Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy Birthday for 01/01/08



Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Mark my brother and Nichola my ex wife, happy birthday to you.
I hope you have a fantastic year ahead of you, all the best XXX

Happy New Year Everyone.

New Year

Best wishes to all the visitors to this site. To family, friends, readers who I dont know and the lads and families coming over here in 2008, may I wish you the yery best for 2008. Happy New Year everyone !!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Hurricane warnings. !


Morning, its 0730 and a beautiful day. Its hard to believe its winter. Had a good run yesterday after having a pallet of grapefruit taken off the load. The picture above was taken on H-281 somewhere between Mission and Alice,Texas. One of the things I want to see while I am here is a hurricane/tornado/twister, call them what you will. It must be an awesome sight.
The road yesterday was littered with fruit stalls,almost every half mile you could buy citrus and melons. Spaced in between these are stalls selling fireworks and I have lost count of how many of them I have seen, New year must literally go with a bang in the states. One again I will be working both New years eve and day. The money is too good to turn down plus I would only be sat on my own in some hotel.
Drove just under 1000km yesterday and the time seemed to fly by I could of kept going as for some reason I felt good. I think it may be because of the sun I have been getting the last few days, I hope I dont suffer from that sunlight deficiency thing,S.A.D isnt it ?
Looking at doing the same mileage today as I need to deliver 2 jan 08.
For Papa, here is my route.
Texas...Mission,Edinburg,San Antonio,Dallas
Oklahoma.....Ardmore,Oklahoma city
Kansas....Wichita
Nebraska.....Omaha
North Dakota...Fargo, Portal

Canada Saskatchewan...North portal,Regina,Saskatoon

Friday, December 28, 2007

Lazy days in the sun.


Ola. Well had a lazy day yesterday. Played on the internet for a while then drove to a shopping mall where I had a tasty lunch (Rack of baby back ribs,fries,salad) for $10.99 and did a bit of shopping for essentials at Walmart. Did I mention that it was 80F with a cool breeze ? The rest of the day was spent doing nothing but relaxing and catching up on some paperwork.
This morning,I returned to the customer and was overjoyed to see the same customs officer who had sealed my trailer. In 2 hours I was empty and waiting for my next load.
"Beep". 3 collections about 2 hours away and loading for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The first was a bitch and took ages to find. It was one of those where everyone knows where it is but in reality none of them do. Loading was pretty rapid and the next collection was 20mins away. Found this no problem and collected one pallet of grapefruit. The third place was hidden but I found it after a few attempts and the loading was complete. As you should know by now you must always wiegh the load to ensure you are legal so its off to the nearest scale. Bad news, not only am I over on the trailer with no scope for adjustment as the truck is legal but I am 1000lbs over on my gross wieght. A quick phone call to H&R and I was told to go to bed and they would sort it in the morning. Cool, that will do for me. So me and the load of grapefruits and limes are going to have an early night. Night night !

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Nearly drove into Mexico


Hi all, arrived at Laredo last night about 7pm, had a quick shower,tea and watched "I am Legend" yes I know its just come out but where there is a will there is a way.
Slept in by 30 mins this morning so was in a bit of a panic and rushed off before any coffee had been drunk.
The satellite in the trucks has a function where it will give you directions to where you need to be but it was too late in replying (my fault)and I sailed past the exit I needed which was a big mistake. Only a few miles down the road I was met with locked gates, security fences and flashing red lights, I had arrived at the Mexican border. Crap !!
Worse of all was the fact there was no where to turn around so it was up and over the kerbs and onto the other side of the road. With antics like that I will probably be on "Police,camera,action" USA as the place is bound to be rife with CCTV.
I arrived at the customer and there was a few H&R trucks already there. Paperwork was handed in I was told to wait. Half an hour later I was told I will be unloaded at 0800 tomorrow morning. This is standard practice so I had a brew and fired 3929 up all ready to head back to the truckstop. I hadnt got 20 yards and was told to pull onto bay 4. Cool.
The customs official happily watched me break the seals and back onto the dock. No sooner had this happened a bloke from the office came running out saying there had been a mistake and they had got the wrong truck.The seals had been broken which is a nasty situation to be in regardless of the fact I was at the customers premises.
No fear, the customs officer said he could reseal the trailer and everything would be ok tomorrow morning. As pleasant as he was, I dont believe him and tomorrow I forsee big problems when I try to deliver the load. Watch this space.....

