On the road with Millis

No. I did see folks in the classroom but they were busy. By the time we got situated, they were gone.

 

Sorry guys, I thought I'd be able to do daily updates, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. I learned something today that I was not aware of regarding the training miles. You don't get credit for all the miles you drive, only the ones that apply to your runs. We get paid practical miles here, and those are the miles you get credit for when totalling your 15k. That's a little disappointing, but I'll get over it. So far I have almost 1400. The nice thing is that Perry is running some in the mornings before I do my miles for the day. He doesn't have to do that, but it's really appreciated because it pads my check. He does that for all the drivers he trains. It makes for a longer day but I'll be happier when the checks start coming. Yesterday was a little grueling. It was a long day and we both got a little frustrated with each other. Today was great. My shifting is getting a lot better, and I feel a lot more comfortable. My gear selection when downshifting is getting better as well. I'm not allowed to float yet, so I still grind a little, but not bad. If you drive a stick car, prepare to be frustrated by a semi. That's a major understatement. Perry remains very patient (mostly) and is a great teacher. I can already tell that there are things I will be doing differently, but I know that learning everything his way now will definitely help me later. Yesterday was my first day pulling a heavy load. We were at around 78,500. It's an eye opener how much that weight changes the way the truck rides and handles. Believe it or not, the truck brakes better when fully loaded! And it shifts smoother as well. Driving in heavy traffic no longer scares me, but constantly shifting during traffic jams is a little taxing on my patience. I have the truck to myself tonight! We stopped at a truck stop about an hour from Perry's home, so his girlfriend met us here and he is going home for the night. We have a delivery tomorrow extremely close to Trenton, and we will be stopping there to fuel after our run. I'm a little disappointed that it's Sunday and I won't get to see Bill (no classes on Sundays) Oh well, I'm sure there will be other times. Goodnight all, I'll post again as soon as I can!