Zen Joker's Training Diary At Veriha Trucking

Week 2 - Day 1

Started out the day with the usual hour of pre-trip. Found one of the tail lights on the tractor busted out so felt good about catching that. Today they divided the last 6 students remaining of the 10 (3 had their CDL's and tested out to get with a trainer and one washed out and went home). I was put with the 2 CDL holders and drove 2nd. Tighter city streets today and while I did correct some issues from my first time out such as stopping before the earlier of stop sign or line and also aiming higher with my view and using all my mirrors to maintain my lane. REMEMBER PROSPECTIVE TRUCKERS your car or pickup is NOT 8 1/2 feet wide like a Class A truck. Using the convex mirrors as part of a proper rotation did wonders (5 seconds looking straight, check mirrors left, 5 seconds looking straight, check mirrors right, repeat). The trip went well overall, the instructor complimented me on when deciding to make turns. I need to get rid of my intersection anxiety and stop using too much throttle during maneuvers. It's screwing up my lines. Slow and steady TRULY wins the race in trucking.

On a side note, the city threw weight restrictions on the practice route! The weather up here is brutal right now.

BACKING. This morning after pre-trip, the instructor coached me on my first off set. Went good, I got my approach down well, did 2 pull ups and got it done. Also did 2 pretty good straight line backs this AM. Now fast forward to afternoon after lunch and road driving back on the range, and I sucked balls. Couldn't back that trailer into water if I was backing off an aircraft carrier. Small blow to the confidence but just writing off as a bad backing session. Need to work on getting centered right from the get go. Can't make corrections within the cones as it will certainly result in a pull up.

Anyways, overall very happy with the day. Trying not to get too overly excited at my successes nor too down on myself for missteps and isolated poor performance. The instructors are GREAT at Veriha. I will go into more detail as I close out my training diary (assuming I can pass the skills test next week LOL!!!)

The day had a great conclusion as I got to meet a friend I already met on this forum who is already a driver at Veriha, Sandman J. Had a great dinner as another student and I really appreciated breaking bread with him and drawing on his experience and perspective as a rookie driver at Veriha. Photo is in the TT Meet Up Thread in the General Forum.

Tomorrow is a new day and I will take my instructor's feedback and improve on limiting acceleration in turns and not getting on the throttle until AFTER my tandems have cleared the obstacle (curb or opposing traffic box). Onward...

Week 2 - Day 2

Slept decent last night but the day started with a bit of self inflicted dread. As I snoozed before my alarm, I dreamt one of the instructors made me set up cones and practice the offset on a major street while traffic was blaring their horns. Funny how stress comes on like diarrhea in your sleep. Was nervous as the 2nd driver in the city driving this AM and also we switched instructors. The drive went great overall. We faced tighter turns, denser traffic then the first 2 drives. One issue I need to work on is intersection anxiety. I cut my turns short when there is vehicle in the opposing lane on right turns. As a result I rubbed 2 curbs today. This really is just me needing to settle down, go slowly through the maneuver and YES check those tandems. Keep forgetting I am driving TWO vehicles, not one. I went back to the instructor and I said "Let me guess.....go slower through turns, don't let traffic influence my decisions in taking the room I need, and watch those tandems" He replied, that's it.

To be honest, I had a monkey on back from yesterday's backing sessions. Today they had us doing the offsets again. First one I set up pretty well but kept oversteering and worse, turning the wheel with the truck stopped. Our instructors let us languish to a point (not to the point of hitting something or twisting up the truck on the range) but it's an effective strategy. Sometimes suffering in frustration burns the solution into your mind. The 2nd offset I did was also decent but I overused pull ups. Range instructor said "How many pull-ups do you think you wasted? Stop thinking and just drive the truck. You had it but you just kept on correcting so I turned my back and decided to let you waste time"

In reading other training diaries I thought I understood the emotional roller coaster this is, but you don't truly know it until you are here. The biggest determiner of your success or failure is your ability to put a hard stop on your emotions and overthinking and just trust your instructors and eventually yourself. Today I was a totally different driver and it was a moral victory to do significantly better with straight line backing and the offset today. Tomorrow they are showing us the Alley Dock. Mock CDL test coming Thursday for pre-trip and backing. Woke up scared ****less about backing, can go to bed the same day pretty confident I can handle it as long as I keep the steering wheel still while not moving, keep my elbows down for 1/4 to 1/2 turn adjustments backing to I am not compounding errors and have a chance to correct without pulling up.

Today was a good day. Need to keep this new found confidence and humble celebration in mind for the next less than memorable moment. Steady as she goes.

Keep in mind, messing up while backing on the range is just as important as nailing it the first time. You are actively learning to correct, even though you don't understand it as value just yet.

