I've been using song titles for blog entries for a while now, so why stop just because of an inappropriate number?
I drove the big big truck for over 200 miles of the roughly 1100 mile trip, in two stretches, of which the longer was 165 miles. This is a good step on my way to becoming Great Driver Mitch, since it's about four times as far as I had previously driven a truck.
At something like 60,000 pounds gross weight, it was also about twice as heavy as I had driven-- since practice should be begun with a margin for error. An unladen tractor-trailer weighs in the vicinity of 30 thousand, and the normal maximum gross weight is 80 thousand. Practicing with an empty truck is where you start, because (for one thing) it's obviously a lot easier to stop. True, being empty can cause trailer tires to lock up with vigorous brake application, but "flatspotting" tires beats running into something.
I drove all of those miles on the New York State Thruway (tm), which consists of I-90 (and part of I-87), and is almost entirely a toll road. The "service areas" are state-administered monopolies, which apparently have some sort of bidding process. At least two different brands of fuel can be found at different stops, and a few different food choices can be found throughout the system (any given stop will have at least two places to eat). In fact, all of that information is on the back of the toll ticket. If you want Mobil gas, you can find out where the next rest stop which sells it is located.
Fuel prices aren't too bad on the Thruway. They used to be, but then these signs appeared which said 'Lower fuel prices in effect.' Too bad no such evolution has occurred in the food prices...
Many stops have either a Burger King or McDonalds, but among the ones which do not, Roy Rogers and Big Boy is a common pairing. The Big Boy wouldn't do, being a 'sit-down' restaurant. While waiting is common in trucking, while out on the road, you either want to be moving or sleeping. That left Roy Rogers, of which my only previous experience had also been on the Thruway, and I hadn't been all that impressed. Yesterday's visit, though, sealed my opinion.
My quarter-pound bacon cheeseburger wasn't bad, though it had been under heat lamps for an unknown amount of time. Roy Rogers is a la carte, so nearly everything is under heat lamps before you grab it and put it on your tray. I can't quite forgive them for it being over three dollars, but hey-- captive audience prices, right? The fries were quite blah, clearly having been sitting around for a good long while. The clincher was the chicken sandwich that my brother got. Upwards of four bucks for a pieces-parts-pressed slab of supposed chicken-- of indeterminate age, at that. Roy Rogers is spinning in his grave.
Word to the wise: if you want an expensive chicken sandwich, then go to Arby's. You won't wish that you hadn't eaten there. You know-- I could go for a Chicken Bacon and Swiss right about now...
Posted by Mitch at October 10, 2003 11:12 PM