Thx, Recon.
I use my Garmin GPS to determine air miles. I’ve underestimated more often than over.
FWIW, the Thruway stays pretty quiet once past Albany headed towards Buffalo. If we use Albany as our departure point, the section S to NYC usually doesn’t have much except bulk haulers trying to get one more load (concerned about scale house checking their logs).
Traffic volume picks up noticeably once near the Tappan Zee Bridge.
I’m saying, from pre-dawn till 1500 that there should be some AM-19 chatter the nearer one is to IH-287.
And, use the mile marker + travel direction to ask and reply to radio checks. A big truck driver (me) would be saying. I just put this radio in here (to get others to chime in with their mile marker in reply). “How’m I gettin’ out NB at the 126-mile stick?
The more you tell em how good their radio sounds, the more will key up to ask about theirs.
“Hey, Bubba, I’m NB coming onto the 128 marker and you’re loud & proud”. An inline SWR/RF meter helps. “Boy, ya puttin’ six-pounds on me” (etc). It’s rare enough to get conscientious air checks such that most of us will join in. (Some are just too shy to ever ask).
Some jarhead jargon will crack em up, too. A Deep Bubba-Fried Driver with some new or not-previously used terms is one of the best guys on the road. Wit, makes a long day shorter.
Just a smidge.
I was winding my way east one day on 76 in PA and had one guy purposefully confuse the locals about how he couldn’t stand Snapple. Greasy. White trash etc. Took awhile to get him to admit to confusing it with, scrapple.
He hadn’t. But he HAD given his rant some thought beforehand. He was hookin’ fish right & left with his “genuine” bewilderment and disgust.
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