Have H&R come up trumps ?

Has spring finally found its way to Ontario?
Bit difficult to read but the sign says "Beware of Moose"

Well, had a big drive yesterday and was shattered when I called it a day. Slept for 10 then set off again this morning.
Yesterday I sent a message stating that due to being held up I couldnt make the delivery but never received a reply probably due to it being the weekend and there was still a few days to go before the delivery. Sent another today as I had a better idea of times and the reply was that I was to switch trailers and get on my way to Mississauga which is ideal and the other lad would go to Montreal as he was also having time off near there.
So all is looking good,roughly 700 miles to Mississauga and when I didnt think things could get better I am messaged by Steve W and given confirmation that the layover will be paid. Happy days.
So finally it looks like I will make the wedding on time, just need to find out if thats me officially on holiday when I reach the yard, then its organise a hire car, totally empty my truck and then head off through Niagra Falls to Bouckville New York.
Fingers crossed all goes well and the weather stays good.
A quick thanks to Lorna,Monica and Deb for keeping me up to date with what was happening and to Steve for sorting out the layover so quickly, still have 2 pending though.
Well, its bed time. I am going to make an effort to get some decent pics tomorrow as I have been neglecting the camera lately.
Cheers for now.

Apology,Gossip and what I am up to now.

Hi, well the last post caused some controversy, gossip and rumours are running rife.
To try to clear things up, yes I was asked to meet with Dave Foder and Steve W regarding the post. I totally understand there perspective on what I had written. I have already done so but would like to publicly apologize for the way the context of the post came across and for any distress it caused.
Regular readers will know that I have never had any problems turning down a load because I could not do it legally and I believe H&R would not knowingly condone,nor encourage anything that could not be done in the proper manner.
To put an end to the rumours, I have not been sacked, there was no big argument and I am not leaving the company.

So, on with things.
I was given a load to Ottowa Ontario which was to load on Sat 26th 0900 and was given the good to go by despatch. The load consisted of 2 drops Montreal then one in Ottowa and as I got near to the destination a decision would be made as to how I would make my holiday date as the drops overlapped my time off.
Arrived in high River at 3pm and the load wasnt ready so sat about until 10pm which is when I went to bed. Security knocked on the cab to let me know it was ready in the early hours and I was rolling for 5.30am.
The first delivery in Montreal is 0700 30th which in reality gives me 3 driving shifts to do approx 2300 miles. I have to wait until tomorrow to find out what is happening as since the speed limit is 56mph for the next 1300 miles I reckon I will be about 5hr short in reaching the first drop. To make things worse due to the time difference that will make me even later for the delivery. Ideally I will run my time out and meet another truck who has time left to reach Montreal but we will have to wait and see.
I will update when possible as the Internet is hard to find in canada.
Cheers, Phil

More carnage and something for the pessimists.

Hi all, the ice at Edmonton has taken some more victims and as I drove through there yesterday the cars were still spinning off the roads.
So, onto the new drama which is how H&R are going to get me to the East so I can go to Erics wedding? I reckon that there must be at least 20 loads a day head east,if not more, but can or will H&R give me one? No, they wont!
I so far have had to refuse 2 loads which would of taken me across to BC and then would have to wait for a load from there. The lastest one being load at Edmonton tonight (24th), deliver Lethbridge, take a load to High River then pick up a load to go to Quebec which would be great. Except the load was to deliver at 0200hr on the 28th which meant I had 4 days to do roughly 2700 miles including the loads/unloads and would of meant driving hard through the night.Sorry but thats not for me and to be honest I am sick of lads bragging how they run 2 log books,do 1000miles a day and so on, good luck to you and get on with it.
So I am still waiting at Edmonton and unless things change I will do the run to Lethbridge,dump the truck and hire a car to get me to New York.
I have been here almost 8 months and this is the first time I have requested time off, all other time has been due to breakdown or forced layovers. Speaking of which I am still waiting to get paid from the ones in the Layover log.
In my opinion I think its disgraceful the way I have been treat over the last few weeks, first the fiasco with my truck being taken off me and now this holiday issue. I have lost a fortune and so far this month have only driven the same mileage as the "yes" men have done in a week because work is apparentley quiet? Well it is for some as H&R must think that we dont speak to other drivers and believe me when I say some boys are getting plenty of work. That is not a dig at the lads who are getting the work but its aimed at how the loads are allocated.
I dont know whats going to happen over the next week,but,I will be in New York regardless for next Thursday.
I will keep you updated as I have my fingers crossed that things work out well.

Flying J showers and points

Hi, this is really aimed at drivers over here already. Recently I have had problems with getting a "Bad card read" when swiping my points card at the Flying J truckstops. Sometimes its fine but if you want your free shower you need to go into the station and collect your receipt and have the points added manually which can be a pain if there is a queue.
I have been told that if you enter the card number on the keypad when prompted to swipe your card the points and shower will be added just dont hit the enter button before you put in your card number.
I have not tried this yet as I have been running in Canada but any feedback would be appreciated. I will try it next time I fuel at a J and let you know if it works.
Cheers, Phil

This deserves to be supersized

If you only supersize one of my pics then let it be this. Its a work of art and in its own way very beautiful. Check out the airvalve. Isnt nature amazing ?

