DATELINE: HOME
Just a quick note today, gang, for two purposes.
1. To pass along my wishes for you to have a very happy new year, with success in everything you do in 2008 and beyond.
2. To let you know about another blog that I'll be maintaining. Take a peek at http://ziptochips.blogspot.com/. Do that so I don't need to 'splain it here.
Thanks for all your support, questions, and comments during this past year. Please keep it coming; I really do enjoy hearing from you. I'll be back in my truck and on the road on Wednesday, 1/2, so look for my next update that evening. 'Til next year, this is Trucker John wishing you a happy new year.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Wrapping Up the Year
DATELINE: HOME, Friday, 12/22/07, 8:30 p.m.
Well, I've gotten behind again. I have to blame some more long days ending in deep fatigue and the need to get to bed so I could get up early and do it all again. I just love it when the company assigns me loads with lotsa' miles as my next home date nears and my available hours are running low. But hey, I do need the paying miles. Anyway, on to the recap.
WEDNESDAY: BETHEL, PA TO HOWE, IN
The first thing I had to do on Wednesday was to make my way to Breezewood, PA to swap loads with another driver. The swap was set for noon, and I was only 2 hours away. But I got rolling at 8:00 anyway and go to Breezewood at 10:00.
Unfortunately, the other driver was not early. Also, unfortunately, he wasn't on time, either. I wound up with a nearly 3-1/2-hour "layover" at the TA Breezewood. I planned to take a shower while waiting there (one reason I got there early), but their showers for some reason weren't available. So I settled for working on crosswords and other brain-busters in the puzzle book I had along with me.
The other driver finally arrived, we made the swap, and I was back on the road around 1:30. Then my task was to drive as far as I could within my remaining available hours for the day. I managed a bit more than I expected, making it all the way through Ohio and into Indiana via the turnpikes in those states. I stopped for the night at a service plaza along the IN pike, arriving at about 9:45 p.m., too tired to do anything but get ready for and go to bed. So I did.
THURSDAY: HOWE, IN TO OSHKOSH, WI
I had adelivery appointment set for 1:00 p.m. CST in Green Bay, WI. Since I was around 350 miles away and couldn't start driving 'till 7:45 EST (6:45 CST), it was unlikely that I would make that appointment on time. If everything went well--most notably getting through traffic around Chicago--I could conceivably get there on time. But we all know that slowdowns are inevitable in Chicagoland. So I alerted my Fleet Manager that I'd likely be a little late, but no more than 2 hours behind schedule. Then I hit the road. The drive actually did go pretty well, and I didn't lose very much time to traffic problems on my way to the land of the frozen tundra.
As you may know if you know me or have been a regular reader, I like to see famous sporting venues. This was the first time I've been to Green Bay, and it was a thrill to finally see one of the Holy of Holies, Lambwau Field. I first spotted it from a couple miles away as I approached town on WI highway 172. The stadium from that vantage point dominates the town's skyline--heck, it IS the town's skyline. Then my route to my delivery took my down Lombardi way right alongside the stadium grounds. Very cool. But enough of the Lambeau tangent; back to work.
My delivery was one of the quickest live unloads I've ever had. Within 45 minutes of arrival I was outta' there. Then I drove over to a truck stop at the edge of town to plan for my next assignment, the one that'd take me home.
The pickup was set for 5:00 p.m. in a small town in the middle of nowhere, WI, about 30 miles northwest of Appleton, and about 50 miles west of Green Bay. So I made the drive over, making only one wrong turn in thr dark on the two-lane highways. The pickup took a little while, and when it was done I only had about 1-1/2 hours available to get back to civilization and find a place to park for the night. That wound up being a small truck stop aling US-41 outside of Oshkosh, after I couldn't find the one listed in my truck stop directory in Appleton. Again, I was too tired for anything but bedtime.
FRIDAY: OSHKOSH, WI TO HOME
My new load was headed for Coldwater, MI, where I would do a quick drop-and-hook, picking up an emptry trailer on my way out. But first I had to get rolling. That proved difficult because the lot where I was parked was gravel, but covered with ice. And my wheels just spun. So I "borrowed" some salt from the truck stop clerk, found an implement for chopping the ice, and spent some time getting my truck off the ice. So I finally hit the road about 45 minutes behind schedule.
The rest of the day was pretty much OK. The delivery went swell, no terrible traffic problems (nothing worse than what you usually encounter rounding the Chicago area), and I finally reached the yard where I park my truck around 7:30 p.m. or so. Many thanks to R.T. daughter #1 for coming to pick me up and haul me back home, where I'll get to spend the whole holiday period, with my earned home time and a week's paid vacation. I won't return to work 'til Janury 2.
Thanks for following along with my trucking experiences this year. I likely won't add any new reports to this blog 'til I return to work next year, so have a wonderful holiday season. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Well, I've gotten behind again. I have to blame some more long days ending in deep fatigue and the need to get to bed so I could get up early and do it all again. I just love it when the company assigns me loads with lotsa' miles as my next home date nears and my available hours are running low. But hey, I do need the paying miles. Anyway, on to the recap.
WEDNESDAY: BETHEL, PA TO HOWE, IN
The first thing I had to do on Wednesday was to make my way to Breezewood, PA to swap loads with another driver. The swap was set for noon, and I was only 2 hours away. But I got rolling at 8:00 anyway and go to Breezewood at 10:00.
Unfortunately, the other driver was not early. Also, unfortunately, he wasn't on time, either. I wound up with a nearly 3-1/2-hour "layover" at the TA Breezewood. I planned to take a shower while waiting there (one reason I got there early), but their showers for some reason weren't available. So I settled for working on crosswords and other brain-busters in the puzzle book I had along with me.
The other driver finally arrived, we made the swap, and I was back on the road around 1:30. Then my task was to drive as far as I could within my remaining available hours for the day. I managed a bit more than I expected, making it all the way through Ohio and into Indiana via the turnpikes in those states. I stopped for the night at a service plaza along the IN pike, arriving at about 9:45 p.m., too tired to do anything but get ready for and go to bed. So I did.
THURSDAY: HOWE, IN TO OSHKOSH, WI
I had adelivery appointment set for 1:00 p.m. CST in Green Bay, WI. Since I was around 350 miles away and couldn't start driving 'till 7:45 EST (6:45 CST), it was unlikely that I would make that appointment on time. If everything went well--most notably getting through traffic around Chicago--I could conceivably get there on time. But we all know that slowdowns are inevitable in Chicagoland. So I alerted my Fleet Manager that I'd likely be a little late, but no more than 2 hours behind schedule. Then I hit the road. The drive actually did go pretty well, and I didn't lose very much time to traffic problems on my way to the land of the frozen tundra.
As you may know if you know me or have been a regular reader, I like to see famous sporting venues. This was the first time I've been to Green Bay, and it was a thrill to finally see one of the Holy of Holies, Lambwau Field. I first spotted it from a couple miles away as I approached town on WI highway 172. The stadium from that vantage point dominates the town's skyline--heck, it IS the town's skyline. Then my route to my delivery took my down Lombardi way right alongside the stadium grounds. Very cool. But enough of the Lambeau tangent; back to work.
My delivery was one of the quickest live unloads I've ever had. Within 45 minutes of arrival I was outta' there. Then I drove over to a truck stop at the edge of town to plan for my next assignment, the one that'd take me home.
The pickup was set for 5:00 p.m. in a small town in the middle of nowhere, WI, about 30 miles northwest of Appleton, and about 50 miles west of Green Bay. So I made the drive over, making only one wrong turn in thr dark on the two-lane highways. The pickup took a little while, and when it was done I only had about 1-1/2 hours available to get back to civilization and find a place to park for the night. That wound up being a small truck stop aling US-41 outside of Oshkosh, after I couldn't find the one listed in my truck stop directory in Appleton. Again, I was too tired for anything but bedtime.
FRIDAY: OSHKOSH, WI TO HOME
My new load was headed for Coldwater, MI, where I would do a quick drop-and-hook, picking up an emptry trailer on my way out. But first I had to get rolling. That proved difficult because the lot where I was parked was gravel, but covered with ice. And my wheels just spun. So I "borrowed" some salt from the truck stop clerk, found an implement for chopping the ice, and spent some time getting my truck off the ice. So I finally hit the road about 45 minutes behind schedule.
The rest of the day was pretty much OK. The delivery went swell, no terrible traffic problems (nothing worse than what you usually encounter rounding the Chicago area), and I finally reached the yard where I park my truck around 7:30 p.m. or so. Many thanks to R.T. daughter #1 for coming to pick me up and haul me back home, where I'll get to spend the whole holiday period, with my earned home time and a week's paid vacation. I won't return to work 'til Janury 2.
