Cartersville, Jo-juh

I obviously have Internet access tonight. Thank you, Georgia.

So, there was supposed to be some power line work last night, or so I thought. Either there were two incidents or I was misinformed, because I was definitely parked on the interstate for an hour this morning while a new power line was installed across the road. So much for dodge number three - that was a direct hit. The rest of the ride was trouble free, save for a few slow downs due to the Tennessee Highway Patrol's roadside light shows.

I have one delivery and one pick-up tomorrow and then I'll be heading home!

Desperate?

How many cars does it take to block an exit? Just one, but they used eight for good measure. This was from when I was pulling out this morning.

Got gas?

Apparently, the only operating gas station this morning

Paducah, KY - 1/28/09

This is starting to get ridiculous. Two nights in a row without Internet is borderline cruelty.

Well, I dodged two bullets today, but I got grazed by the third one. My appointment was at 6:30 this morning, so I headed across the street to check-in around 6:00, but all the doors were locked and there were no cars there. History tells us this is not a good thing. As I was checking a third door, which was also locked, another truck pulled in and I decided to see if the driver could shed some light on the situation. He said he'd been there once before and the dock workers arrive at 6:30 on the dot. And they did. I was loaded in half an hour, but still technically on my ten hour break, so I did my paperwork and pre-trip inspection to kill some time. After I got rolling, I realized I wasn't going to make it to my scheduled fuel stop in Mount Vernon, IL with only 1/4 tank, so I filled up in Beloit, WI. An hour or so later, I got a Qualcomm message saying the wait for fuel in Mount Vernon was over an hour, supposedly because of the ice and power outages. Sweet. I dodged that one and didn't even know it was coming.

The ride down through Illinois was a slow one, thanks to it's 55mph speed limit for trucks. There was still snow on the ground, but the roads were completely clear. Didn't somebody say something about an ice storm? As I neared I-24, I noticed the northbound traffic was going rather slow and starting to back-up. And then I saw the road in the headlights. It was covered in slush. And it was 23 degrees. So, while the northbound lanes were backed-up and about to be iced over, I was rolling steadily along southbound, enjoying the favored side of the Illinois DOT's half-baked work. Thanks guys. Dodge number two.

A short ride on I-24 brought me into Kentucky, and that's where the ice started - not on the roads, fortunately. They were still dry. The trees adjacent to the road, however, looked as though they'd been thrashed by a hurricane. They were laying over the guardrail and obscuring road signs in a few places. Everything outside looked as though it were made of glass. Ah, here's my exit. Hmm, where's the Pilot sign? Oh, it's dark because there's no power at the Pilot. So, no fuel, no restaurant, no showers, and no bathroom. Ouch. That bullet kinda stung.

I just heard the interstate is going to be shut down for 45 minutes so a downed-power line can be fixed. Ha. Dodge number three?

Four

Three

Two

One

Out in the sticks -1/27/09

I'm officially part of Generation Y, a fact that appeared most evident as I was about to bemoan my current lack of access to the wireless data network that allows me to e-mail and browse the Internet from my wireless phone. I guess you could say "the sticks" aren't what they used to be.

I'm actually in Friesland, WI. I have an early morning appointment to get loaded and afterwards I'll hit the road and head back south. I sat around the yard most of the day waiting on something or someone - I know, story of my life. I waited on my truck to get out of the shop, but gave up and went out to lunch. As I was about to order, my dispatcher called to find out when I'd be ready to go back out because my truck was out of the shop. So I got back to the truck...and waited for a load assignment. After finding out it didn't pick up until tomorrow, I had time to get my 3-month evaluation taken care of...but I had to wait on the training department guy to finish another one first. Finally, I was able to get on the road. It only took a couple hours to get down here. Now I get to hang out until morning.

Ahh, Truckers...

I know it's sideways, but it wouldn't fit the other way and I can't edit it on my phone - too good to not share, though

Amherst, WI

Wow. I thought coaches got fired for having losing records. Maybe I should slack off every once in a while to make sure I don't lose my job.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,482825,00.html

Today went rather smoothly. I got unloaded quickly, headed to Green Bay for a quick drop and hook, then it was off to the yard for some maintenance. Yet, I'm still here and I don't think anything has been maintained. Hopefully the day shift guys will get everything taken care of tomorrow.