Whats up with the weather ?

Unbelievable ! Last Thursday was glorious in Ontario and as I drove west the warnings became a reality. Snow,freezing rain,ice and bitter temperatures have hit Alberta and its not nice. Most of the wrecks above happened in a 20 mile stretch when apparentley the wind was also gusting which didnt help. I ran with Marty who also is from Darlington and other than a few scary moments the journey went well and I am now in Calgary.It was good to run with someone again as it doesnt happen that often and it made a nice change, cheers Marty.
My despatch wanted me to go across to BC with a multidrop load but after I explained that by the time I had done this it left me with 6 days to get back across to Ontario the load was changed and I am still waiting confirmation about what I have to do next, I have a wedding to go to in just over a week. Dont panic Eric if you are reading this, one way or another I will be there.
As I write this the snow is falling quite heavily and the sky looks full of the stuff but hey thats Canada for you, sunbathing one day and freezing the next.
Variety is the spice of life !!!!

Boring boring days.

Hi, as promised here are the pics from the post below. The signpost one was taken in Michegan and the accident was on the way into Mississauga which is just outside Toronto.
Nothing really to report on the last few days, its just tedious driving from Toronto across to Calgary. I have called it "the road to hell" and I still stand by that statement, crap roads,crap facilities,crap everything.
Parked up at the Flying J at Winnipeg and have got a big push tomorrow to get somewhere near to Calgary, I, personally cannot get to the Yard in one hit as I run out of time 45mins before.
Its going to be interesting to see how Despatch get me across to either Montreal or Mississauga by thurs May 1st as that is where my time is booked off so I can attend Erics wedding. I will of course keep you updated as to how it all goes.

Unloaded and waiting for next job.

Hi, managaed to get to casino at Riverside Iowa, its about 15mins off route and well worth the detour if you need somewhere to go for the night. There is parking for about 20 trucks in the allocated spaces and althought the buffet is a bit pricey at $16 it looked like it was worth every penny (I didnt eat) The special buffet item was New York strip steak with loaded jacket potatoes, friday night is sea food night with king crab claws and all u can eat shrimp.
I noticed while driving through Michegan that there was a lot of dead Raccoons by the side of the road, almost every hundered metres for miles was one of the critters lying there having failed to cross safely.
Had a steady drive to the border at Windsor Ontario but there is a lot of construction going on at the bridge you use to cross, it was a nightmare and a miracle I didnt mess it up. I would of liked to follow a truck through but as it was there was a long line behind me,I was leader of the pack. As you come over the bridge the view of Detriot at night is brilliant but unfortunatley I didnt get any pictures.
Ran to the customer yesterday morning and passed a bad accident, will post the pictures soon. The warning signs when coming into roadworks warn of big jail sentences and big fines if you kill/injure a worker, this trucker had ploughed straight into the back of a safety vehicle and made a right mess. I wouldnt like to be him or have what he had done on my conscience.
Got unloaded really quickly then ran to the yard at Mississauga where we have a yard,dropped the trailer and I am now waiting for a Calgary bound trailer to be loaded for me.
The next few days will be a nightmare as I am not keen on running through Northern Ontario as I have written before, there is nothing,its so barren and boring and the first few hundered miles of road are worth than third world countries.
Will post when I can but it could be a few days.
Cheers

Easy day,easy life.

Hi everyone, well its been an easy day as I dont see the point in flogging mysef.
I am parked at a place called North Platte Nebraska which is where Buffalo Bill comes from.
For those who dont know, the pic above is of a logbook which is used to record my activity through the day such as mileage, where I stopped and how long I slept.
So today I started at 08.15, checked the truck over and started driving at 08.30. After a few hours I stopped for fuel and some breakfast then left at 11.15 and drove straight through until 17.30 when I called it a day. So now my time is my own until tomorrow morning when I plan on leaving about 07.00 and doing roughly a little more than I have today as I fancy having a look at the Casino Trkrjim reccommended and its about 515miles from here.
Looks like the internet is going to get a hammering and I will probably watch a movie.
The only real decision I have is do I eat now or later?
Well thats all really, its been a glorious day and easy running so I think I will bid you all a good night

I feel awesome !!