Thanks for following along with my trucking experiences this year. I likely won't add any new reports to this blog 'til I return to work next year, so have a wonderful holiday season. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
New England Swing
DATELINE: BETHEL, PA, 7:00 p.m. EST
Drat! I've fallen behind in my blogging again. My mind has been preoccupied with other concerns these past few days, and I haven't felt the motivation to take the time to describe my work days for y'all. My profuse apologies for that, and I'll catch y'all up today.
SATURDAY, Vandalia, OH to Bloomsburg, PA, 483 Miles
Just another long drive, staying ahead of the winter storm. I did manage that, as I finished my work day before anything started falling from the sky. The sky was grey and gloomy the whole day, foretelling what was to come, but stayed dry for my whole trip.
I stopped at the TA in Bloomsburg, where I had spent a night once before, a few months back, a couple hours shy of my allotted 11 driving hours. Had I gone the full 11 hours, I probably would have been somewhere in New York state, in an area with little in the way of places to park a truck for the night. Besides, NY has a no-idling law (or for no more than 5 minutes at a time), and with the weather as cold as it was, that would have been a problem. (Trucks need to idle to run the heater to keep the cab warm, don'tcha' know.) With still plenty of time to get to my final destination, stopping early wasn't an issue. (Also, 'twas the 4:00 hour, and nightfall comes early in the east this time of year. It's always better to park when it's plenty light out for visibility.)
SUNDAY, Bloomsburg, PA to Willington, CT, 278 Miles
I awoke to snow on the ground, but less than I had expected or feared. Probably only 3 or 4 inches, max. I consulted weather sources online and found that the area I was headed for was due for slightly warmer temperatures and rain, rather than snow. But I was also concerned about my remaining work hours--just 7-3/4--in my 70-hour limit.
I was sure I had just enough to make the delivery (and a place to park afterwards) if the roads were clear and I didn't encounter any delays. I could stay in Bloomsburg and sit out a 34-hour restart, then hit the road around 2:00 Monday morning with a fresh 70. If I did that I would be just a tad late to the delivery. I checked with dispatch if my delivery had a window or if it was a set appointment. To my dismay, it was a set appointment, so I had to do what I could to get there on time (safely, of course).
By the time I settled on a course of action--hitting the road--it had become mid-to-late-morning and the roads had cleared a bit more. So driving wasn't hazardous at all--wet, with some snowy spots, but no trouble for a big rig. The only problem was how hilly the route was. Since I had a very heavy load, I lost quite a bit of time chugging slowly up a lot of steep hills. And I couldn't just "let 'er fly" on the other sides to make up time because of the wet conditions; I had to keep 'er under control.
I knew from my truck stop guide that there are few truck stops in Massachusetts, so I opted to halt for the night at a TA in Willington, CT, just a few miles short of the MA border. There I encountered my only trouble with the snow: they hadn't plowed the parking lot yet, and I nearly bogged down in it when attempting to back into a parking spot. (Another truck just ahead of me was bogged down, its driver working on digging out around his tires.) So I retreated from that area of the lot and found another spot I could drive forward into.
After parking, I headed into the building for a rare (for me on the road, anyway) afternoon/evening shower. I had been all set to take one first thing in the morning in Bloomsburg, but their showers were closed. Since it had been 4 days since I last shaved, I was ready to get cleaned up and smooth-cheeked.
MONDAY, Willington, CT to Willington, CT, 179 Miles
I was up early in order to fuel up my truck and get to my delivery in time for my 7:30 appointment. Since I had roughly 100 miles to go (just a bit less, as it turned out), I gave myself 2 hours to get there 30 minutes early. So I got up at 4:30 in order to get rolling at 5:00.
The drive to the delivery went fine, though some more steep hills and slow traffic, and I arrived as planned. This was a live unload, and a bit of a slow one, so I was at the site for about 2 hours or so. I had about 15 minutes left of my 70 hours, so I needed to find a place to spend the rest of the day--and night--quickly. In my atlas I saw several rest areas along the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), so I headed that-a-way after completing the delivery.
Unfortunately, the rest areas/service plazas had VERY small parking areas for trucks, and they were all full. I headed south back down I-84 from whence I had come that morning to see what was available at the Pilot Travel Center along that way. Plenty of parking was available. However, they had a big sign up telling about the no-idling law in MA. So the die was cast: I would just head back to the Willington TA, where I knew I would find plenty of services (Burger King, Dunkin Donuts) and could idle to my heart's content.
That whole search for a resting place took 2 hours. Once there I sent in a message to my Fleet Manager, asking if they were going to pre-plan a pickup for me for the next day so I could make my own plans ahead of time. He replied that they were going to, but first they had to assign loads to the other drivers who were still rolling that day. I spent the rest of the day (from noon-on) in my truck, but no load assignment ever came.
TODAY, Willington, CT to Bethel, PA, 283 Miles
First things first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mrs. R.T., 29 (for the XXth time) and still looking great!
I had expected to be wrenched from dreamland sometime in the middle of the night by my Qualcomm box beeping with the assignment message, but mercifully that didn't happen. I woke up at 6:00 this morning to shower up and be ready for the day's assignment. Once back from the shower (and breakfast at Dunkin Donuts), the assignment still hadn't arrived, so I sent in a message asking for the assignment's ETA. My Fleet Manager replied that I was #1 on the board, so it shouldn't be long. But it still took nearly another hour (maybe more, I wasn't keeping precise track) before the assignment came in.
This was another interesting assignment: Pick up a load at the Port of Newark, NJ, then take it to St. Louis, MO, delivery on Thursday. The pickup was 147 miles away (according to the load message) at 1:00 p.m. Since it was now after 8:30, I needed to plan my route quickly and get rolling ASAP. I also needed to fuel up again.
Yada, yada, long story short, my route took me through the Bronx (a first for me), and because of heavy traffic there and on the NJ Turnpike, I arrived just after 1:00. But nobody seemed to care about that. I checked in, got my assigned dock door, prepped the trailer (opened the doors, slid the rear tandems to the back as requested at that site), and backed to the dock.
This load went quickly, and I was rolling an hour after I arrived. Since this is another very heavy load, I needed to swing through a truck stop to weigh my truck to make sure none of the axles carried too much weight. That proved to be much easier said--or typed--than done.
First I had to drive almost all of the way across NJ to reach a truck stop with scales along I-78 (the route I needed to take). It's a narrow state, so it took an hour or less. I first pulled off at exit 12 to hit the Pilot there. Alas, their scales were out of order, so I negotiated the traffic in the lot there to get back on the highway. At exit 7 are another Pilot and a TA, so I opted to patronize the TA. HEAVY traffic in its lot--it was only the 3:00 hour; why were so many trucks stopping already? Parking so I could go inside to get the scale printout took a while, then once I got inside there was a long and VERY slow line at the fuel desk. Yada, yada, another long story short, weighing, re-weighing, fighting through lot traffic and parking and waiting in line twice, all took almost an hour and a half. So that left me just enough time to make it to our Bethel terminal within the hours I had available to work today. Since I didn't take a 34-hour restart, I'm picking up hours that I used 9 days ago that are rolling off the 8-day window.
A few minutes ago I got a call from the evening dispatcher at USA. I'm now supposed to swap this load with another driver tomorrow at noon at the TA in Breezewood, PA. That new load is headed for Green Bay, WI. I don't know the delivery details yet, but I'm assuming it will still allow me to get home as scheduled on Friday.
And that's that. You're back in step with me. Thanks for waiting out my silent period there; I assure it wasn't any mishaps in the snow that kept me of the webwaves. Drop me a comment, and keep on truckin'.
Drat! I've fallen behind in my blogging again. My mind has been preoccupied with other concerns these past few days, and I haven't felt the motivation to take the time to describe my work days for y'all. My profuse apologies for that, and I'll catch y'all up today.
SATURDAY, Vandalia, OH to Bloomsburg, PA, 483 Miles
Just another long drive, staying ahead of the winter storm. I did manage that, as I finished my work day before anything started falling from the sky. The sky was grey and gloomy the whole day, foretelling what was to come, but stayed dry for my whole trip.
I stopped at the TA in Bloomsburg, where I had spent a night once before, a few months back, a couple hours shy of my allotted 11 driving hours. Had I gone the full 11 hours, I probably would have been somewhere in New York state, in an area with little in the way of places to park a truck for the night. Besides, NY has a no-idling law (or for no more than 5 minutes at a time), and with the weather as cold as it was, that would have been a problem. (Trucks need to idle to run the heater to keep the cab warm, don'tcha' know.) With still plenty of time to get to my final destination, stopping early wasn't an issue. (Also, 'twas the 4:00 hour, and nightfall comes early in the east this time of year. It's always better to park when it's plenty light out for visibility.)
SUNDAY, Bloomsburg, PA to Willington, CT, 278 Miles
I awoke to snow on the ground, but less than I had expected or feared. Probably only 3 or 4 inches, max. I consulted weather sources online and found that the area I was headed for was due for slightly warmer temperatures and rain, rather than snow. But I was also concerned about my remaining work hours--just 7-3/4--in my 70-hour limit.
