On the Road with Henry Albert

Yesterday I finally had time to work on a project that my son Austin and I had started some time ago . Earlier this year my son had expressed an interest in finding a engine to repair , to gain mechanical skills . I found the perfect candidate behind the shop that does some of my truck repairs . Beneath the weeds ,we spotted a old go-cart  . We offered the shop owner twenty dollars for the old heap . He accepted our offer and we came back to retrieve our find . This was the just the beginning of this adventure . We cut down a tree that grew up through the frame and killed the bees who made the engine their home .When we got the cart home it looked as if it might be hopeless thinking that it would ever run again . But we dug in and took it completely apart . I finally had the time to help complete our project together . We put it all back together and like magic it was running again . The look on my son’s face as he motored down our driveway was priceless . We did not spend that much money on this project ( less than one hundred dollars ) . The memories and lessons however , will last a lifetime . It is also worth noting that I clocked him at nearly forty miles per hour on this machine we refer to as the , the Rust Bucket .

Now that I am home , it has given me time to think of all the people who are working over the holidays . We are so lucky to have people who not only work but serve the citizens of this country . There are many individuals who fit in to this category . I would like to take this time to thank all of the people who serve in the military , hospitals , fire departments , and police departments . The holidays do not offer any break for these selfless individuals . It makes me feel guilty for the time that I spent worrying about getting home .

It sure is nice to be home with my loved ones for Christmas . I had to go through an ice storm . There were more accidents than I could count as I made my way towards the Carolina’s . I just took my time and stayed between twenty five and forty five miles per hour . Its always better to be safe than sorry . In closing I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas .

I was looking forward to spending some time with my family after spending seven days out on the road .  To those of you who spend longer amounts of time out on the road my hat is off to you . I personally cannot spend that much time away from my loved ones . However I also understand that you have to do whatever you have to make ends meet . I would also do what ever was needed to support my family . I thought that I was finished till January fifth and was ready to spend the holidays with my wife and son . Well things changed this morning and a good run came up this morning to Warren Michigan . I called and found a return load that delivers six miles from my home on Wednesday . With freight slow like it has been I thought that I should work while the opportunity was there . I really feel fortunate to be working while so many people are losing their jobs this year . Hopefully everyone who wants to be home for the holiday is finding that load that takes them home . Everyone be safe out there .

Over the years I have been very fortunate to have the right mentors around me at the most opportune times . I always try to learn as much as possible from others . That is also why I try to help others whenever the opportunity arises . Just this week such a situation came about . I met a driver who was down on his luck . He used the time  we had together at the shop to pick my brain about how I operate my business. I shared as much as possible in the time that we had together . We talked about things that were failures as well as successes . One of the things that we spent considerable time on was my uniform which includes a tie . This one thing has helped me immeasurably and I told him how . I can not tell you how many opportunities have come my way from this relatively simple change to my apparel . Almost every time that I deliver to a new consigne either the owner or some one in charge notices me and ends up striking up a conversation with me . many times this leads to new business possibilities. In closing , always remember that luck is where preparation meets opportunity .

Last night I laid over in Belmont Wisconsin . The temperature got down into the lower teens outside . It also became quite windy outside . The parked H.V.A.C. system on my truck operated flawlessly . Like a bear arising out of his den I was very surprised at how miserable it was outside . When I went to bed there were hardly any trucks in the parking lot . None of the trucks or the wind disturbed my sleep . This is a testament as to how well the Cascadia’s insulation performs .

For those of you who do not know me I wear a nice uniform that includes a tie . Just yesterday I was getting ribbed by some of my fellow drivers while we were waiting to get loaded . I listened to all their comments . One of the comments that I heard was ( I don’t care how much they pay me I am not going to wear a tie.) I hear this comment all the time . Then a funny thing happened . A vendor of the customer where I was picking up started a conversation with me . Fortunately most of the drivers were still there when this happened . This changed the the whole dynamic of the conversation that I was having with the other drivers . The way that I dress has brought me a lot of the success . Many times conversations like this have led to many new business contacts . Not to mention the fact that it is my way of trying to represent our industry in a positive way . I was really glad that these drivers had the chance to see it work in person .

Well I completed my run to Wisconsin and back . My fuel mileage turned out to be less than I hoped for towards the beginning of this trip . It ended up being 6.348 which is a far cry from the 7.67 that I got on the first leg of this trip . I hit nearly every adverse condition for the rest of the turn . First I ran into heavy wind then snow and finally,torrential rain . For awhile I thought that a boat was going to be more useful than a truck . There were also three accidents that I had to work my way through . With all these factors working against me I think that 6.348 was pretty good . One thing that I did not notice was how windy it was until I exited the Cascadia . This truck is so quiet and well insulated that it isolates you from how bad things are outside . This also helps a lot when I sleep . Last night it was raining and I did not even hear it .

I am very thankful for the way my week is lining up . Freight has been slow lately . This is why I am happy to to be booked up a week and a half ahead . This has been helped out even more by the fine people where I picked up in Dodgeville Wisconsin. They are loading me this evening instead of in the morning . This kind gesture on their part is going to make my week go that much smoother . I would like to know if anyone ellse’s freight is picking up . Please let me know what you are seeing out there. I can only hope that this trend continue into the new year . Well I need to go now because they are finished loading me now.

The title of this post sounds like the name of a rock band doesn’t it ? Well ,today I got to drive the Cascadia in the snow for the first time . I was a little nervous because this was the first time that I ever drove in these conditions with wide base tires. I have Bridgestone tires on my truck and trailer and they performed very well. If I did not know that they were different tires I would not have known any difference . Here is my update on the fuel mileage on this trip . I am at 7.27 . This is still good in my book for the conditions that I have encountered . (strong head wind, heavy rain, ice ,and finally snow)Tune in later to see what the final result is.