Another Waiting Game

PART I
DATELINE: TAMPA, FLA, 2:30 p.m. EDT

Miles Yesterday: 517

I can't give today's miles yet 'cuz my day (probably) isn't over yet. I made my delivery this morning in Clearwater, then retreated back here to the Tampa TA (where I spent last night, too) to await my next assignment. The delivery went fine, although I had some bad directions--again--and got there a bit late. But that didn't seem to bother anyone (besides me, that is).

So I got back here at about 9:45 a.m., and for the most part have been sitting here waiting. This TA does charge for parking, but gives you 24 hours free if you buy fuel or spend $20 or more in their store. I did get $20+ in groceries this morning before heading out to my delivery, so last night's parking was free. After returning here, I waited nearly 2 hours, then headed out to the Flying J across the street to fuel up (it's a company-approved fuel stop). I'm not parked at the "J" because that one is very small, with only 30 parking spots. Anyway, after fueling there, I worked my way back here and am waiting some more.

Actually, I did get an assignment. It's to drive up to Augusta, GA (434 miles) to pick up a load bound for our Laredo, TX terminal (1246 more miles). That's a great load because of the paid miles but, alas, I'm a bit short on hours to make the trip on time (due Thursday afternoon). Dad-burn DOT hours-of-service regulations! So I've messaged in about my hours predicament, and am still waiting to find out if Dispatch wants me to go ahead and get that load, or if they'll give me another.

Meanwhile, I still wait. If they don't hurry up, I'm gonna run out of my 14-hour window for today (I have 5:15 left as of this moment). By the way, sorry about not posting an update yesterday. My drive down from SC took longer than I expected (9-1/2 hours as opposed to the 8 I estimated), and I was a bit tired to put words together in any coherent fashion.

Anyway, I promised to answer reader nancyr's question, "What's the hardest part about trying to get enough sleep on the truck? Is it the noise and the shaking when the motor kicks in and quits? The unyielding mattress? Or do you wake up and start thinking about all the miles you'll have to drive when you get up?"

As for the noise and motions when the engine starts up and stops (remember, the truck has an idle-management system to conserve fuel; it runs to keep the cab's climate in a comfy range, then shuts down 'til the temp falls or climbs out of that range), I'm completely used to them and sleep right through. And my mattress is actually pretty comfy.

Whoops, just heard from my Fleet Manager...gotta go to Augusta. C U tonight.


PART II
DATELINE: JACKSONVILLE, FL, 7:35 p.m. EDT

Miles Today: 270

My F.M. had called and interrupted me while I was composing today's missive, confirming that he wanted me to go ahead and pick up that load in Augusta, GA. So I duly logged off, stowed the laptop, and hit the road.

Before I describe this afternoon's drive, let me finish answering nancyr's question, which basically asks what it is that keeps me from getting enough sleep while on the road.

Like I stated, I sleep right through the engine starting up and stopping in the night, and my mattress is just fine. IMHO, the single factor that keeps me sleep-deprived on this job is the 10-hour break. Well, probably the long work days combined with the 10-hour break. When I have these long days, using up my entire 14-hour window in which I can drive each day (I have to stop driving 14 hours after I start work, then can't drive again 'til I take the 10-hour break, even if I've just been sitting around and waiting for large chunks of the workday), I usually need to get rolling the next morning as soon as my break hits the 10-hour mark so I can stay on schedule. With all I need to do on either end of sleep: blogging, dining, dental care, etc. beforehand, and showering, breakfasting, etc. after, it's rare I get a full 8 hours of sleep. Add in that some days I probably ingest a bit too much caffeine, or that other days (or sometimes the same days) are high on the stress level, and those days I find it hard to drift off peacefully. So that cuts into my sleep time (and quality) as well. Anybody jealous of my exciting life crossing the country (and sometimes Canada)? And now back to today's story.

60-90 minutes along my way (I-4 eastbound across the state at that juncture), my Qualcomm box gave the unmistakable chirp of another load assignment message coming in. It took me 10-15 minutes to come to a rest area so I could pull in to read the message. Sure enough, they pulled me off of the Augusta to Laredo load. (They told me the load was cancelled altogether.) Instead, I'm now heading for Savannah, GA to grab a load there tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

I don't know yet how far I'll be taking the new load; like I mentioned above, I'm short of hours for the next few days. This load assignment lists the delivery time in Marietta, OK as 25 hours after pickup. Now, it also lists the route mileage from Savannah to Marietta as 1058, so that's a 20-hour trip, at least. The math just doesn't work for a solo driver (especially one short on hours), so I expect some news about relaying the load somewhere. 'Twould be nice to know ahead of time.

I didn't need to change direction at all, since Savannah was on my route to Augusta, anyway, so I just continued on my way. I've made it to the Jacksonville area, to a rest area just south of the city. I wanted to stay at the TA just a mile or so south of here, but when I pulled in, its small parking lot was already full. So I continued on and pulled in here. I could have driven another 1-1/2 hours, but with my hours situation, it just didn't matter. No matter where I stopped, I was gonna have to roll 10 hours later anyway in order to get to the pickup in time. So since I was getting hungry, I just stopped here (it was 6:30 when I stopped) to heat up some dinner and call it a day.

So, again, it'll be another short night and early morning. At least I can sleep in another 15-20 minutes because I can't get a shower here. But I only have 9-1/2 hours available to work tomorrow, and the pickup will be a drop-and-hook, so it'll be a relatively short workday.

Thanks for checking in on today's special two-parter. Let me hear from you with questions and comments so I'll know what you want to know about my nomadic life. (Reminds me of a joke...Man talking to his date: "So enough about me, let's talk about you. What do you want to know about me?") As always, keep on truckin'.