I was sure I had just enough to make the delivery (and a place to park afterwards) if the roads were clear and I didn't encounter any delays. I could stay in Bloomsburg and sit out a 34-hour restart, then hit the road around 2:00 Monday morning with a fresh 70. If I did that I would be just a tad late to the delivery. I checked with dispatch if my delivery had a window or if it was a set appointment. To my dismay, it was a set appointment, so I had to do what I could to get there on time (safely, of course).
By the time I settled on a course of action--hitting the road--it had become mid-to-late-morning and the roads had cleared a bit more. So driving wasn't hazardous at all--wet, with some snowy spots, but no trouble for a big rig. The only problem was how hilly the route was. Since I had a very heavy load, I lost quite a bit of time chugging slowly up a lot of steep hills. And I couldn't just "let 'er fly" on the other sides to make up time because of the wet conditions; I had to keep 'er under control.
I knew from my truck stop guide that there are few truck stops in Massachusetts, so I opted to halt for the night at a TA in Willington, CT, just a few miles short of the MA border. There I encountered my only trouble with the snow: they hadn't plowed the parking lot yet, and I nearly bogged down in it when attempting to back into a parking spot. (Another truck just ahead of me was bogged down, its driver working on digging out around his tires.) So I retreated from that area of the lot and found another spot I could drive forward into.
After parking, I headed into the building for a rare (for me on the road, anyway) afternoon/evening shower. I had been all set to take one first thing in the morning in Bloomsburg, but their showers were closed. Since it had been 4 days since I last shaved, I was ready to get cleaned up and smooth-cheeked.
MONDAY, Willington, CT to Willington, CT, 179 Miles
I was up early in order to fuel up my truck and get to my delivery in time for my 7:30 appointment. Since I had roughly 100 miles to go (just a bit less, as it turned out), I gave myself 2 hours to get there 30 minutes early. So I got up at 4:30 in order to get rolling at 5:00.
The drive to the delivery went fine, though some more steep hills and slow traffic, and I arrived as planned. This was a live unload, and a bit of a slow one, so I was at the site for about 2 hours or so. I had about 15 minutes left of my 70 hours, so I needed to find a place to spend the rest of the day--and night--quickly. In my atlas I saw several rest areas along the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), so I headed that-a-way after completing the delivery.
Unfortunately, the rest areas/service plazas had VERY small parking areas for trucks, and they were all full. I headed south back down I-84 from whence I had come that morning to see what was available at the Pilot Travel Center along that way. Plenty of parking was available. However, they had a big sign up telling about the no-idling law in MA. So the die was cast: I would just head back to the Willington TA, where I knew I would find plenty of services (Burger King, Dunkin Donuts) and could idle to my heart's content.
That whole search for a resting place took 2 hours. Once there I sent in a message to my Fleet Manager, asking if they were going to pre-plan a pickup for me for the next day so I could make my own plans ahead of time. He replied that they were going to, but first they had to assign loads to the other drivers who were still rolling that day. I spent the rest of the day (from noon-on) in my truck, but no load assignment ever came.
TODAY, Willington, CT to Bethel, PA, 283 Miles
First things first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mrs. R.T., 29 (for the XXth time) and still looking great!
I had expected to be wrenched from dreamland sometime in the middle of the night by my Qualcomm box beeping with the assignment message, but mercifully that didn't happen. I woke up at 6:00 this morning to shower up and be ready for the day's assignment. Once back from the shower (and breakfast at Dunkin Donuts), the assignment still hadn't arrived, so I sent in a message asking for the assignment's ETA. My Fleet Manager replied that I was #1 on the board, so it shouldn't be long. But it still took nearly another hour (maybe more, I wasn't keeping precise track) before the assignment came in.
This was another interesting assignment: Pick up a load at the Port of Newark, NJ, then take it to St. Louis, MO, delivery on Thursday. The pickup was 147 miles away (according to the load message) at 1:00 p.m. Since it was now after 8:30, I needed to plan my route quickly and get rolling ASAP. I also needed to fuel up again.
Yada, yada, long story short, my route took me through the Bronx (a first for me), and because of heavy traffic there and on the NJ Turnpike, I arrived just after 1:00. But nobody seemed to care about that. I checked in, got my assigned dock door, prepped the trailer (opened the doors, slid the rear tandems to the back as requested at that site), and backed to the dock.
This load went quickly, and I was rolling an hour after I arrived. Since this is another very heavy load, I needed to swing through a truck stop to weigh my truck to make sure none of the axles carried too much weight. That proved to be much easier said--or typed--than done.
First I had to drive almost all of the way across NJ to reach a truck stop with scales along I-78 (the route I needed to take). It's a narrow state, so it took an hour or less. I first pulled off at exit 12 to hit the Pilot there. Alas, their scales were out of order, so I negotiated the traffic in the lot there to get back on the highway. At exit 7 are another Pilot and a TA, so I opted to patronize the TA. HEAVY traffic in its lot--it was only the 3:00 hour; why were so many trucks stopping already? Parking so I could go inside to get the scale printout took a while, then once I got inside there was a long and VERY slow line at the fuel desk. Yada, yada, another long story short, weighing, re-weighing, fighting through lot traffic and parking and waiting in line twice, all took almost an hour and a half. So that left me just enough time to make it to our Bethel terminal within the hours I had available to work today. Since I didn't take a 34-hour restart, I'm picking up hours that I used 9 days ago that are rolling off the 8-day window.
A few minutes ago I got a call from the evening dispatcher at USA. I'm now supposed to swap this load with another driver tomorrow at noon at the TA in Breezewood, PA. That new load is headed for Green Bay, WI. I don't know the delivery details yet, but I'm assuming it will still allow me to get home as scheduled on Friday.
And that's that. You're back in step with me. Thanks for waiting out my silent period there; I assure it wasn't any mishaps in the snow that kept me of the webwaves. Drop me a comment, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Ready, Set, Wait, Go
DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 8:30 p.m. EST
Miles Today: 573
Another terrific start to the day. I awoke earlier than planned--around 4:45--and again couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided just to get up and get moving. After showering, I got ready to go. I started the truck, did my pre-trip inspection, got in, put it in gear, and it stalled.
It did so because, as I figured out later, one (or more) of the trailer brakes was frozen, thus putting too much strain on the engine when the transmission engaged (the frozen brake plus a 45,000-pound load in my trailer). That wasn't the real problem, though. When I turned the key to re-start the engine, all I got was the rapid clicking indicative of a dead battery. AAARGH!
Fortunately, I was at a TA, a chain with which USA Truck contracts to fix its trucks on the road. So after conferring with USA's breakdown department via phone to get their OK, I walked over to the shop to get some help. They drove their road service truck over to where I was parked to jump start my truck. That didn't work at all for a few attempts, so the tech took a look under the hood. Eventually he determined that the truck had a loose ignition wire, so he tightened that back up. Yada yada yada, got the stuck brake released, and I was on my way after about an hour's delay.
Lots of fog during the drive this morning, but the sun eventually broke through and it was a nice, bright, sunny day, though cold. I stopped in Effingham, IL for lunch (Popeye's chicken at the TA there) and fuel (at the Pilot a couple miles further down the highway), but otherwise just kept moving all day. After 10 hours of driving, I arrived here at the Vandalia terminal. I'm spending the night here for my requisite 10-hour break, then I'll drive as far as I can in my allotted hours tomorrow toward my MA destination. Hopefully I'll stay ahead of the weather system that's moving this-a-way, but it's forecast to catch up to me in the northeast on Sunday. So I need to have as few miles to drive that day as possible. (Reminder, my delivery is set for 6:30 Monday morning.)
That's all the news to report today. Thanks for taking a peek. Drop me a line so I know I have a fan base out there, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 573
Another terrific start to the day. I awoke earlier than planned--around 4:45--and again couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided just to get up and get moving. After showering, I got ready to go. I started the truck, did my pre-trip inspection, got in, put it in gear, and it stalled.
It did so because, as I figured out later, one (or more) of the trailer brakes was frozen, thus putting too much strain on the engine when the transmission engaged (the frozen brake plus a 45,000-pound load in my trailer). That wasn't the real problem, though. When I turned the key to re-start the engine, all I got was the rapid clicking indicative of a dead battery. AAARGH!
Fortunately, I was at a TA, a chain with which USA Truck contracts to fix its trucks on the road. So after conferring with USA's breakdown department via phone to get their OK, I walked over to the shop to get some help. They drove their road service truck over to where I was parked to jump start my truck. That didn't work at all for a few attempts, so the tech took a look under the hood. Eventually he determined that the truck had a loose ignition wire, so he tightened that back up. Yada yada yada, got the stuck brake released, and I was on my way after about an hour's delay.
