7/7/07

I can't honestly remember the last time I had a good day or a bad day. I suppose today would be no exception, although I think it was more good than bad.

Rolling south from San Antonio before the sun came up, I got to see quite a light show. It has been a long time since I've seen that much lightning. About 60 miles north of Laredo, I got the wind and rain to match. Here's a little secret about the big bad "don't mess with Texas" crowd: They absolutely panic when it rains. I don't mean that they slow down and keep a safe following distance. I mean that they absolutely panic. People were going 15mph on the interstate, weaving in and out of their lanes, slamming on their brakes every time the wind blew. I've heard the whole song and dance about people driving too fast for conditions, and it's true, but these people needed to get the hell off the highway. People don't seem to realize that slamming on the brakes is just as dangerous as accelerating when the road is wet, if not more.

I got to Laredo around 6:30am and sat through my trailer inspection. Then the first bit of good news came my way. The broker to whom I was taking that load was closed until Monday. Thus, I got to leave the load at the terminal for a local driver to deliver Monday morning. I hate driving in Laredo, so any chance to skip a delivery to a broker is a good thing for me.

I went to the dispatch window in order to turn in my paperwork and go on the ready board. The good news continued from there. I had requested home time as soon as I got to the terminal, hoping to be home by Thursday morning. When I got to the window, the night dispatcher told me he had a load going to Canada, meaning it will pass through my hometown. I'll get to Taylor Tuesday morning and then, depending on the trucks available at the time, I'll either leave the load there or deliver it to Ontario. Either way, I'll have no trouble getting home by Thursday. Now I'm sort of hoping to leave it for another driver so I can go to the bar and watch the All Star Game on Tuesday night.

I hooked to my new trailer and took a nice nap before I headed north. Lately I've had quite a beef with the hours of service regulations that do nothing but encourage tired driving. This run will do little to change my views on that subject. I'll have a few hours available for the next two days and then have to run from midnight to 11am in order to reach the terminal on time Tuesday. Today, though, I have a new cause. "No trucks in left lane."

There's a long stretch in southern Texas where trucks are prohibited from the left lane. This is one of those laws that sounds clever to a politician sitting in his office and looking for an agenda. People think it will help the flow of traffic but it seems to have the opposite effect. The concept is fine, but there is one fatal flaw. There is no penalty for the cars driving well below the speed limit in the two right lanes. What you end up with is a logjam of cars and trucks jockeying for position, when in fact the trucks would often be better off just cruising by in the left lane. Instead, we get to deal with merging traffic in the right lane, people cutting in and out of the center lane, people passing on our right when we move over to let people in, and the constant speed up/ slow down cycle that ensues. It's nothing short of ridiculous.

My patience was pretty well shot by the time I got through there. Then, to ice the cake, we got another rainstorm north of Austin. More of the 15mph, riding the brakes, weaving, and so forth. By the time I got to my fuel stop on the south side of Waco, it was time to call it a day. I'll have around 12 hours available to me for Sunday and Monday combined, so there was no point in driving any further while I was thoroughly pissed off.

7/6/07

I didn't get quite as far as I had hoped last night, but today was a new day. Leaving from southeastern Missouri, I managed to put in a good 700-mile day. Aside from just enough rain to wash the bugs off my windshield in Arkansas, the day was a nice one.

My Tigers put a whipping on the Red Sox, so the last few hours have been extra pleasant. It sounds like Cleveland is going down, so the Tigers will be tied for first place again. Hopefully they can carry some momentum through the weekend.

I'll catch a quick nap here while the rest of my 10-hour break goes by, then it's on to Laredo. I should get there before the sun comes up and hopefully make my delivery before the place turns into the usual free-for-all. Have I mentioned that I hate Laredo?

7/5/07

I got out of Chicago before rush hour picked up and rolled into my customer early this morning. They took quite a while to load half a trailer, as the boxes were all stacked on the floor by hand, but soon enough I was out of there.

My routing software listed the 'practical' truck route as being across the south side of Chicago and straight down I-57. Instead, I chose to angle my way across the Indiana countryside and catch up with I-70 in Terre Haute. From there I shot across to 57 and headed south. This route was much more relaxing for me and also shaved about 30 miles off the run. Now I'll be paid more miles than I actually drive on this trip.

I'm due in Laredo late Saturday night but I'm going to try like hell to get there late tomorrow night. Since I had a day off yesterday, I think I have enough hours available to pull it off. I'll need some cooperation from the traffic, but I'm going to give it a shot. I'm planning to request home time when I arrive in Laredo, so that extra day will be important for me personally.

Well, I suppose it's time to get back at it. Lots of miles to cover tonight.