Belgium, WI

Um, where was I this morning? Oh yes, Kentucky. I left Glendale, KY this morning and stopped for lunch in Indiana. Then it was on to Illinois for fuel before heading into Wisconsin. It is still incredibly cold, but at least it's not snowing and the roads are clear.

I had dinner at the local eatery next door and upon walking in, was quickly reminded that not every city values fresh air. The cloud of cigarette smoke was enough to make the Marlboro Man cough, so I ate quickly and left.

I'm a few hours from my delivery tomorrow and I'm not sure what will be next. Hopefully I'll end up at the yard soon to get this service stuff out of the way.

Glendale, KY

I left Lake Park this morning and had an uneventful ride up to Atlanta, where I stopped and met up with Daniel for a nice lunch. As tempting as it was to spend the evening at home, I got back on the road and made it here just as my 14-hr clock expired. I believe I've around 600 miles or so to the receiver in Shawano, WI, so I'll probably do about 500 tomorrow and knock out the rest Monday morning. No sense wearing myself out to get there tomorrow.

Today I had my first introduction to a bonafide asshole trucker. Well, we weren't technically introduced, but I waved with one finger as he ran me and another truck off the road. I jest. Sadly, I didn't have time to wave. I was cruising in the granny lane 'cause I have a slow truck and that's how I roll, and another truck was passing me on the left. Suddenly, this truck starts drifting into my lane and doesn't stop, so I was forced completely onto the shoulder to avoid a collision before I even had time to grab the horn. At first I thought he just wasn't paying attention, then I realized it wasn't his fault. The road was three lanes and the left lane was ending, so traffic had to merge to the center lane, which is where the passing truck was. Well, a third truck decided he was going to merge into the center lane whether there was a truck there or not. Thus, the near collision with three big trucks.

I was going to complain about the cold weather again, but it's futile. It's January and I'm headed to a city in Wisconsin that's north of Green Bay. Just use your imagination.

Lake Park, GA

On days like today, I think I need a tape recorder or some other means for me to record the various things that I experience out here as they happen, because by the time I park and my day ends, I've spent the last hour or two trying to forget all the crap I've dealt with. And now I have to try to remember so I can share it with you. This must be what it's like to have a psychologist. I'd tell you how that makes me feel, but I doubt you're a licensed professional.

My delivery this morning was to another grocery distributor. I arrived about 45 minutes ahead of my appointment time, but apparently they run things on a strict schedule, as I had to wait until my appointment to bump the dock. The trailer had been sealed, so it wasn't until I opened the doors to back in that I realized it was loaded from the front all the way to the doors and that it was a floor load, meaning none of the cartons were on pallets. Loaded to the doors, eh? I guess I've yet to figure out what purpose the 48' line on the inside of the trailer serves. Anyway, I backed in and checked in with receiving. Now, Atari was slightly before my time so I never got to experience the magic that was Frogger, but I've watched the Seinfeld "Frogger episode" enough to understand the concept. Today, I think I was the frog. When I walked into the warehouse, I had to dodge about 20 forklift drivers that must've been all hyped up on Mt. Dew. The sad part is it still took four and a half hours to get unloaded.

Once they were done, I headed over to Clearwater for my next load. Oh yay, more good news. It was a pre-loaded trailer, but I had to do a double drop and hook. So, I got to play trailer jockey for an hour and finished just in time to join rush hour traffic in Tampa. I've decided one hour of stop and go traffic is all any human should be subjected to. Any more is a violation of the 8th amendment. To top off that fun, I spent about 30 minutes trying to pass a vehicle that was determined to go 64mph on flat ground, as well as up and down every hill. On flat ground, I was ever so slowly gaining on it, so I moved over to pass. And then there was a hill to climb, slowing me down to 60 mph or less and killing my chance to pass. Then on the downhill side I would hit 70 mph and almost catch up, only to be foiled again. And then I realized why Chinese water torture was so effective.

By the time I crossed the state line into Georgia, I was ready to call it a night. I've got two full days of driving ahead of me, so it's time for some rest.

Tampa, FL

I'm ready for warmer weather. It was 15 degrees outside when I woke up this morning, and I was in Georgia. Georgia! Sadly, it's not going to get much better, as I'm due in Wisconsin on Monday.

