Profile For mountain girl

Thanks, Old School. You always have pearls to share. I appreciate it.

—mountain girl

My biggest issue with driving in NJ, NY (along I-95), CT, RI, MA is that I find it difficult to find parking later in the day. If possible, make sure you try and plan to stop early to ensure you can find a place to park.

That's a great point about driving the Northeast. I have been driving there so much I have developed a few relationships with customers that will allow me to park on their property even though I may not have a delivery for them. Trucking is all about finding solutions and dealing with the issues that cause others extreme frustration. One of the keys to making a go of this career is making sure you can develop a few friends along the road that can and will help you when needed. This is mostly true within our own circle of people at our company, (dispatchers load planners, etc.) but it is also true within the customer base we deal with. I have several good customers in the Northeast who allow me to park at their locations. There are no truck stops in these areas or they fill up so quickly that trip planning in this area is really problematic. I have alleviated that issued with a little common courtesy and always making sure that customer is well served. People still appreciate great customer service. Some of them will reward you with perks you never dreamed you might need.

THANK you! I will keep that in mind!

My biggest issue with driving in NJ, NY (along I-95), CT, RI, MA is that I find it difficult to find parking later in the day. If possible, make sure you try and plan to stop early to ensure you can find a place to park.

That does not help my anxiety. Nope.

Another one bites the curve, this angle highlights the problem drivers face when they're not familiar with the road.

Oh, Dayam!

Navypoppop, you got that right about US60 from Sam Black Church to Smithers. Smithers will put you 10 miles from my house over on the other side of the Kanawha River on WV61. What kills me though are the number of drivers who attempt to run WV61 from Montgomery to Oak hill who bottom out their trailers at the foot of Deepwater mountain. I don't know if they're trying to avoid the tolls on the WV Turnpike or what, but by the time Hutch's Wrecker Service gets done getting them unstuck, that toll seems like pennies lol.

No kidding! That’s just “up the street” from me! I’m north of Denver. How do you like it? I was a candidate for Walmart last year, out of Loveland, but couldn’t do it after having been sick with long hauler’s covid.

—mountain girl

I've been Walmart dedicated for Crete from the Cheyenne DC since the beginning of July.

Hi Pakrat! Been driving on mostly dedicated lanes. You?

Oh my goodness!

Where have you been???

I-80, east-bound, middle of the night, Point of Rocks, Wyoming, 30-40 miles between towns in either direction, a woman was pushing a stroller on the right side of the road, westbound on my right. There was no vehicle or anything nearby, indicating how far she’d walked. I called Wyoming HP.

I might be doing something I swore I’d never do: driving to IL, OH, NY, PA, and New JERsey? Seriously?!

I’d rather drive across Wyoming in a blizzard.

I’m terrified. I’m based out of the Rockies and I’m more comfortable out west. The furthest I’ve ever gone is Louisville, and that was easy, terminal-to-terminal.

Any and all advice would be appreciated... Roads to avoid, low bridges, western mountains of PA...? Hell, I don’t even know what to look out for...

Thanks,

-mountain girl

And thanks Errol. I will look you all up if I'm in the area!

Still haven't heard back yet, but that's not a bad thing. They haven't said "no" so I can wait.

-mountain girl

ERMERGERD!

IT WAS AWESOME! Omg, I forgot how wonderful it is to drive a manual 10 speed!

If nothing else, testing at the company where I first started and actually seeing the difference between my skills now and my skills five years ago was a major confidence boost. The trainer/tester said I was a "really good driver."

How can his set was not a problem at all. I remembered almost everything. Driving a manual was just like old school sake. Like riding a bike. by the time I had driven around the yard one time I already had it down. I alternated swing floating and double shifting, wherever it was comfortable and I had no problems driving in rush hour traffic with a set of doubles.

I got a second interview right on the spot. The terminal manager made me talk about Old Dominion quite a bit, which was really painful actually because I had so many boo-boos that company that got me fired. But there are no secrets now. They know everything about me, professionally. He had such a strong poker face that I couldn't tell whether he was interested in hiring me or not, but the trainer loved me. I did point out to the terminal manager that since Old Dominion, I have had over three hundred and sixty thousand miles a good road and a perfect driving record. Okay nearly perfect.

And I still love the culture there at XPO.

So, we'll see.

I'm in the yard at work right now. I have to go. Thank you everyone. I could not have done this without your vote of confidence.

--mountain girl