7/4/07

I ran through the night and got to the beer distributor in Chicago around 4am today. I shut my eyes and slept for a few hours before checking in with the guys on the dock. By the time I checked in , there were a couple of JB Hunt dedicated guys already pulled in. Luckily for me there was one dock still available. As I sat at the dock, a line started to form - a few CFI's, a few pumpkins, a few more JB's, a US Xpress. I apparently made a pretty good decision getting there nice and early.

After I left, the morning traffic in Chicago had started to pick up, but since it's a holiday things weren't too bad. I didn't anticipate getting a load today, so I headed to a rest area on the Illinois turnpike. A couple of hours ago I got my next assignment. I'll be picking up in Niles, Michigan and heading to Laredo. I'm scheduled in Niles at 7am so I'll most likely leave here around 4am and try to get out of Dodge before the rush hour starts. Getting past Chicago has been a bitch lately and I'm on the west side.

Now... Back to the movie marathon. I'm enjoying a much-needed day off.

7/3/07

Since I couldn't start driving again until midnight, I basically had exactly enough time to make my 7am delivery appointment. That meant no stopping, no slowing down, and no room for mistakes. I did the run just in time,only to be told by the customer that they would get to me around 9am. That info could have been useful around 4am when the eyelids were starting to get a little heavy. But anyway...

After getting empty in Columbus, Ohio I had 2.5 hours left on my 70 hours. I was quickly assigned to another load. As usual, if I bring anything into Columbus, I leave with beer. Lots of procedural red tape at the brewery, tight time schedule, and 45,000 pounds in the box. I'm scheduled to pick up tonight at 10pm and deliver in Chicago tomorrow morning. Another day... another all-nighter. I'll head over to the brewery at 9:30, so the remaining 2.5 hours I can work will carry me through midnight, when I'll pick up more hours.

I spent today sleeping soundly with the A/C on full tilt. When I woke up I was hungry so I headed to a local tavern. Apparently they don't serve food, but the bartender told me about a Mexican restaurant within walking distance. It was about a quarter-mile down the street and the food was muy bueno.

Since I'm well-rested and becoming adapted to this overnight schedule, the timing of this next run doesn't really bother me too much. My only concern is the fact that I'm delivering to an urban part of a major city on a holiday, so there is a real possibility that I won't be getting a load out of there tomorrow. Cities like Chicago don't tend to be the easiest places to find room to park and kill a day, so I guess we'll see how it goes.

7/2/07

The day started promptly at midnight. Traffic was cooperative, so I was able to reach my customer on time. There were quite a few trucks when I got there, so I was at the dock for a couple of hours. Normally this is annoying, but given the overnight run it was a nice chance to lay down and get some rest.

After I got empty, I did my usual walkaround. I noticed that the steer tire on my driver's side had a few deep grooves along the shoulder of the tire. The tread had been getting close to needing replacement, but I was trying to wait until I got through Joplin. These grooves presented a safety threat, as they could lead to a blowout, so replacing that tire became priority #1 today.

The tire shop in O'Fallon, Missouri did a prompt job for me, which was very helpful. In the time between leaving the customer and arriving at the shop, I had been assigned to my next load. I needed to pick up in Belleville, Illinois by 2pm or I would have to be taken off of the load. If I couldn't make that load, I would have to sit out the rest of the day because my 14 hour clock expired at 2pm. As it turned out, they got me back on the road quickly and I made my pick-up.

Now, once again, my 70 hours have run out so I'm stuck waiting until midnight. I wonder if the feds actually have any clue how their rules affect drivers. For the second day in a row, I'll have to try to sleep until midnight and then run a very tight timeline until a 7am delivery in Columbus, Ohio. It would be much less tiring for me to run until this evening, then get up around 4 or 5am to finish off the run.

(I have to give myself a little credit for remembering to call my Dad and wish him happy birthday before I hit the sack.)

7/1/07

Beautiful day today, lazy day today, boring day today...

The logbook situation is a double-edged sword. To run out of hours, I have to be running a lot of miles. If I'm running a lot of miles, I'm making a lot of money. The flip side is that sooner or later a bureaucrat in Washington is going to decide that I'm tired. Nevermind the fact that I haven't worked very hard over the last day or two, since I used a lot of hours seven and eight days ago my 70 hours are all used up. As of 12:45am this morning, the DOT decreed that I was too tired to drive.

I'll catch a quick nap before midnight rolls around so I can leave at midnight and finish off my run to Missouri. Anyone else see the hypocrisy in this? The laws are designed to keep the roads 'safer' by forcing tired drivers to rest. Now, the only way to comply with the law is for me to pull an all-nighter. Morons.