Lots of fog during the drive this morning, but the sun eventually broke through and it was a nice, bright, sunny day, though cold. I stopped in Effingham, IL for lunch (Popeye's chicken at the TA there) and fuel (at the Pilot a couple miles further down the highway), but otherwise just kept moving all day. After 10 hours of driving, I arrived here at the Vandalia terminal. I'm spending the night here for my requisite 10-hour break, then I'll drive as far as I can in my allotted hours tomorrow toward my MA destination. Hopefully I'll stay ahead of the weather system that's moving this-a-way, but it's forecast to catch up to me in the northeast on Sunday. So I need to have as few miles to drive that day as possible. (Reminder, my delivery is set for 6:30 Monday morning.)
That's all the news to report today. Thanks for taking a peek. Drop me a line so I know I have a fan base out there, and keep on truckin'.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
2 More Long-uns
DATELINE: OAK GROVE, MO, 9:22 p.m. CST
Miles Yesterday: 462
Miles Today: 425
Whew! A couple of long days, despite the relatively "few" miles. Both included lengthy waits that caused me to work nearly my entire 14-hour driving window. I was too tired last night to record it for you in this space, but I'll make the effort to catch you up in tonight's episode.
Yesterday I started out by completing the drive to my delivery in Roanoke, TX. It took about 3-1/2 hours of driving to get there from Oklahoma City. The delivery was a drop-and-hook, so it went fairly quickly--30 minutes from entry to exit at the guard shack at the gate. Fortunately, the rain let up a bit while I was out of my cab to unhook and hook the trailers. Did I mention the whole day was gloomy and rainy, sometimes heavily rainy? After the delivery I scooted down the road to a Pilot truck stop to wait for my next assignment. While there the rain did not let up, so I got a bit wet when walking to and from the building. Good thing I found a fairly close parking spot there.
It was over an hour before my assignment came in. In the interim I sat in my cab working on puzzles in a puzzle book put out by the publishers of Games magazine, so I had something to help pass the time. When the load assignment came in, it was just a bit confusing. The pickup was set for 2:00 that afternoon in Grand Prairie, TX (just north of Arlington, between Dallas and Ft. Worth) and delivery was scheduled for 2 hours later--in Tulsa, OK, 270-ish miles away. I sent in a message asking about that; after a while (while I was on my way to the pickup) my fleet manager called to 'splain. Apparently the pickup had been delayed by the weather situation in the area, so the load was behind schedule. And it was a HOT load: generators headed to a store in Tulsa, where the power was out to many residents. So I needed to get there with the load as quickly as I could.
That, however, was another problem. If traffic was completely clear all the way, I had perhaps just enough time to get to Tulsa within the remaining portion of my 14 hours for the day, which was 5 hours by the time I left from the pickup. However, a LOT of people live--and drive--in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and with the heavy rain at the early part of rush hour, I couldn't make tracks as I needed to. It became clear early on that I wasn't going to get all the way to Tulsa. I pulled into a rest area and sent in a message stating that fact, and that I was shooting to make it to the Oklahoma City Flying J (from whence I had started the day). They could arrange a load swap there if they wanted to in order to get that load to its destination ASAP. I continued on my way to OKC and made it there just in time to avoid violating any hours of service regulations for the day.
I hadn't gotten any word from dispatch about a possible swap, so I sent in another message stating where I was and asking if a swap was in the works, or if I would just keep the load and head there first thing in the morning. This was around 8:00 p.m., and I was way tired, so I hit my bunk and went to sleep. 1-1/2 hours later I got a message, its "beep" alert waking me up. The message asked what time I'd be able to get there in the morning, and why I was in OKC. They (she, actually, on this occasion) said OKC was "out of route".
OK, there is another route that is more direct, but it's mainly along a couple of US highways, with many portions not being limited-access highway, snaking through towns and encountering stoplights and lower speed limits. Besides, I would have spent another goodly amount of time while circling Dallas in heavy, slow traffic just to get to that highway. However, I went the way I did because I wanted to stay on the interstates (something they tell us in training AND USA Truck orientation is preferred), and replied as such. Besides, the OKC route isn't really very much out of the way.
The "chewing out" about my route choice irked me, and it took me a good while to fall back asleep, despite my strong fatigue. Eventually I did resume sawing logs, and was sleeping soundly when another message came in and woke me up. This time is was between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m., and the message asked if I was on my way to the delivery. Sheesh! For one thing, these trucks have GPS units on them, and dispatch can find out just where we are. For another, I hadn't even completed my required 10-hour break yet. Sometimes I think the night-time dispatchers don't have enough to do in the middle of their shifts, so they send messages to interrupt their drivers' sleep. I messaged back that I would hit the road as soon as I completed my break. I was too polite to make a fuss about waking me up, but I was again irked and had trouble falling back asleep.
Eventually my watch's alarm woke me up when it was time to get back to work. I got up, freshened up, and hit the road pretty quickly. 2-1/4 hours later I was in Tulsa, arriving at the delivery site. After making the tricky docking maneuvers (off of a narrow side street, not a lot of extra room for pulling up to straighten out), I had a bit of a wait in my cab while they unloaded the trailer. As I mentioned earlier, this was a load of generators. The delivery was to a store that was selling a LOT of them--there was a steady stream of pickup trucks and SUVs to the loading dock next to me, customers picking up the goods they'd paid for in the front of the store.
It took 2 hours for them to finish unloading my trailer and to find the copy of the load's paperwork I had turned in on my arrival. (I need a copy to turn in to USA.) But they did find it, then I headed over to the local Flying J for fuel, a quick bite to eat (it was about lunchtime, after all), and to wait for my next load.
This next load was pre-planned for me, and my fleet manager had let me know while I was waiting at the delivery where the pickup would be--at least the city: Spring Hill, Kansas. I found the town in my atlas; it's just south of Kansas City, KS. I also had plenty of time to plan my route there, too. There wasn't a convenient interstate route between Tulsa and KC, so I decided to go north on US169 and US75 to I-35 (pull out your US atlas and check it out), then east on 35 to the exit for Spring Hill. (That was also along US169, but I decided to go the way I did because, 1. pickup wasn't scheduled 'til 5:00 p.m., and the load assignment mentioned not arriving prior to 15 minutes before the appointment, so I had plenty of time since it was still well before noon, and 2. at the intersection of US75 and I-35 is a TA, and I figured I could stop there for a quick break. Anyway, I made the drive and arrived around 4:30.
There's another story here about having to check in twice and being interrupted while following the instructions I'd been given at the first check-in, (then getting the same instructions the second time) but I'm getting tired and this entry is getting long, so I'll leave it out. Suffice to say that for a drop-and-hook pickup, 1-1/2 hours is way too long. After completing the pickup, I made for this town about 20 miles east of KC, MO. I'm at the TA here, where I've spent the night once before.
My new load is headed for an early Monday morning delivery in Tewksbury, Mass. I don't know yet if I'll take it the whole way or not. For one thing, I have requested to get home for a day on Sunday for the annual holiday concert by the men's chorus of which I am a founding member (and one of the things I miss most because of this job). For another, I don't know if I have enough hours to make the whole drive. I only have 28 left (of my 70-hours-in-8-days limit) through Monday, and it's over 1400 miles the Tewksbury. I'd kinda' like to give it a go, because I do need the paying miles, and I haven't had a chance to drive in MA yet on this job. I'd like to add that state to my fridge. (I collect the state-shaped magnets for each state I've trucked in, and I haven't added a new one for a while now.)
OK, I know I've run on a bit here, but it has been a busy, eventful 2 days. Thanks for checking in, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 462
Miles Today: 425
Whew! A couple of long days, despite the relatively "few" miles. Both included lengthy waits that caused me to work nearly my entire 14-hour driving window. I was too tired last night to record it for you in this space, but I'll make the effort to catch you up in tonight's episode.
Yesterday I started out by completing the drive to my delivery in Roanoke, TX. It took about 3-1/2 hours of driving to get there from Oklahoma City. The delivery was a drop-and-hook, so it went fairly quickly--30 minutes from entry to exit at the guard shack at the gate. Fortunately, the rain let up a bit while I was out of my cab to unhook and hook the trailers. Did I mention the whole day was gloomy and rainy, sometimes heavily rainy? After the delivery I scooted down the road to a Pilot truck stop to wait for my next assignment. While there the rain did not let up, so I got a bit wet when walking to and from the building. Good thing I found a fairly close parking spot there.
