Workin' Overtime

DATELINE: BROOKVILLE, PA, 8:15 p.m.

Miles Today: 525

I'll start today by coming up with an answer for reader Jim the Baritone's query, "I am curious as to what you consider the best part of being a trucker."

Well, JtB, I'd have to say it's being able to drive all around this big, beautiful country of ours. I've always wanted to have lots of time to see every corner of the ol' U.S. of A., but budget and circumstances have always precluded that. So now I'm getting some of that opportunity, and drawing a near-steady paycheck doing it to boot! Today's drive, for instance, through previously unexplored areas (for me, anyway) of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, was gorgeous, what with all the mountains. But all in all, the travelling would be much better on a vacation basis, having time to stop and explore wherever the mood struck, and sharing it all with my wife and kids. So it's definitely a mixed blessing. And now, back to your regularly-scheduled programming.

As I mentioned above, my jaunt today was mostly along highways I haven't travelled before: I-79 from Huntington, WV up to the junction of I-80 in PA, then I-80 from there to the town of Du Bois, PA (at mile marker 101). The drive took a little longer than I expected, because of my heavy load and the steep mountain grades. I spent a good bit of time chugging uphill at 30 MPH, sometimes even slower. I started out this morning at about 7:15, and didn't reach the delivery site 'til 4:45 p.m., 45 minutes late, unfortunately. But I didn't make any lengthy stops--just quick pit stops every couple of hours--so I was moving pretty much the whole time. Besides the uphill chugs, I was also slowed down by quite a few construction sites. So there really wasn't much of anything I could do about getting there any sooner. But it didn't seem to bother anyone at the delivery, anyway, so no damage was done. We usually have an appointment window, so I'm sure I was still within acceptable parameters.

With today's long work hours, I did exceed my 70-hours-in-8-days limit by 5 hours. I would have gotten 8-1/2 hours back tomorrow, but those extra 5 hours eat into that and leave me only 3-1/2 hours I could work tomorrow. So I believe that I'll be taking a 34-hour break now to reset my 70-hour counter to zero. Then I'll be able to get back to long, hard days on Wednesday morning. I'm now at yet another Flying J, and there's a TA right across the street. (I'm here instead of the TA because this one's on USA's authorized fuel list, and I needed to fill the tanks.) So I'll have plenty to keep me occupied tomorrow if I get tired of Job 2. (Quick quiz: who remembers what "Job 2" is?)

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks again for following my odyssey. Drop me a line a la Jim the Baritone, and keep on truckin'.