Hi all, I think the lazy drive to Utah has done me the world of good and with not even setting the alarm clock for a week or so I have caught up on some rest that I didnt realise I needed. I feel great and all of a sudden everything is good.
The unload at Walmart in Corrine UT went really well then it was off to just south of Salt lake city to load which is what I did today. Had a bit of a faff on sorting out the axles and am at present 180lbs over on the drives but that should be ok when I have used some fuel up.
I havent posted the trip details for a while so the map shows the trip from Vancouver to Trenton Ontario.
The route is as follows :
Salt lake city(Utah), Cheyenne(Wyoming), Omaha(Nebraska), Davenport(Iowa), Joliet(Illinois) Gary(Indiana), Detriot(Michigan), Mississauga(Ontario), Trenton(Ontario).
Tomtom has the distance from Salt lake to Trenton at 2012miles so that will keep me busy for a few days.
So, all in all things are going good again now I have settled into Piglet. I still need to get the speed issue sorted out but its not that urgent.
Roll on May 1st as thats when I should be in Syracuse New York blazing a trail with my bro in law Lee. I cant wait for the next few weeks to pass by.

BBQ weather is coming.

Hi all, I have been thinking about what sort of stuff goes down my neck and the differences between N.America and the UK.
I have always been skinny and have no problem eating what and when I want which I suppose is a blessing.
I enjoy cooking and in the UK would really get into it big time as I enjoyed what I was doing, I do my best here and will easily make a delicious stew in my slow cooker which will give me two really big meals. I use the slow cooker as I find it hard to get "fresh veg" in any of the truckstops other than green beans or zuccinni, its normally tinned or the stuff you micro in a bag.
Because of the drink I didnt really eat too well back home but now is a different story and I knock food back like its going out of fashion.
In the truck I have a toaster,slow cooker and a george foreman grill which I use for steaks,fish and toasted sandwiches. Now the good weather is coming I will buy a small BBQ and come the end of the day fire it up and cook to my hearts content. Some of the best times I had in Europe were when the barbie was fired up and before you knew it 10 different nationalities had gathered round all bringing with some food or drink, we had good times.
So, you will probably smell the bbq before you see me and all are welcome, Walmart is never too far away and all of a sudden the dreaded layover seems a little more tolerable.
Heres to the sun coming, cheers !!!!

Reunited at last. Hooray !!

I have my belongings back and not a moment too soon. I am very pleased that other than my coffee and a few tins of food everything was in the truck and all in working order. I had visions of things being stolen as the truck has had a few drivers in her over the last few weeks but everything was there. I met the new driver who wasnt too happy about the cleanliness of the truck but after I showed him "Piglet" he realised it wasnt me who lived like an animal.
So its full steam ahead, The knight Steve Whitacker has been reduced to the rank of jester (only joking as he did spend a lot of time trying to sort the problem out) and the Dark Lord Foder (or Darth Foder, cheers for that one John M.) is not yet forgiven for his antics.
So back to updating the blog with nice pictures and more tales of my life in Canada, sorry if this latest tale has dragged on and thanks to all of you who offered support (haha).
I am in Ellensburg Washington at the minute and could walk to the delivery in Utah and still make my unload appointment as I have so much time. These last few weeks have really hit my bank balance plus work is really quiet so I need to pull my finger out as I am going to a mates wedding in Syracuse New York in a few weeks and need some beer money. Look out Eric and Stacy as Monte is coming to town !!!

Piglet is spotless and I need to rescue my gear.

It could only happen to me. After the last fiasco 3929 never made it to Calgary as she broke down again so a driver on his way to BC said he would collect my stuff and bring it to Lethbridge, all was going well as he pulled into frieghtliner and then he was told the truck had gone and was on its way to Calgary. I was due to meet up with the elusive 3929 at 12 today so rang H&R to confirm where the driver was and believe it or not he had broken down.
So finally I have been despatched to go to BC and take my stuff out of the truck,well, whats left of it as there was a lot of desirable stuff inside.
I am not sure how I will react if anything is missing or if the truck is not there as I reached boiling point days ago.
Its a struggle to get an internet connection in BC but I will update as soon as possible.
Nearly forgot, spent 4hrs today scrubbing the inside of Piglet.There is still a bit more to do but she is looking a lot more respectable and I am quite pleased as to how she is looking.

It couldn't get any worse.

Hi, well 3929 has gone and I wont be getting her back.
After a few shuttle runs across to BC I finally got down to Lethbridge tuesday evening and waited till the morning to get my stuff.
Nobody knew anything about where my possessions were, they wern't in the paintbay like I was told and Gerald who supposedly had emptied my truck did not have a clue as to what I was talking about.
Everything I own is still in the truck ! A truck that has broken down again and is parked in Vancouver BC getting repaired, I was furious to say the least.
The plan is to give 3929 to another driver who will bring the truck across to Calgary and I will meet him with Piglet and there we will transfer my stuff, we will have to wait and see if that happens but one thing is for sure, I will not leave to go on another trip without everything.
Work is very quiet at the minute but is due to get busy soon.
Because of the hassle, I have had to turn down a load to Laredo Texas which is a good trip and the same run as I did over the Xmas period. Instead I have been preplanned to go to Fort Worth Texas which is still ok.
April is not going to be a good month money wise as I had too much time off and then too much time running in Canada. I cannot understand why we get less cash per mile in Canada as the driving is a lot harder and you cannot come near to running the same mileages you can hit in the States, especially when going to BC.
Lets see what happens over the next few days.