to get rolling, and I set off east into a bright morning sun.

It took nearly 2 hours to reach my pickup site south of Baltimore, but once there (and squeezed through their narrow driveway back to their docks) the load went quickly. By 9:15 I was rolling again, making my way back to I-70, which would take me all the way to my destination on the east side of Indianapolis.

This is another heavy (over 40,000 pounds) load, so the mountains along the route slowed me down some. But I did manage to make good time overall and made it all the way here to the Vandalia terminal just as I used up all of my 11 driving hours for the day, arriving at 7:00 p.m. I hadn't had much to eat all day (just a small bag of Doritos for breakfast and a sausage and cheese Stromboli at a Sbarro's in a PA turnpike service plaza for lunch), being as focused as I was to get this far, so I was quite hungry when I got here, as was my truck. Its fuel gauge was in the red zone, and the "Low Fuel Level" light was flashing for the last 30-40 minutes of the trip. But I had figured on the diesel holding out, and made it with plenty to spare. But I did hit the fuel island first thing when I got to the terminal, and pumped in over 100 gallons. Then I parked and went inside to take care of my fuel situation.

After a bite to eat of my own, I was plenty tired--too tired to think straight enough to blog about the day--and retired to my truck for bed. And thus ended another long day.

I have enough time to make up for not writing last night because my delivery appointment today is not 'til 2:00 p.m., and I have less than 100 miles to go to get there. I will aim to get there an hour or 2 early, anyway, since I head home today. I have yet to find out if dispatch will want me to pick up a load on the way home, of if they'll just have me deadhead (drive with an empty trailer) home. I wouldn't mind picking up a load so I can get paid for the miles, but I don't want to have to wait a long time for an assignment or go a long way out of my way to pick up the load. It is my anniversary, after all. (27 years! How'd Mrs. R.T. let that happen?)

Let me take a moment now to answer reader jim's query: "With all the miles you drive I am sure you have seen some dumb moves by other drivers. What's the most scary thing you have seen a car driver do? Same question for a truck driver."

Well, jim, I haven't actually seen very many dumb driver moves while they happened. Mostly it's been the far-too-usual practice of cutting too closely in front of other vehicles. I have seen some post-dumb-move results, though, such as a few rolled-over trucks. I also passed by one truck with the cab fully engulfed in flames. Somehow the driver had had time to pull the cab away from the trailer before the conflagration got out of hand, so kudos to him for saving his customer's load.

So that's the what's-what. Thanks again for dropping by my little corner of the 'web. Keep on commentin', and keep on truckin'.