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Day over and done with.



Hi all, well xmas has been and gone.
Spent Xmas eve at the "J" Cheyenne and woke up this morning to snow, how much did you people at home wish for that? Its great when you can get the sledge from the garage but not so great when you have 600 miles to drive.
Woke up about 6am and got straight into making phone calls which I thoroughly enjoyed and it was good to hear that everyone had a good day and had full bellies.
I didnt bother with breakfast but set off into the ice and snow which was ok as the roads were empty. The stereo in the truck automatically broadcasts severe weather warnings and just as Chris Moyles started his xmas show I was told that my breakfast stop - Denver Colorado was getting badly hit by snow and high winds.
Hungry as hell I pulled in and went for an all u can eat breakfast and caught up with a few calls that I had missed earlier. The snow was forecast to fall at a rate of 4-5" per hour so I set off in a bid to beat the worst. Luckily I outran it in about 1hr and pointed 3929 towards Texas.
Did I mention I am going to Laredo Texas which is right on the mexican border. The load of beef I have is destined for Mexico and can only transit the USA. When I arrive the load is transhipped to a Mexican and we go our own ways after that.
Hopefully by now my Dad will have is Xmas gift of a Roadmap so he can follow my travels. This is for you Dad, the route I have to take on this trip.
Canada,Alberta (Calgary,High River,Lethbridge,Sweetgrass) USA Montana (Shelby,Great Falls,Billings) Wyoming (Sheridan,Casper,Cheyenne) Colorado (Denver,Limon,Lamar) Oklahoma (Boise City) Texas (Amarillo,Lubbock.Abilene,San Antonio,Laredo) Then the toll road to the customer.
Ok, thats enough for today, at the minute I am at lubbock so a good shift tomorrow will get me to Laredo. Speak soon

Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

glitter graphics

Merry Christmas Glitters


I would like to wish all of the people who visit this site, my family and friends a very very happy christmas and a prosperous new year.
My thoughts and best wishes are with you all

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Easy day, Lethbridge to Edmonton

Easy day today. Left Lethbridge at 8.30 and headed north. Stopped for a few mins to get a "Subway" and ate that on the way up. The sun was shining,even though it was really cold.
Arrived at the yard In Edmonton and dropped the trailer. There is a trailer for me to take down to Calgary but its not ready until late this evening so I wrapped things up and called it a day as I dont enjoy working nights. There is no harm done as I will pick the trailer up in the morning,drop it and then either bobtail or take an empty to High River where I will collect the trailer that will keep me busy until Boxing day.
As I write this at Flying J Edmonton the snow is falling and its 15f (-11c) so the night heater has got its work cut out tonight. The plan is ... have a shower,get some food and watch a movie that I downloaded last night.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Idaho Falls to Lethbridge



Hi, left a place just north of Idaho Falls Utah this morning and as you can see the weather was not that brilliant. Still it didnt last for long and once I hit Montana the weather was better. On this route you pass through a town called helena, a town that was built with the money from the gold that was found here in 1864. By 1888 the town was home to 50 millionaires per capita, more than any other city on earth.
The trip also takes you through huge lava fields where eruptions 2100 years ago have left breathtaking sights.
Anyway, all was good at customs and I hit lethbridge at 1830. The trailer was dropped and I have driven to my secret little haven where there is a large choice of stuff to eat and free internet.
Tomorrow its a semi decent start in the morning and a run up to Edmonton to drop the trailer. I already have the pre-plan for my next load which will keep me busy over Xmas but I will wait to have it confirmed before I tell you where it is going. Its not California thank god.

Happy Birthday Mam XXXXXXXXX


Happy birthday mam. I hope you had a great day and received my card in time. Will be thinking of you. I miss and love you loads xxx

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Weights explained, I hope.