It was over an hour before my assignment came in. In the interim I sat in my cab working on puzzles in a puzzle book put out by the publishers of Games magazine, so I had something to help pass the time. When the load assignment came in, it was just a bit confusing. The pickup was set for 2:00 that afternoon in Grand Prairie, TX (just north of Arlington, between Dallas and Ft. Worth) and delivery was scheduled for 2 hours later--in Tulsa, OK, 270-ish miles away. I sent in a message asking about that; after a while (while I was on my way to the pickup) my fleet manager called to 'splain. Apparently the pickup had been delayed by the weather situation in the area, so the load was behind schedule. And it was a HOT load: generators headed to a store in Tulsa, where the power was out to many residents. So I needed to get there with the load as quickly as I could.
That, however, was another problem. If traffic was completely clear all the way, I had perhaps just enough time to get to Tulsa within the remaining portion of my 14 hours for the day, which was 5 hours by the time I left from the pickup. However, a LOT of people live--and drive--in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and with the heavy rain at the early part of rush hour, I couldn't make tracks as I needed to. It became clear early on that I wasn't going to get all the way to Tulsa. I pulled into a rest area and sent in a message stating that fact, and that I was shooting to make it to the Oklahoma City Flying J (from whence I had started the day). They could arrange a load swap there if they wanted to in order to get that load to its destination ASAP. I continued on my way to OKC and made it there just in time to avoid violating any hours of service regulations for the day.
I hadn't gotten any word from dispatch about a possible swap, so I sent in another message stating where I was and asking if a swap was in the works, or if I would just keep the load and head there first thing in the morning. This was around 8:00 p.m., and I was way tired, so I hit my bunk and went to sleep. 1-1/2 hours later I got a message, its "beep" alert waking me up. The message asked what time I'd be able to get there in the morning, and why I was in OKC. They (she, actually, on this occasion) said OKC was "out of route".
OK, there is another route that is more direct, but it's mainly along a couple of US highways, with many portions not being limited-access highway, snaking through towns and encountering stoplights and lower speed limits. Besides, I would have spent another goodly amount of time while circling Dallas in heavy, slow traffic just to get to that highway. However, I went the way I did because I wanted to stay on the interstates (something they tell us in training AND USA Truck orientation is preferred), and replied as such. Besides, the OKC route isn't really very much out of the way.
The "chewing out" about my route choice irked me, and it took me a good while to fall back asleep, despite my strong fatigue. Eventually I did resume sawing logs, and was sleeping soundly when another message came in and woke me up. This time is was between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m., and the message asked if I was on my way to the delivery. Sheesh! For one thing, these trucks have GPS units on them, and dispatch can find out just where we are. For another, I hadn't even completed my required 10-hour break yet. Sometimes I think the night-time dispatchers don't have enough to do in the middle of their shifts, so they send messages to interrupt their drivers' sleep. I messaged back that I would hit the road as soon as I completed my break. I was too polite to make a fuss about waking me up, but I was again irked and had trouble falling back asleep.
Eventually my watch's alarm woke me up when it was time to get back to work. I got up, freshened up, and hit the road pretty quickly. 2-1/4 hours later I was in Tulsa, arriving at the delivery site. After making the tricky docking maneuvers (off of a narrow side street, not a lot of extra room for pulling up to straighten out), I had a bit of a wait in my cab while they unloaded the trailer. As I mentioned earlier, this was a load of generators. The delivery was to a store that was selling a LOT of them--there was a steady stream of pickup trucks and SUVs to the loading dock next to me, customers picking up the goods they'd paid for in the front of the store.
It took 2 hours for them to finish unloading my trailer and to find the copy of the load's paperwork I had turned in on my arrival. (I need a copy to turn in to USA.) But they did find it, then I headed over to the local Flying J for fuel, a quick bite to eat (it was about lunchtime, after all), and to wait for my next load.
This next load was pre-planned for me, and my fleet manager had let me know while I was waiting at the delivery where the pickup would be--at least the city: Spring Hill, Kansas. I found the town in my atlas; it's just south of Kansas City, KS. I also had plenty of time to plan my route there, too. There wasn't a convenient interstate route between Tulsa and KC, so I decided to go north on US169 and US75 to I-35 (pull out your US atlas and check it out), then east on 35 to the exit for Spring Hill. (That was also along US169, but I decided to go the way I did because, 1. pickup wasn't scheduled 'til 5:00 p.m., and the load assignment mentioned not arriving prior to 15 minutes before the appointment, so I had plenty of time since it was still well before noon, and 2. at the intersection of US75 and I-35 is a TA, and I figured I could stop there for a quick break. Anyway, I made the drive and arrived around 4:30.
There's another story here about having to check in twice and being interrupted while following the instructions I'd been given at the first check-in, (then getting the same instructions the second time) but I'm getting tired and this entry is getting long, so I'll leave it out. Suffice to say that for a drop-and-hook pickup, 1-1/2 hours is way too long. After completing the pickup, I made for this town about 20 miles east of KC, MO. I'm at the TA here, where I've spent the night once before.
My new load is headed for an early Monday morning delivery in Tewksbury, Mass. I don't know yet if I'll take it the whole way or not. For one thing, I have requested to get home for a day on Sunday for the annual holiday concert by the men's chorus of which I am a founding member (and one of the things I miss most because of this job). For another, I don't know if I have enough hours to make the whole drive. I only have 28 left (of my 70-hours-in-8-days limit) through Monday, and it's over 1400 miles the Tewksbury. I'd kinda' like to give it a go, because I do need the paying miles, and I haven't had a chance to drive in MA yet on this job. I'd like to add that state to my fridge. (I collect the state-shaped magnets for each state I've trucked in, and I haven't added a new one for a while now.)
OK, I know I've run on a bit here, but it has been a busy, eventful 2 days. Thanks for checking in, and keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Ice, Ice, Baby
DATELINE: OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, Midnight
Miles Today: 635
Gonna have to make this fast tonight...I spent way too much time playin' poker (mostly not getting the results I wanted or expected), so now it's late and I need to get off to bed. But I'll fill you in on today's trip first.
'Twas just a long drive from eastern IL to here in OKC. The weather started out pleasant enough; dry (though overcast and foggy) and warm (in the 50s). But as I made my way into western Missouri, after the fog had cleared out, I obviously passed through a cold front as the temperature dropped, the skies darkened, and the rain began. So the second half of my drive today was with my wipers on.
Through the last bit of Missouri and all the way through Oklahoma, evidence of the recent snow and ice storm abounded. All of the trees, shrubs, and grasses were coated with ice. Fortunately the roads were well salted. It woulda' looked real cool if the sun were out, all sparkly and such. But with gloomy, rainy skies, it just looked, well, interesting anyway.
I made it to my usual OKC hangout, the Flying J on the city's northeast corner, with just a few minutes of my allotted 11 driving hours to spare. Tomorrow I'll probably get up around 6:00 and try to hit the road by 7:00. It should be about a 4-hour drive down to the Dallas area and my delivery, and I'm due there at noon, so that plan should suffice. Now some responses to reader questions.
Reader nancy r asks, "Nice that IL has decent restrooms at the rest areas, but what about the food? Do you have enough munchies in your truck for when you're stuck in places that have no fast food?"
I stock up on heat-n-eat meals from the grocery store whenever I'm home, so I do have plenty to eat when food's not available (or I want to save some bucks). As you may recall, I have a portable oven (kinda' looks like a lunchbox) that plugs into the truck's outlets so I can heat up my carry-along foodstuffs.
And a reply to reader jerry: Sure, I'd love to go to the Motor City Bowl again this year. It's always a fun time. Thanks much.
That's all for today, folks. Thanks for dropping in. Drop me a line or two, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 635
Gonna have to make this fast tonight...I spent way too much time playin' poker (mostly not getting the results I wanted or expected), so now it's late and I need to get off to bed. But I'll fill you in on today's trip first.
'Twas just a long drive from eastern IL to here in OKC. The weather started out pleasant enough; dry (though overcast and foggy) and warm (in the 50s). But as I made my way into western Missouri, after the fog had cleared out, I obviously passed through a cold front as the temperature dropped, the skies darkened, and the rain began. So the second half of my drive today was with my wipers on.
Through the last bit of Missouri and all the way through Oklahoma, evidence of the recent snow and ice storm abounded. All of the trees, shrubs, and grasses were coated with ice. Fortunately the roads were well salted. It woulda' looked real cool if the sun were out, all sparkly and such. But with gloomy, rainy skies, it just looked, well, interesting anyway.
I made it to my usual OKC hangout, the Flying J on the city's northeast corner, with just a few minutes of my allotted 11 driving hours to spare. Tomorrow I'll probably get up around 6:00 and try to hit the road by 7:00. It should be about a 4-hour drive down to the Dallas area and my delivery, and I'm due there at noon, so that plan should suffice. Now some responses to reader questions.
Reader nancy r asks, "Nice that IL has decent restrooms at the rest areas, but what about the food? Do you have enough munchies in your truck for when you're stuck in places that have no fast food?"
I stock up on heat-n-eat meals from the grocery store whenever I'm home, so I do have plenty to eat when food's not available (or I want to save some bucks). As you may recall, I have a portable oven (kinda' looks like a lunchbox) that plugs into the truck's outlets so I can heat up my carry-along foodstuffs.