The drive down today was pretty painless, though I was worried about finding a place to park. For whatever reason, truck stops in Florida seem to always be full. It doesn't matter what time of day or where, there are no spaces. Sure enough, every spot was taken when I pulled in. After circling the lot a few times, I caught a truck pulling out just in time and got his space.

I have a friend from high school that lives down here, so we met up for dinner and then hung out for the evening. A good time was had by all and now it's time for bed.

I'm back! (Temple, GA)

Today was ten hours of driving, one drop and hook, no traffic, and no problems. Nice.

After a wonderful few days at home, I'm back at work and running hard, as usual. I made a drop and hook in Cherokee this afternoon and will be delivering in sunny Florida on Friday. Woohoo! Last time I checked, snow in Florida was an anomaly, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. However, the truck will be due for service soon, so another trip to Wisconsin will most likely be on the agenda in the near future.

Antioch, TN

A day like today doesn't leave much to report. Aside from some annoying traffic in Illinois and a persistent salty white film obscuring my windshield and mirrors, the ten hour drive from Oak Creek was pretty smooth. I stopped in Gary to clean my windshield, but the cleaner was frozen. I figured after all the trouble to stop I might as well make use of the time, so I grabbed a cappuccino before heading out.

Surprisingly, I-65 south out of Louisville wasn't as painful as usual. I'm thinking the lighter load helped. That, and I was going 55mph instead of the 70mph speed limit.

I'll be stopping at home tomorrow, so I should have a relaxed four or five hour drive to look forward to in the morning.

Here, there, everywhere

It's been a long day and I'm still in Wisconsin. I've been to five different cities today, including two visits to the same city, pulled three different trailers, and waited hours to get loaded. The good news is tomorrow will be an all-day drive and I'll be home soon.

Russell, IL

So cold. Can't type. Must set truck afire for heat.

The temperature is -9 and "feels like" -23. Why bother with technicalities? If it "feels like" -23, it's -23! Whatever. I made my first delivery this morning after a protracted effort. Upon my arrival, there was no one to be found at the facility. So, in sub-zero weather, I rang the door-bell, knocked on the door, and walked around the building, all to no avail. Finally, the guy shows up. All by himself. One guy to unload twenty-seven pieces of furniture. Before we even get to that point, I have to get backed into the dock; the downward-sloping, snow-filled dock. I had a slight blind side back to get in, but to the warehouse guy's credit, he stood out there the entire time and helped guide me. Time to open the trailer doors. Only, the padlock I had so studiously put on was now frozen. Getting it off involved about a half-hour of standing outside. Did I mention it was really cold outside? Once again, Warehouse Guy (that's his name) was out there helping me. So, after all that, I thought the least I could do was help him unload the trailer. Great, done. Time to go. Naturally, I can't get out of the dock. I tried putting cardboard under the drive wheels to gain traction. Warehouse Guy, on the other hand, tried putting cardboard under the trailer tires (I said he was helpful, not bright). After 30 minutes of that junk, Warehouse Guy went to the hardware store down the road and got some salt, with which I was finally able to free the truck from the slippery dock.

My second delivery was problem free and I headed to my third, and final, delivery in Wisconsin, but got sidetracked by hunger. After stopping, I didn't really feel like getting back on the road, so I called the receiver and was told it would be no problem for me to deliver in the morning. Awesome.

I'll hang out here for the evening and head into Wisconsin in the AM.