Ok, above is a scale ticket from my California trip. As you can see the trailer axles are overloaded. Legal limits are written in pen.
There are 2 places on the truck that can be moved to shift the weight around. The first being where the truck hooks onto the trailer and this can be slid forwards and back but adjustments are minimal. The second is the trailer axles are slid as one unit forwards and back and greater adjustments can be made. The bad thing about California is that the centre of the rear trailer wheel cannot extend beyond the 40ft mark so Adjustment is limited.In any other state I would of slid the trailer wheels back and in sort of a see-saw effect more weight would of transferred to the drive axles on the truck. With on visit to the scales I would of been legal and good to go. Below is the final scale certificate after the load had been taken off and reloaded, just incase the law is reading this !!!

California, Keep me away !!!!


I have decided after my first trip that California is not for me. A few things that have put me off are the regulations regarding weights, the Donner Pass when it has less than 1" of snow and the lack of parking.
I had to park in a side road the other night as the Flying J was heaving and although I have no problem with that,I do have a problem with the guy who thought it would be a good idea to park beside my truck,blast his horn then stand beside his car with his trousers round his ankles.
Luckily a trailer was preloaded for me at the customer so I hooked up and ran to the flying J to weigh off. 2600lbs over on the trailer axles and due to regulations in California you cannot slide the axles back to allow more weight to be transfered to the truck axles. So after 4 weighs I gave up and took the load back to the customer who had to reload it and put more weight at the front. Back to "J's" and I hit the scales, after I alteration I was legal to go.
On my trip back you drive through Sacremento and I was amazed to see how much litter and rubbish there is by the side of the road and by North American standards this was disgraceful.
As I mentioned in my last post snow was forecast for the Donner Pass so I was expecting to have to fit the "Jewellery"(snowchains) to the wheels. What I wasn't expecting was trucks strewn all over the road panicking to put chains on when the road was only wet, then overtaking each other at 20mph while dodging other drivers stood in the road fitting chains. It was one of the most dangerous situations I have witnessed and how someone didnt get killed I have no idea.
I never did fit the chains as there was no need, but having to avoid other drivers going at a few mph seemingly terrified of the conditions was a nightmare. I must admit when I first got here the importance of doing your mountain driving trip was a bit daunting to me purely because of the fear factor that was put upon you. I have driven over some of the biggest mountain ranges and demanding roads in Europe and for a country that gets severe winters I can honestly say I was appalled at the standard of driving. I believe that a lot of drivers here would refuse to tackle even Sutton Bank on wet roads. As things go at the minute I dont want to tackle the Donner Pass again in the winter, not because of the conditions but because of other professional drivers

Monday, December 17, 2007

Empty from Idaho to California


Hi all, left Nampa Idaho yesterday at about 10.30 on my journey to Lodi California.The trip was ok and took in a few sights along the way. I left Idaho, clipped the corner of Oregon then ran through Nevada and finally into California. I suppose the highlights were Reno at night as The neon lights of the casinos are blinding and also driving past Lake Tahoe through the Donner Pass in California.
The weather is pretty grey and miserable this morning however last night on the news up to 15" of snow was forecast to fall on the mountains which is the way I need to go to get back to Lethbridge.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Just whats in a Flying J buffet

I am always going on about the food in the Flying J's so tonight I made a mental note of what was available.
SOUP : Clam chowder or chicken noodle.
SALAD BAR: Every salad item and dressing you can think of.
MAINS : Roast chicken,fried chicken,Roast brisket of beef,fried shrimp,sausage casserole,spagbol.
SIDES : Macaroni cheese (plain or with sliced hot dog)mashed potatoes,saute potatoes,roast mixed veg,green beans,cauliflower+Broccoli.
DESSERTS : Ice cream(choice) fruit salad,jelly,hot sponge (chocolate,butterscotch,cookie dough), cold custard, hot chocolate sauce, Italian doughnuts.
All of the above is "All you can eat" and tonight as its "Steak and Shrimp Night" will set you back $10.99 (£5.50)

Trip to Nampla Idaho


The above pic is of Lethbridge with the sun just coming up. It was taken on my way from Calgary to the yard to pick up some documents to get me into the states.
On Thursday I banged the miles out and parked at a place called Dubios Idaho which was a small gas station in the middle of nowhere but they had hot coffee and hotdogs so I was more than happy.
I set off again this morning and arrived at the customer at 12 noon so all was good.I booked in and returned to my truck to find a message on the satellite saying I had to unload then give my empty trailer to another truck as they had some problems with the meat inspection and I would have to sit and wait to deliver there load. Brilliant,I had just come off a 36hr break and now they were saying I might have to wait until monday.
At about 5pm the load was cleared and they pulled it out of the back. I sent an empty message to dispatch but was told to call them in the morning, so for the umpteenth time lately I have done nothing today and now have to wait for a load. No money is made this way and to be honest its starting to grate on me a little.
So here I am parked up at Flying J, Boise Idaho planning on wether to have the buffet or something off the menu, decisions eh !!!!!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wish my Ex was as dirty as my truck