And a reply to reader jerry: Sure, I'd love to go to the Motor City Bowl again this year. It's always a fun time. Thanks much.
That's all for today, folks. Thanks for dropping in. Drop me a line or two, and keep on truckin'.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Heading Back To...
DATELINE: MARSHALL, IL, 7:45 p.m. EST
Miles Today: 506
Another long day. That happens a lot on these days when I have a delivery and another pickup; in order to get my full allotment of driving hours in I need to take the full 14-hour window. Especially when the new load needs to go a long way with no excess time built into the trip. So here's the scoop on my day.
Up early enough for a shower, shave, and quick breakfast before rolling at 6:00. The roads were clear--the crews had salted away all of the ice--and I reached my destination 30 minutes early. This was easily the most challenging delivery I've had, in that I had to do some tricky backing maneuvers in some narrow lanes. I'm too tired now to write out the whole story, but suffice it to say that I'm glad it came after I've been doing this for over a year now (including training), instead of when I first started. But I finally did get through that delivery, then waited on the street in front of the business for my next assignment.
That came in after a brief interval. I was to head to Romulus, MI to make my 5th pickup at a business there. The drive there took an hour, and the loading was pretty quick--I was in & out of there within 45 minutes. So now I'm taking this load--can you guess? That's right, I'm on my way back to Texas on more time. Back to the Dallas area, this time to the town of Roanoke. It's just north of Fort Worth, so it's a little further west in that metroplex than I've been before. Delivery is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, so I have 49 hours from pickup to delivery to drive the 1200+ miles to get there.
This time I decided to take the "northern route" to get there. Instead of the usual I-75 to I-71 (Cincinnati) to I-65 (Louisville) to I-40 (Nashville) to I-30 (Little Rock) route, I'm going via I-94 to I-69 (mid-MI) to I-70 (India-no-place) to I-44 (St. Louis) to I-35 (Oklahoma City). I'm counting on the bad weather in the plains to have cleared up by the time I get there tomorrow. The routes are just about the same distance, and I'm just so tired of that southern swing that I've made so frequently lately. It's funny that reader/commenter "smudman" mentioned talking to people in Oklahoma City about the ice problems there, because that's where I'm headed tomorrow.
Tonight I've stopped at a rest area just inside the eastern edge of Illinois. I wanted to make it to Effingham, but my 14 hours were just about up. I had about 55 miles to Effingham and only 30 minutes left and when I stopped. But that's OK; IL has good rest areas with plenty of truck parking, and no "No Overnight Parking" regulations. This state gets an "A" on my rest area grading scale--it'd be an "A+", but the restroom facilities could be a bit bigger and nicer.
So that's today's tale. Thanks once again for checking up on me. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 506
Another long day. That happens a lot on these days when I have a delivery and another pickup; in order to get my full allotment of driving hours in I need to take the full 14-hour window. Especially when the new load needs to go a long way with no excess time built into the trip. So here's the scoop on my day.
Up early enough for a shower, shave, and quick breakfast before rolling at 6:00. The roads were clear--the crews had salted away all of the ice--and I reached my destination 30 minutes early. This was easily the most challenging delivery I've had, in that I had to do some tricky backing maneuvers in some narrow lanes. I'm too tired now to write out the whole story, but suffice it to say that I'm glad it came after I've been doing this for over a year now (including training), instead of when I first started. But I finally did get through that delivery, then waited on the street in front of the business for my next assignment.
That came in after a brief interval. I was to head to Romulus, MI to make my 5th pickup at a business there. The drive there took an hour, and the loading was pretty quick--I was in & out of there within 45 minutes. So now I'm taking this load--can you guess? That's right, I'm on my way back to Texas on more time. Back to the Dallas area, this time to the town of Roanoke. It's just north of Fort Worth, so it's a little further west in that metroplex than I've been before. Delivery is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, so I have 49 hours from pickup to delivery to drive the 1200+ miles to get there.
This time I decided to take the "northern route" to get there. Instead of the usual I-75 to I-71 (Cincinnati) to I-65 (Louisville) to I-40 (Nashville) to I-30 (Little Rock) route, I'm going via I-94 to I-69 (mid-MI) to I-70 (India-no-place) to I-44 (St. Louis) to I-35 (Oklahoma City). I'm counting on the bad weather in the plains to have cleared up by the time I get there tomorrow. The routes are just about the same distance, and I'm just so tired of that southern swing that I've made so frequently lately. It's funny that reader/commenter "smudman" mentioned talking to people in Oklahoma City about the ice problems there, because that's where I'm headed tomorrow.
Tonight I've stopped at a rest area just inside the eastern edge of Illinois. I wanted to make it to Effingham, but my 14 hours were just about up. I had about 55 miles to Effingham and only 30 minutes left and when I stopped. But that's OK; IL has good rest areas with plenty of truck parking, and no "No Overnight Parking" regulations. This state gets an "A" on my rest area grading scale--it'd be an "A+", but the restroom facilities could be a bit bigger and nicer.
So that's today's tale. Thanks once again for checking up on me. Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Swing Up to the Great White North
DATELINE: DEXTER, MI, 8:30 p.m. EST
Miles Today: 0
Miles Yesterday: 355
I got a pleasant surprise yesterday (Saturday). Actually, it was a case of good news/bad news. The good news was that I would get to swing by home while hauling a load. The bad news was that the load assignment had relatively few paying miles over 2 days. Here's the story.
Yesterday I woke up in Kentucky, just a bit east of Louisville. After a shower and shave, I headed toward my delivery in Troy, Ohio, just 10 miles north of our Vandalia terminal. I found the site, made the drop-and-hook delivery, then drove to the terminal to fuel up and wait for my next assignment.
It wasn't long after I reached the terminal that my assignment came in: grab a loaded trailer from the terminal's lot. The new load is headed for Shelby Township, MI, with delivery set for 8:00 Monday morning. That's only a 220-mile load, and with almost 2 full days to get there, I had plenty of time to go sit out the wait at my "home" truck stop. So that's where I headed after grabbing the new load. Another benefit of the extra time is that I'll chalk up another 34-hour break, so I'll have a fresh 70 hours to work for the next 8 days.
I arrived in the mid-afternoon, then had some time 'til Mrs. R.T. was free to come by for a visit. Actually, she and R.T. daughter #2 swung by after attending the Saturday evening service at our church, picked me up, and we headed home for a while. Since I'm under a load, I have to spend the night with my truck, so I couldn't sleep at home.
This morning I got to go to church with Mrs. R.T., then have a quick breakfast with her afterwards. Following that, I took the opportunity to find a Christmas tree for the ol' homestead. Then it was back to the truck shortly before 1:00 this afternoon. 'Twas great to spend time with the family in the middle of my tour of duty.
I've spent most of the time since returning to my truck this afternoon doing the online poker thang, playing in 1 multi-table tournament (and making the money to the tune of coming out 57 cents ahead) and 3 6-player sit-n-go tourneys. I took second place in the first one (after being "rivered" out of a win), bombed out early in the second, and finally won the last one. So, all told, I came out a bit ahead. (But I'm still trying to catch up after last Sunday's debacle.)
And that's where things stand right now. I'll need to get up early in the morning to reach my delivery on time. I'm hoping the weather will not quite live up to the dire forecast, and the roads'll be free of ice when I get ready to roll. At least since the snow-and-ice storm was predicted so far ahead, the road crews have been ready for it. Check back tomorrow to see how it all goes.
Thanks for checking in today. Let me know how you're doing, and ask any questions you may have about this life on the road. And keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 0
Miles Yesterday: 355
I got a pleasant surprise yesterday (Saturday). Actually, it was a case of good news/bad news. The good news was that I would get to swing by home while hauling a load. The bad news was that the load assignment had relatively few paying miles over 2 days. Here's the story.
Yesterday I woke up in Kentucky, just a bit east of Louisville. After a shower and shave, I headed toward my delivery in Troy, Ohio, just 10 miles north of our Vandalia terminal. I found the site, made the drop-and-hook delivery, then drove to the terminal to fuel up and wait for my next assignment.
It wasn't long after I reached the terminal that my assignment came in: grab a loaded trailer from the terminal's lot. The new load is headed for Shelby Township, MI, with delivery set for 8:00 Monday morning. That's only a 220-mile load, and with almost 2 full days to get there, I had plenty of time to go sit out the wait at my "home" truck stop. So that's where I headed after grabbing the new load. Another benefit of the extra time is that I'll chalk up another 34-hour break, so I'll have a fresh 70 hours to work for the next 8 days.
I arrived in the mid-afternoon, then had some time 'til Mrs. R.T. was free to come by for a visit. Actually, she and R.T. daughter #2 swung by after attending the Saturday evening service at our church, picked me up, and we headed home for a while. Since I'm under a load, I have to spend the night with my truck, so I couldn't sleep at home.