Gary, IN

So much for the roads being cleared by Wednesday. That "Winter Weather Advisory" should really be named "Are You Crazy? Stay Off the Freakin' Roads! They're Covered in Snow and Ice Advisory." After departing this morning, it wasn't long before snow began sticking to the road instead of simply blowing across it. In an effort to keep the same from happening to my windshield, I had the defroster on high, as anything less resulted in ice formation. I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I eventually cracked my window a bit and was able to breathe again. Ahh, success - no ice on the windshield and I can breathe! Unfortunately, those weren't my only problems. Last night, I noticed I lost air pressure rapidly when the truck wasn't running. It's difficult to sleep with the low-air warning buzzer coming on about every twenty minutes, so I decided I'd be better off shutting the truck down and only restarting it for brief periods when the temperature got cold enough to wake me. Yeah, that's a fun game. The leak persisted this morning. That, coupled with the fact that my windshield-wipers had turned into giant popsicles despite the functioning defroster, led me to stop at the Petro in Remington, IN for service. When it's really really really cold outside, I don't much care for crawling around outside the truck to inspect the entire air system for a leak. Once inside the heated service garage, however, it only took me a minute to locate the source: a frozen air-dryer. I guess it didn't dry fast enough. Anyway, the mechanic busted out the industrial heater, threw in some air-line antifreeze, and I was good to go. Oh yeah, except for all that snow on the road. Despite driving slowly and gently, I was losing traction frequently, as indicated by the "Wheel-Slip" light on my dash. Anything but the mildest attempt at acceleration induced a wheel-spin and I knew that any attempt at braking would also cause a loss of traction, only with more severe consequences. I began to curse the lightweight furniture load that seemed so beneficent through the mountains yesterday and started thinking about stopping. Then it happened. Traffic was stopping ahead. I applied the brakes as softly as possible, little more than resting my foot on the brake pedal, and at 30 mph I almost jacknifed. That was far more proof of the treacherous conditions than I needed. I stopped thinking and got off the interstate as soon as possible.

My deliveries have been rescheduled for tomorrow morning, though I don't have much hope the roads will be any better by then. Since here, I've watched tv, listened to XM, and browsed the Web. Now it's time for more of the same before I get some sleep.

Indiana scenery

...and the reason I'm stopped in Gary, IN instead of delivering

West Virginia scenery

Whitestown, IN

My routing for this trip had me taking some US highways, and though I could have opted to stick to the interstate, I took the suggested roads. It turned out to be a really nice trip out of Virginia and through West Virginia. I took US-460 between I-81 and I-77 and US-35 out of West Virginia and got to drive through the heart of coal country (one road sign referring to a coal mine may not be the heart of coal country, but this is my world so play along). At times, the highway was snaking along next to a small river, flanked on both sides by steep, rocky cliffs. On one side of the river was the highway; on the other, tens if not hundreds of small, weathered, old houses that had seen better days. They were clustered in the valley between the cliffs, as if they had all been washed down the hillsides and ended up at the bottom with nowhere to go. There were no strip malls, no fast food restaurants, and no gas stations; just mountains, river, and houses. Really awesome.

Ohio, on the other hand, was just boring. And at 55mph all the way across, boring for a long time.

I need to get an early start in the morning, so it's time for bed.

Max Meadows, VA

So far, so good. I made my delivery this afternoon and didn't have another load assignment, so I went down the road to a rest area and tried to take a nap. A couple hours later, I got a beep and the most complex load assignment I've gotten so far. Not that it's difficult or labor intensive, but it requires two pick-ups and three deliveries. I get extra $$$ for the second pick-up and the last two drops, in addition to the mileage pay. And it's a lightweight furniture load, so it's a pretty sweet gig, really. The only potential downside is I have two drops in Illinois cities that are currently under a blizzard warning and winter weather advisory, and I'm assuming the last drop in Wisconsin will be much the same. Hopefully the roads will at least be clear by Wednesday.

