ROUTE: Woodburn, IN to Woodruff, SC: 701 miles (611 loaded + 90 deadhead)
I’ve done this route in the past: drop off in Elkhart, IN and drive a couple of hours to pick up a drop-and-hook load in Woodburn, IN. I departed the last consignee at 15:30 after a two hour unload process.
I arrived at the shipper as the sun was setting just before 18:00 with some beautiful views on the horizon. Unfortunately it was also during their shift changes so I had to wait until 18:30 to enter the premisses. The assignment requires about a twelve hour drive and it was scheduled to be delivered two days later on Friday 01/23 at 11:01. However, the consignee is a 24/7 facility and I could deliver it on Thursday evening. The problem now was that my day started 08:30 so by the DOT 14-hour Regulation I had end it by 22:30 at the latest. I was departing the shipper around 20:00 so I only had two-hours to drive that night. I could probably reach Dayton but it’s hard to find parking there late at night. I remember that in Troy, OH there’s a Sheetz with plenty of parking and 24/7 food service. I arrived at 22:00, just before my 14-hour clock expired.
Thursday 01/22 I could dabble a little in the morning as I was ahead of schedule. I started my day at 11:30, well after the minimum 10-hour break. I needed to stop for fuel and did so down to road where I was instructed to. Because of the expected single digit temperatures I was informed to add a fuel supplement from now on until further notice. These loads tend to be heavy so I also scaled and it came out to weigh 67,660lbs. I showered taking advantage of the credit obtained from fueling and thankful as it had been more than a couple of days, a lot more. I drove a total of nine hours that day and made the delivery at 22:30.
From there I drove to a Rutter’s that was just five miles away. It is a small truck stop with few parking options. I was tired and only had two drive hours left and three hours on my fourteen. The only spot where I could do creative parking required blocking two trucks. I did knowing that they would wake me up at some point to let them out. One woke me up at 06:00 and the other at 08:30.
BOOK REVIEW (1): Chain Reaction by James Byrne (2025), FICTION – RATING (****)
A fun entertaining book as were the first two in the series. Dez Limerick is very charismatic persona though he’s less flamboyant in this book than in the earlier two.
I was thrown off initially as Dez is caught in the middle of a terrorist attack in a large industrial complex next to Newark airport in New Jersey. There’s a subplot of an assassination of six individuals that are scattered throughout the hostages in the complex.
From there on there’s a cat-and-mouse game as Dez is trying to figure out what the real plan behind the terrorist attack was and why certain individuals were targeted. It’s entertaining though when the link between the six individuals is revealed it is very far fetched, the plot is secondary in James Byrne’s books.
Another key ingredient in Byrne’s books is a gorgeous secondary character and good police work.
BOOK REVIEW (2): The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989), FICTION – RATING (***)
A well written book on the life of a premier British butler, Mr. Stevens, in the heights of the golden age of that lifestyle in the 1930s. Though the description of Mr. Stevens is probably fairly accurate it is hard to sympathize with him for his pompous personality and complete devotion to his duties over his personal life.
I can see why Sir Anthony Hopkins was casted to play the role in the movie version of the book. I’m sure he nailed it though I have no desire to see it.
The pace of the narrative is slow and the story is not very entertaining.