This morning I got to go to church with Mrs. R.T., then have a quick breakfast with her afterwards. Following that, I took the opportunity to find a Christmas tree for the ol' homestead. Then it was back to the truck shortly before 1:00 this afternoon. 'Twas great to spend time with the family in the middle of my tour of duty.
I've spent most of the time since returning to my truck this afternoon doing the online poker thang, playing in 1 multi-table tournament (and making the money to the tune of coming out 57 cents ahead) and 3 6-player sit-n-go tourneys. I took second place in the first one (after being "rivered" out of a win), bombed out early in the second, and finally won the last one. So, all told, I came out a bit ahead. (But I'm still trying to catch up after last Sunday's debacle.)
And that's where things stand right now. I'll need to get up early in the morning to reach my delivery on time. I'm hoping the weather will not quite live up to the dire forecast, and the roads'll be free of ice when I get ready to roll. At least since the snow-and-ice storm was predicted so far ahead, the road crews have been ready for it. Check back tomorrow to see how it all goes.
Thanks for checking in today. Let me know how you're doing, and ask any questions you may have about this life on the road. And keep on truckin'.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Steps Retraced
DATELINE: PENDLETON, KY, 9:00 p.m. EST
Miles Wednesday: 226
Miles Thursday: 545
Miles Today: 644
Tsk, tsk, tsk, I missed another couple of days of updates. This time it wasn't (entirely) my fault--I couldn't get an internet connection at the place I stayed both nights. So I'll have to catch up tonight. So here goes.
Wednesday started with me handing my key over to the shop at the West Memphis terminal so they could do the regular maintenance on my truck. My appointment was at 8:00, I checked in at 7:35, and I didn't get my truck back until after 11:30 a.m. That was OK since my load wasn't due for delivery until 11:30 the next morning in Irving, TX, a 7-ish-hour drive away. So Wednesday afternoon I split the difference and drove to Prescott, AR. I would have gone a bit further, into Texas, but I figured I'd stay at Prescott's TA so I could use one of my shower credits in the morning and clean up before heading to my delivery. The unfortunate part of that decision was the lack of a clear signal for my Verizon card to connect me to the 'net. So I had to settle for going to bed early.
On Thursday I got up early, hit the shower, then headed into the Lone Star state. As I had expected, it took me 4 hours of driving to get to the delivery, a site I'd been to twice before. The assigned me a dock door right away, but I had to wait a while for them to unload a couple other USA trucks before they started on mine. Once they did, though, unloading went pretty quick. Then I was off to find a truck stop at which to await my next assignment.
I tried stopping at a place somewhat near where I had just left, but when I got there I discovered that they charge for parking. Cheapskate that I am, I decided to head to another TA on the south side of Dallas and wait there (and to get lunch in their food court--they have a Burger King, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut Express). With the swing through first place and some traffic, the drive to the TA took me about an hour. My assignment still hadn't come in, so I had time to go in and grab lunch (I decided on Taco Bell). I took it to go and walked back to my truck to eat it there. While lunching, the assignment came in: Pick up a load at the place to which I had just delivered this morning. Sheesh! More backtracking. So I finished my burrito (a grilled stuft burrito with chicken) and headed back.
This time the drive only took 30 minutes. The pickup was a drop-and-hook, so that was nice 'n quick, too. This load is headed for a Saturday noon delivery in Troy, OH, so I was once again headed back along I-30 and I-40, at least as far as Nashville, TN before diverging northward. But on Thursday my remaining available hours only got be back to the Prescott TA from whence I had started the day. So, once again, no opportunity to blog for y'all to let you know what I was up to.
Today was just a lot of driving through a lot of drizzle (and some steady rain, too). I didn't encounter any traffic tie-ups the whole way, so as you can tell by my mileage figures above, I made it quite a ways today. I've stopped at a Pilot for the night, about 30-40 miles east of Louisville. I have about 3 hours more to drive tomorrow to reach my delivery, so I won't have to get up in the wee hours to get there on time. But I probably will, anyway, so I can get there and deliver early. Check back tomorrow to see how that goes. Now on to some reader questions.
Reader nancy r. asks, "So what state do you spend the most time in, do you suppose? You do seem to go through Tennessee quite a bit."
That is a tough one to answer with any certainty. With all of my trips to Texas lately, that state must be high on my list. But earlier on this year I may have thought perhaps Virginia was a candidate, since I made many trips along its western edge on I-81, either passing through or heading to customers in the state. Tennessee and Arkansas are also states where I do spend a lot of time, since they are "in the way" of other places I need to go. Besides, with 2 terminals in AR, I have spent many hours in that state.
Reader mrr asks, "So, what's your schedule looking like for around the holidays? Any chance you'll get to spend them at home?"
Well now, I have some good news on that front. I'll have my next regular home time starting on 12/21. That'll carry me through Christmas Day, but then I'm going to take my first paid vacation on this job for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Yes, I'll finally be eligible for that vacation as of 12/21. (Unfortunately, I only get 1 week of paid vacation, so that'll be it for another 12 months unless I find other employment.) So, yes, I will be able to be home for the holidays.
So now I'm caught back up. Thanks for following along with my story. Be like readers nancy r and mrr and send in some comments and questions. And don't forget to keep on truckin'.
Miles Wednesday: 226
Miles Thursday: 545
Miles Today: 644
Tsk, tsk, tsk, I missed another couple of days of updates. This time it wasn't (entirely) my fault--I couldn't get an internet connection at the place I stayed both nights. So I'll have to catch up tonight. So here goes.
Wednesday started with me handing my key over to the shop at the West Memphis terminal so they could do the regular maintenance on my truck. My appointment was at 8:00, I checked in at 7:35, and I didn't get my truck back until after 11:30 a.m. That was OK since my load wasn't due for delivery until 11:30 the next morning in Irving, TX, a 7-ish-hour drive away. So Wednesday afternoon I split the difference and drove to Prescott, AR. I would have gone a bit further, into Texas, but I figured I'd stay at Prescott's TA so I could use one of my shower credits in the morning and clean up before heading to my delivery. The unfortunate part of that decision was the lack of a clear signal for my Verizon card to connect me to the 'net. So I had to settle for going to bed early.
On Thursday I got up early, hit the shower, then headed into the Lone Star state. As I had expected, it took me 4 hours of driving to get to the delivery, a site I'd been to twice before. The assigned me a dock door right away, but I had to wait a while for them to unload a couple other USA trucks before they started on mine. Once they did, though, unloading went pretty quick. Then I was off to find a truck stop at which to await my next assignment.
I tried stopping at a place somewhat near where I had just left, but when I got there I discovered that they charge for parking. Cheapskate that I am, I decided to head to another TA on the south side of Dallas and wait there (and to get lunch in their food court--they have a Burger King, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut Express). With the swing through first place and some traffic, the drive to the TA took me about an hour. My assignment still hadn't come in, so I had time to go in and grab lunch (I decided on Taco Bell). I took it to go and walked back to my truck to eat it there. While lunching, the assignment came in: Pick up a load at the place to which I had just delivered this morning. Sheesh! More backtracking. So I finished my burrito (a grilled stuft burrito with chicken) and headed back.
This time the drive only took 30 minutes. The pickup was a drop-and-hook, so that was nice 'n quick, too. This load is headed for a Saturday noon delivery in Troy, OH, so I was once again headed back along I-30 and I-40, at least as far as Nashville, TN before diverging northward. But on Thursday my remaining available hours only got be back to the Prescott TA from whence I had started the day. So, once again, no opportunity to blog for y'all to let you know what I was up to.
Today was just a lot of driving through a lot of drizzle (and some steady rain, too). I didn't encounter any traffic tie-ups the whole way, so as you can tell by my mileage figures above, I made it quite a ways today. I've stopped at a Pilot for the night, about 30-40 miles east of Louisville. I have about 3 hours more to drive tomorrow to reach my delivery, so I won't have to get up in the wee hours to get there on time. But I probably will, anyway, so I can get there and deliver early. Check back tomorrow to see how that goes. Now on to some reader questions.
Reader nancy r. asks, "So what state do you spend the most time in, do you suppose? You do seem to go through Tennessee quite a bit."
That is a tough one to answer with any certainty. With all of my trips to Texas lately, that state must be high on my list. But earlier on this year I may have thought perhaps Virginia was a candidate, since I made many trips along its western edge on I-81, either passing through or heading to customers in the state. Tennessee and Arkansas are also states where I do spend a lot of time, since they are "in the way" of other places I need to go. Besides, with 2 terminals in AR, I have spent many hours in that state.
Reader mrr asks, "So, what's your schedule looking like for around the holidays? Any chance you'll get to spend them at home?"