Yesterday

My pick-up yesterday had a two o'clock appointment time and I was told the shipper was very particular about it and wouldn't load me early. Fair enough. I arrived at about one o'clock just to make sure I got checked-in on time and didn't have any issues. Before I backed up to the dock, I had to slide the tandems to the rear, which involved raising a lever at the back of the trailer. The lever usually sticks and this time was no exception, so I was pulling rather hard on it when, of course, it gave. I wasn't quite prepared and my elbow smashing into the trailer frame was evidence of that. Turns out that was an omen. Once I got backed in, they had me loaded in about twenty minutes. That never happens. It was another heavy load - just under 45k lbs. Being that the DOT scales were just a few miles across the Georgia state line, I decided to stop at a truck stop and scale the load to make sure everything was legal. It wasn't. I was about 250lbs overweight on my steer axle. That never happens either. I informed my dispatcher, who told me to call the broker. I called the broker, who told me to call the shipper. I called the shipper, who seemed to not really care. His initial response was, "Well, we can't take any pallets off," and basically asked me what I wanted to do. Okay, as far as I'm concerned, I should have been home Thursday night. It's now Friday afternoon, I'm about to hit rush-hour traffic in Atlanta, I've got an overweight issue, I'm 30 minutes from the shipper that I might have to return to, and I just want to be home. As nicely as I could, I explained that I didn't care what the hell he did, but as far as I was concerned, he needed to decide how to correct the issue before I drove any farther. His idea was to reload the trailer and shift everything toward the rear, away from the steer axles. That would be great if only the trailer weren't loaded to legal capacity, which was from the nose of the trailer all the way to the 48' line. Apparently, the 53' trailer couldn't be loaded past the 48' line, I'm not sure why. After presenting that option, the shipping supervisor said I would have to sign something saying I authorized and approved it. I just drive the truck, I don't enter into legal contracts with customers. So, I called the dispatcher back and ultimately, let's just say I was removed from any further culpability regarding the issue. After sitting at the truck stop for an hour, that was all I needed to hear. So, I got back on the interstate. As soon as I got on the entrance ramp, I could see the DOT scales. We have PrePass which usually lets us bypass the scales. If the light is green, we bypass. If it's red, we have to cross the scales. I'll give a penny to the first person that can guess what color it was this time. If you guessed red, congratulations. Great, I'm about to get a ticket, the DOT is going to give me a full inspection, I'm going to be here for two hours, all kinds of nightmares flashing in my mind. And then, nothing. I crossed the scales and got the "ok" light. Wow. Either the scale I used was wrong, or the DOT really does overlook the first 500lbs. Whatever. I grabbed a gear and boogied before they changed their mind.

Next up, Atlanta traffic. I think Chicago and Atlanta are one in the same - 10lbs of stuff in a 5lb bag. The last 30 miles took about an hour and it was filled with the same "let's cut-off that big-truck" type of driver so prevalent in Chicago. After some primal scream therapy, I was feeling much better by the time I finally parked the truck. I'll enjoy a couple days at home and get back on the road Monday.

Well, crap

I didn't have to deliver in Calhoun until tomorrow morning, but I decided to go ahead and drop-off this afternoon with the hope I would get another load today that would get me home tonight. So I drove out of Kentucky this morning and straight through Knoxville, right past the exit nearest my parents house. When I got to the receiver in Calhoun, I was able to read the Qualcomm message my dispatcher had sent a couple hours earlier - a load that doesn't pick-up until tomorrow afternoon. Not what I had in mind. Guess I should have just stopped in Knoxville and delivered tomorrow like I had originally planned. After I dropped the load, I grabbed an empty trailer and headed to the nearest truck stop to get settled in. Turns out I didn't have to stick around too long, though. My wonderful mother offered to come get me so I could have a restful evening away from the truck. I'll head to Chattanooga in the morning and hopefully be home for dinner.

Richmond, KY

Any day you wake up and drive around Chicago and then go to bed, not in Chicago, is a good day. I knew I had to pick-up my next load by 3pm, so I didn't feel like waiting for my noon appointment time to get unloaded. When I arrived at 10:30am, there was another Wolding driver already there getting unloaded, so I had to wait in line. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. I backed in and was empty by 11:30am. On to Chicago. Great - forty-five thousand pounds of scrap paper. I got loaded without any major problems and hit the road, stopping for lunch in Gary, IN. In order to make tomorrow as productive as possible, I drove until my 14-hr clock was up (almost) tonight so hopefully I can drop this load early and get something that will take me home. Sunday will be two weeks out, which means it's way past time for me to be home.

Here are some pics from earlier in the week:

Fog in Kentucky

Four lazy truck drivers (mine is the second from the right)

It was a strange feeling to have oncoming traffic on the right

Hebron, IN

Today managed to work out rather nicely. I left Saluda around 7am and stopped in Knoxville for fuel. I ran through some fog around the TN-KY line and then it rained and drizzled through most of Kentucky and Indiana, otherwise the trip was fairly mundane. I drove just over 600 miles in just under 11 hours. Perfect. I'm about 2 hours from my delivery and I've already been assigned a load that picks up in Chicago tomorrow afternoon.

