Southward Rush

DATELINE: SMITH GROVE, KY

Miles Today: 520

Back on the road, and I'm gonna have to make this a quick update again 'cuz I'm on one of those loads with no spare time built into the schedule. Which means I gotta get up and boogie as soon as my break reaches 10 hours. So I need to get you up-to-date good 'n quick-like, then hit the sack. So with no further ado, let's get right to today's story.

(Aside: When one says, "With no further ado...", is that in itself further ado?)

The wonderful Mrs. R.T. returned me to my truck this morning on her way to work. She had a little extra time, so after unloading my gear into my truck and sending in my "Back-to-Work" message to initiate the search for a load for me, we zipped across the street to McDonald's for a quick breakfast. When I got back to my truck 15-20 minutes later, I already had an assignment waiting for me. I think that's a speed record for a response to my back-to-work.

My assignment was a pickup in Sturgis, MI, 20-ish miles west of Coldwater. It was at a company where I once delivered a load, so I knew the route. The drive over and loading went nice 'n smoothly, and the load went quickly, too. So a good start to this tour of duty. My schedule is to deliver this load tomorrow (Friday) afternoon in Midland, GA, a 750-ish-mile drive. (Midland, BTW, is in the western part of the state, a tad south of I-85.) From the time I departed the pickup to the delivery appointment at 1:00, I have about 25-1/2 hours to complete this mission. Averaging 50 MPH, that make 15 hours of driving. Toss in the requisite 10-hour break, and you see I have very little "wiggle room" in this run for things like fuel stops, leisurely meal breaks, and traffic jams, (which are strong possibilities as I need to get through Nashville and Atlanta on my way over to Midland). So despite the good start to the trip, it does have strong stress potential.

I've stopped for the night at a Mom 'n Pop truck stop in this burg 38 miles north of the TN line. It's been a gorgeous day for a drive, full sun the whole way. I sure hope the great weather holds for a while. (And I hope it's god wherever you are, too!)

As I mentioned up top, I need to get rolling early (well, relatively early--as soon as I've rested 10 hours), so time to wrap this up. Thanks for your continued interest in my road warrior (road worrier?) doings. Please drop me a line to let me know what you're interested in me telling you about, and keep on truckin'.