Well now, I have some good news on that front. I'll have my next regular home time starting on 12/21. That'll carry me through Christmas Day, but then I'm going to take my first paid vacation on this job for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Yes, I'll finally be eligible for that vacation as of 12/21. (Unfortunately, I only get 1 week of paid vacation, so that'll be it for another 12 months unless I find other employment.) So, yes, I will be able to be home for the holidays.
So now I'm caught back up. Thanks for following along with my story. Be like readers nancy r and mrr and send in some comments and questions. And don't forget to keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Round Trippin'
DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 10:45 p.m. CST
Miles Today: 407
Well, I'm back tonight from whence I started yesterday. I made my delivery this morning, and while my trailer was being unloaded, my next assignment came in, even before I could send in my "empty call" message. There was a good reason for that, though; my pickup was at the same place where I was. I thought that might be a possibility, because I had made a pickup at that site once before.
Anyway, the delivery was a live unload, and it took over an hour and a half. The pickup was a drop-and-hook, though, so that went quickly. My new load is headed back along most of the route I had just travelled, to Irving Texas, to another customer to whom I've delivered loads twice before. So I'm getting good, long looks at I-40 and I-30 this week.
The load isn't due for delivery 'til 11:30 Thursday morning, so I have plenty of time to get there (about 48 hours from pickup to delivery, and only about 13 hours of driving). So I've stopped back here at the terminal and have an appointment for my truck's regular maintenance check at 8:00 tomorrow morning. (The message telling me my truck was coming due for the service came in just as I was leaving here yesterday, of course. They couldn't have let me know that when I was here on my 34-hour break Saturday night and Sunday.) Assuming the maintenance work goes quickly in the morning, I'll have plenty of time to get to (or at least a goodly ways on my way to) the Dallas area (Irving is a Dallas suburb) afterwards. Then it'll be a quick drive to the delivery after I sleep in a bit Thursday morning.
I'm in a bit better mood this evening than last. Following my two online poker tournament wins last night, I played one more after arriving here tonight and won it, too! This one was quite interesting because it got down to the final three fairly quickly (it was a 6-handed game to begin with), then the battle went back and forth for quite a while, well past the 1-hour mark before we could eliminate the 3rd place finisher. Interestingly, he had been the chip leader when we went to the 3-way stage.
The heads-up battle between me and the eventual runner-up went back and forth for another long while before I finally got lucky--admittedly--on a couple of hands and took a huge chip lead, after having been well behind before the lucky swing. After that it wasn't long before my worthy opponent went all-in with a marginal hand (he was pretty much forced to because of his small chip count compared to the size of the blinds) against my strong one, and I took the win. After that prolonged battle, I had had enough cards for the night. I'm now happy and tired.
So that was my day, a bright, sunny one all day long. Thanks for checking out today's report. Do me a favor and submit a comment, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 407
Well, I'm back tonight from whence I started yesterday. I made my delivery this morning, and while my trailer was being unloaded, my next assignment came in, even before I could send in my "empty call" message. There was a good reason for that, though; my pickup was at the same place where I was. I thought that might be a possibility, because I had made a pickup at that site once before.
Anyway, the delivery was a live unload, and it took over an hour and a half. The pickup was a drop-and-hook, though, so that went quickly. My new load is headed back along most of the route I had just travelled, to Irving Texas, to another customer to whom I've delivered loads twice before. So I'm getting good, long looks at I-40 and I-30 this week.
The load isn't due for delivery 'til 11:30 Thursday morning, so I have plenty of time to get there (about 48 hours from pickup to delivery, and only about 13 hours of driving). So I've stopped back here at the terminal and have an appointment for my truck's regular maintenance check at 8:00 tomorrow morning. (The message telling me my truck was coming due for the service came in just as I was leaving here yesterday, of course. They couldn't have let me know that when I was here on my 34-hour break Saturday night and Sunday.) Assuming the maintenance work goes quickly in the morning, I'll have plenty of time to get to (or at least a goodly ways on my way to) the Dallas area (Irving is a Dallas suburb) afterwards. Then it'll be a quick drive to the delivery after I sleep in a bit Thursday morning.
I'm in a bit better mood this evening than last. Following my two online poker tournament wins last night, I played one more after arriving here tonight and won it, too! This one was quite interesting because it got down to the final three fairly quickly (it was a 6-handed game to begin with), then the battle went back and forth for quite a while, well past the 1-hour mark before we could eliminate the 3rd place finisher. Interestingly, he had been the chip leader when we went to the 3-way stage.
The heads-up battle between me and the eventual runner-up went back and forth for another long while before I finally got lucky--admittedly--on a couple of hands and took a huge chip lead, after having been well behind before the lucky swing. After that it wasn't long before my worthy opponent went all-in with a marginal hand (he was pretty much forced to because of his small chip count compared to the size of the blinds) against my strong one, and I took the win. After that prolonged battle, I had had enough cards for the night. I'm now happy and tired.
So that was my day, a bright, sunny one all day long. Thanks for checking out today's report. Do me a favor and submit a comment, and keep on truckin'.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Down Time
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TN, 11:00 p.m. EST
Miles Today: 383
Miles Yesterday: 0
Miles Saturday: 404
Oops, missed a couple of days, there. Sorry 'bout dat. (Then again, I didn't see any reader comments to my last update, so we're even, eh?) Wasn't much exciting going on over the weekend. On Saturday I drove from Caddo Mills, TX to the West Memphis, AR terminal. I had added up my hours and discovered I didn't have enough left to take my load all the way to its final destination, so dispatch had me drop the load there and take a 34-hour break to reset that 70-hour counter.
So I spent Saturday night and all day yesterday working on my Poker prowess. I played exclusively in tournaments (no cash games), single-table sit-n-gos and big, multi-table tourneys. Things went pretty well on the virtual felt Saturday night, as I increased my bankroll by over 10%. (Sounds good 'til you realize just how small my bankroll is, even after the increase.) Then Sunday came along. Fortunately, my skills are fairly decent. Unfortunately, I had one he** of a run of being card-dead (not getting good cards at all) and, when I did get a decent hand, I took about every bad beat imaginable. So by last night I was in a pretty foul state of mind, in no mood to compose a report for y'all.
This morning I got up early and sent in my "back to work" message to trigger dispatch to send me a load assignment. It took a couple hours before I got one: Grab a loaded trailer at the terminal and take it across Tennessee to the town of Loudon, just south of Knoxville. Delivery is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:00 a.m., so I've come to the TA on the south side of Knoxville for the night.
I got here just after 5:00 in the evening, so I had some more free time to see if the Poker gods would be willing to smile on me today. I started out with a couple of multi-table tournaments, and found results similar to Sunday's. Then I went back to 6-handed sit-n-gos, played in 2 of those, and won 'em both. So my mood's a little better now (though I do have quite a stress headache from the earlier frustrations).
It's just about bedtime now, so I'm gonna wrap up and hit the sack. Thanks for dropping by. Drop me a question and/or comment and, as ever, keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 383
Miles Yesterday: 0
Miles Saturday: 404
Oops, missed a couple of days, there. Sorry 'bout dat. (Then again, I didn't see any reader comments to my last update, so we're even, eh?) Wasn't much exciting going on over the weekend. On Saturday I drove from Caddo Mills, TX to the West Memphis, AR terminal. I had added up my hours and discovered I didn't have enough left to take my load all the way to its final destination, so dispatch had me drop the load there and take a 34-hour break to reset that 70-hour counter.
So I spent Saturday night and all day yesterday working on my Poker prowess. I played exclusively in tournaments (no cash games), single-table sit-n-gos and big, multi-table tourneys. Things went pretty well on the virtual felt Saturday night, as I increased my bankroll by over 10%. (Sounds good 'til you realize just how small my bankroll is, even after the increase.) Then Sunday came along. Fortunately, my skills are fairly decent. Unfortunately, I had one he** of a run of being card-dead (not getting good cards at all) and, when I did get a decent hand, I took about every bad beat imaginable. So by last night I was in a pretty foul state of mind, in no mood to compose a report for y'all.
This morning I got up early and sent in my "back to work" message to trigger dispatch to send me a load assignment. It took a couple hours before I got one: Grab a loaded trailer at the terminal and take it across Tennessee to the town of Loudon, just south of Knoxville. Delivery is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:00 a.m., so I've come to the TA on the south side of Knoxville for the night.
I got here just after 5:00 in the evening, so I had some more free time to see if the Poker gods would be willing to smile on me today. I started out with a couple of multi-table tournaments, and found results similar to Sunday's. Then I went back to 6-handed sit-n-gos, played in 2 of those, and won 'em both. So my mood's a little better now (though I do have quite a stress headache from the earlier frustrations).
It's just about bedtime now, so I'm gonna wrap up and hit the sack. Thanks for dropping by. Drop me a question and/or comment and, as ever, keep on truckin'.
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