I did notice one thing today. Kentucky drivers are idiots. Either that or Kentucky doesn't have a state law requiring the use of headlights when it's raining, which would also be idiotic. I highly suspect the former. A few cars here and there, I can understand. It happens. Well, in Kentucky it's standard operating procedure to drive in the rain without your headlights on. My informal census counted no less than 10% of the vehicles on the road without lights. Seriously though, when it's raining and practically dark, that's just dangerous. Don't do that.

Saluda, NC

Another trip to the Carolinas, another day filled with waiting. I'm not complaining though. I got to take a nap, watch some tv, and listen to the radio, but eventually I had to work. I made my delivery this morning to a busy grocery distributor, which are notorious for delays. This one was no exception. I was there for four hours, most of which was spent sleeping. It was great. Round two was waiting to get loaded in Catawba. This time I managed to get out in three hours. Not too bad.

I didn't feel like pushing my 14-hr clock tonight, so I stopped at the first truckstop on my list, which turned out to be a dark hole in the wall. I'm expecting Large Marge to pull in any minute.

I've got about 700 miles to my delivery, so I'm hoping to knock out 600 or so tomorrow, which will leave me a pretty easy drive Wednesday morning. Well, as long as there are no surprises around Chicago.

Hobby Trucker

So, I didn't invent the term, but after coming across it I found the idea so intriguing I thought perhaps it deserved to be expounded upon. Perhaps it's most basic summation: Hobby Trucker - One who drives a truck, not out of necessity or for income, but for the pure enjoyment of the tasks involved. When I first read it, it was being used as a slur against someone who was financially stable enough to quit his job, buy a brand new truck and trailer, and start his own one-man trucking company. He was basically tired of the office environment and decided to fulfill a dream of his, sort of living out the childhood fascination with big trucks, equipment, etc. that some of us guys have. It was intended as a slur because the guy, by other's standards, didn't focus on the business-side of being an owner-operator as much as they thought he should. And he probably, by his own admissions, didn't have much concern for his profit margins, but that was obviously not important for someone in his situation. I only wish I had the capital to do what he did, but I can certainly relate to his motivations. And like him, I hope to enjoy the experience and move on before it starts to wear out.

On the subject of truckers' motivations to do what they do and how and why they got into driving, I came across a discussion thread in an online forum today that asked that very question. It was interesting to see that several of the respondents had college degrees. A few had the, um, "starter degrees" such as political science or sociology that are usually a stepping stone to graduate school. Some had advanced business degrees and were successful in their field but hated the work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to blow smoke up your you know what - just tonight I turned on the CB and instantly heard two guys using profanity and insulting each other before each eventually threatened to kill the other with the gun they supposedly had with them. I'm just going to go ahead and guess they probably didn't worry too much about their SAT scores. So, sadly, there are drivers of that sort also. I'm not knocking the folks that didn't make it to college, but if the majority of your conversations are conspiracies to commit felonies, do the rest of us a favor and lock yourself in a padded room or something.

Anyway, I drove a whopping 140 miles today from Knoxville to Marion, NC. I'll have about 40 or 50 miles to my delivery in the morning, then it's off to Catawba to be held hostage, er, I mean get loaded.

Memphis, IN

I made it out of Amherst this morning! Woohoo! Well, for a little bit anyway. After I picked up my load, which was 45 minutes away from Amherst, I found out I needed additional paperwork for the delivery and had to go back to the yard. The lady I spoke with on the phone, who was not my dispatcher because she was off today (wasn't she just off over three days for Christmas and New Years? No, I'm not bitter), told me she would put the paperwork in an envelope and leave it in the drivers room for me to pick-up. She made it sound like no trouble at all. And for her it wasn't. No, all I had to do was drive 45 minutes back to the yard and 45 minutes back to where I started. Nothing like wasting an hour and a half of drive time. Anyway, that's why I'm in Indiana and not Kentucky.

I was starting to get used to the snow and sub-zero temperatures, though it is nice to be outside for more than five minutes and still be able to feel all my digits. Back to the South tomorrow.

Frozen snow-covered lake

Wisconsin Sunrise

Amherst, WI

My New Year's holiday was spent here at the yard in Amherst, which is about as un-festive as you can imagine. There is, however, more snow than I think I've ever seen, which is neat. I'll be picking-up a load in the morning and heading down south. I have all weekend to get to Hickory, NC, so I'll probably stop in Knoxville for a day and enjoy some time with the family.