Only joking Nic if you are reading this. Look at the state of 3929, still you cant say that the Canadians don't salt there roads.
Just got next trip through but still waiting for it to be confirmed. A short run down into Idaho so that will keep me out of mischief for a few days

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The cold and the Sheriff


Oh man, what a crap week its been. Freezing temperatures,the road from hell and a run in with the old bill.
The run up from Joplin Missouri was pretty uneventful and I flew through customs at Sarnia Michegan with no problems other than the snow on the ground. I ran into the yard at Mississauga Ontario, dropped the trailer and then began my trip across to Calgary Alberta.
The road we take is to be blunt a "bitch". Speed limits of 90kph, all single track roads for 1000 miles with nothing to really see. God help you if you need a number 2 as it could be hours before you see any sign of a toilet. The map even makes the trip depressing as the section for Northern Ontario changes scale to about 50 mile per inch so the little section it shows takes bloody 2 days to drive.
I stopped for one of the night at a place called Cochrane Ontario and believe me it was really cold. The picture in the left hand column shows the outside temp and I will leave it to you to calculate how cold it was using the temp chart I posted.
I survived the night and headed off on my travels. Once you enter the province of Manitoba/Saskatchewan the roads open up and the speed limit is a bit more generous so you can clip on into Alberta which is where you will find Calgary.
The phrase "clip on" was my downfall while passing a pokey little township near Medicine Hat. I was called into scale at a weighbridge and left pleased as I was heavy but legal, so off I went without a care in the world until I had to overtake a slow moving car and seconds later saw flashing police lights behind.
Apparentley the speed limit was 80kph through the pokey township and as I had not noticed the signs I went through at 105kmh.
The Sheriff was very clinical,took my licence and insurance,went to his car and returned with a "Violation Ticket" for the sum of $150 (£75).Thanks very much,off you go. I swear I never saw the sign for the speed limit !
So the trailer was dropped at the Calgary yard and I need to reset my hours due to the crap roads at the beginning of the trip. 36 hours at Fling J Calgary,brilliant !
See, its not all glorious scenery and huge hotdogs here, there is some rubbish that tags along but all in all I am having the time of my life.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Back after no internet connection


Hi all, have been struggling to get internet access since my last post so here we go again.
Things have been pretty grim this last week as I have had way too much unpaid time off in places I would rather not be. It started last Monday when I only did a few hours and dropped my loaded trailer in the yard at Lethbridge. Then I was told to reset my hours even though there was no need. I left Wednesday to collect a trailer from High River and by the time it was ready I was too late to clear meat inspection so back to Lethbridge. I was told I was unloading Sunday morning at 0700 so booted it down to Booneville Arkansas and found out they dont open until 2000 so that was another wasted day as I only did 3hr driving. Come Monday the satellite was beeping and I was told they were waiting to load my trailer as soon as I arrived. So 530 empty miles later I arrived at Friona Texas,dropped the trailer and waited,and waited,and waited. The fact is I bloody waited from 1800 on Monday until 2300 on Tuesday. I was furious but there is nothing you can do except grit your teeth and bare it. I wasn't leaving at 2300 so went to bed and left this morning at 0600. Once again I reset my hours without the need to, in a bloody meat factory that stinks to high heaven,with no facilities.
I know I could of gone elsewhere but you never know when the load will be ready and I am on a tight timescale as it is so I sat and waited.
I am left with roughly 1600 to do in just over 2.5 days, its do-able but its not the way I like to work.
Tonight I am at the Flying J at Joplin Missourri. I could really do with a beer but that will have to wait.Its an early start in the morning,I have loads of laundry to do and need some food.
With a bit of luck things should pick up tomorrow and I won't be feeling so pi**ed off.