One thing I have to be careful with is that if I use the upper passenger side mirror for anything other than "am I close to an object?" I wind up chasing the passenger side of my trailer. Even today, almost two years later, I remind myself every time, to use the lower mirror for judging how straight I am compared to blindside lines.

It sounds like you are grasping the concepts at the "right" speed, and building on what you already know. Keep that momentum going!

Week 2 - Day 2

Slept decent last night but the day started with a bit of self inflicted dread. As I snoozed before my alarm, I dreamt one of the instructors made me set up cones and practice the offset on a major street while traffic was blaring their horns. Funny how stress comes on like diarrhea in your sleep. Was nervous as the 2nd driver in the city driving this AM and also we switched instructors. The drive went great overall. We faced tighter turns, denser traffic then the first 2 drives. One issue I need to work on is intersection anxiety. I cut my turns short when there is vehicle in the opposing lane on right turns. As a result I rubbed 2 curbs today. This really is just me needing to settle down, go slowly through the maneuver and YES check those tandems. Keep forgetting I am driving TWO vehicles, not one. I went back to the instructor and I said "Let me guess.....go slower through turns, don't let traffic influence my decisions in taking the room I need, and watch those tandems" He replied, that's it.

To be honest, I had a monkey on back from yesterday's backing sessions. Today they had us doing the offsets again. First one I set up pretty well but kept oversteering and worse, turning the wheel with the truck stopped. Our instructors let us languish to a point (not to the point of hitting something or twisting up the truck on the range) but it's an effective strategy. Sometimes suffering in frustration burns the solution into your mind. The 2nd offset I did was also decent but I overused pull ups. Range instructor said "How many pull-ups do you think you wasted? Stop thinking and just drive the truck. You had it but you just kept on correcting so I turned my back and decided to let you waste time"

In reading other training diaries I thought I understood the emotional roller coaster this is, but you don't truly know it until you are here. The biggest determiner of your success or failure is your ability to put a hard stop on your emotions and overthinking and just trust your instructors and eventually yourself. Today I was a totally different driver and it was a moral victory to do significantly better with straight line backing and the offset today. Tomorrow they are showing us the Alley Dock. Mock CDL test coming Thursday for pre-trip and backing. Woke up scared ****less about backing, can go to bed the same day pretty confident I can handle it as long as I keep the steering wheel still while not moving, keep my elbows down for 1/4 to 1/2 turn adjustments backing to I am not compounding errors and have a chance to correct without pulling up.

Today was a good day. Need to keep this new found confidence and humble celebration in mind for the next less than memorable moment. Steady as she goes.

End of week 2 of 3

Had a really rough day this week as I am behind on my backing skills. Thursday was rough as I pointed out of the mock exam for backing blowing all 13 points on the offset. Being at the head of my class for pre-trip and top 2 for road driving, I am fairly weak on backing. Thursday night was WW3 in my own head. And THAT is when I realized how quickly and thoroughly trucking chases out overthinkers! The range instructor said get out of your head and just do it, stop analyzing.

After that rough day, Friday had marked improvements. 3 times through the offset and only lose 3 points, 1 point, then 0. Did the 90/Alley Dock fairly well but had the instructor walking me through each step. I'm sure Monday I will be on my own, which is fine. Need to learn that as the CDL test is next Thursday or Friday and I am moving in the right direction.

CDL test is next Thursday or Friday and another mock test on Monday. Regardless of practice, mock test or state CDL exam, I am going into it with the mindset of settle down and just execute what I know, the results will be what they are. If I pass 1st time great!! If not, I will be in a truck with my in cab trainer in April regardless.

Thanks Nae Nae!!

Keep in mind, messing up while backing on the range is just as important as nailing it the first time. You are actively learning to correct, even though you don't understand it as value just yet.

One thing I have to be careful with is that if I use the upper passenger side mirror for anything other than "am I close to an object?" I wind up chasing the passenger side of my trailer. Even today, almost two years later, I remind myself every time, to use the lower mirror for judging how straight I am compared to blindside lines.

It sounds like you are grasping the concepts at the "right" speed, and building on what you already know. Keep that momentum going!

Week 2 - Day 2

Slept decent last night but the day started with a bit of self inflicted dread. As I snoozed before my alarm, I dreamt one of the instructors made me set up cones and practice the offset on a major street while traffic was blaring their horns. Funny how stress comes on like diarrhea in your sleep. Was nervous as the 2nd driver in the city driving this AM and also we switched instructors. The drive went great overall. We faced tighter turns, denser traffic then the first 2 drives. One issue I need to work on is intersection anxiety. I cut my turns short when there is vehicle in the opposing lane on right turns. As a result I rubbed 2 curbs today. This really is just me needing to settle down, go slowly through the maneuver and YES check those tandems. Keep forgetting I am driving TWO vehicles, not one. I went back to the instructor and I said "Let me guess.....go slower through turns, don't let traffic influence my decisions in taking the room I need, and watch those tandems" He replied, that's it.

To be honest, I had a monkey on back from yesterday's backing sessions. Today they had us doing the offsets again. First one I set up pretty well but kept oversteering and worse, turning the wheel with the truck stopped. Our instructors let us languish to a point (not to the point of hitting something or twisting up the truck on the range) but it's an effective strategy. Sometimes suffering in frustration burns the solution into your mind. The 2nd offset I did was also decent but I overused pull ups. Range instructor said "How many pull-ups do you think you wasted? Stop thinking and just drive the truck. You had it but you just kept on correcting so I turned my back and decided to let you waste time"

In reading other training diaries I thought I understood the emotional roller coaster this is, but you don't truly know it until you are here. The biggest determiner of your success or failure is your ability to put a hard stop on your emotions and overthinking and just trust your instructors and eventually yourself. Today I was a totally different driver and it was a moral victory to do significantly better with straight line backing and the offset today. Tomorrow they are showing us the Alley Dock. Mock CDL test coming Thursday for pre-trip and backing. Woke up scared ****less about backing, can go to bed the same day pretty confident I can handle it as long as I keep the steering wheel still while not moving, keep my elbows down for 1/4 to 1/2 turn adjustments backing to I am not compounding errors and have a chance to correct without pulling up.

Today was a good day. Need to keep this new found confidence and humble celebration in mind for the next less than memorable moment. Steady as she goes.

I'm a member of the prestigious overthinkers guild as well. It's really hard to let go and just do it, but you can. Don't beat yourself up, relax. You got this.

Thanks brother 💪🏼

I'm a member of the prestigious overthinkers guild as well. It's really hard to let go and just do it, but you can. Don't beat yourself up, relax. You got this.

It's really hard to let go and just do it, but you can. Don't beat yourself up, relax. You got this.

Exactly!

Use your head, but don't overdo it. You could end up overthinking simple things or missing common sense steps all together. When I was graded for my CDL test, during the pre trip portion I missed the trailer tandems. Just skipped all of it.

Week 3 (Test Week) Day 1

The day started out with driving after our one hour of pre-trip. I deliberately volunteered to go last to expose myself to more traffic closer to the noon hour and I got what I asked for. I ended up making a right hand turn turning too late and getting stuck and impeding traffic, my instructors said to wait for the lady in the left turn lane to scoot forward so I could complete the turn. Later on the drive, I also have to curb l. All five students had exam failing incidents during the drives today whether it was hitting curbs or impeding traffic. One guy ran right through a red light, making a right turn , the head instructor asked us what happened over the weekend after we got back. Street driving was one of my stronger points of the three major skills to master here in CDL school so far but add more traffic and more stress and more variables to sort out in a very short time and this is what happens. I was a bit stressed out earlier, but I’m really trying to keep things level. Not trying to get terribly happy when I do something right now I get extremely discouraged or beat myself up when I make a mistake.

Backing in the afternoon went decently. I started doing the alley dock with a small amount of coaching from the range instructor. Still behind and hoping I can test Friday instead of Thursday as I need to get backing down a bit better.

I can’t emphasize enough, that this process not only teaches you the fundamental skills of operating vehicle, but very quickly forces you to develop mental toughness and keep going.

Going to get a good nights rest and come back tomorrow and just remember some the training fundamentals on the morning drive and keep building step-by-step on my backing.

CDL SCHOOL IS COMPLETED - PASSED CDL EXAM ON FIRST ATTEMPT

Sitting back at Veriha's hotel and preparing for my first week with an in cab coach from the home daily fleet. Last week was a huge win. I passed my CDL test on the first try.

Not many entries in my diary last week as I was just focusing on learning the backing maneuvers as I was clearly behind my class although I excelled at the pre-trip and driving on the road. For some reason the off-set and the 90/Alley Dock were very tough. One of my instructors said "Get your head out of your backside and just drive the truck." For all you fellow overthinkers out there, BEWARE of overthinking! It really does complicate a task that can be acquired by repetition. To be honest, I didn't feel really comfortable doing the alley dock until the afternoon prior to my exam!!! Nevertheless it did click. The state of WI allows for 12 demerit points on the trio of backing maneuvers (Straight-line back, offset, and the alley dock/90). My straight-line was a breeze. Ended a few inches from the left cones but got no points. For the offset, the examiner showed me exactly where I needed to start. My set up was off. I was way right of the RH cone for the lane I had to back into. For a moment I panicked but quickly told myself to simply shut up a resolve the issue. I had 2 G.O.A.L.'s and 2 free pull ups. I think I used both and simply eased it back without any points incurred on the first to maneuvers. Now for the fun part...the alley dock. I got to take all the time I needed and used my time to triple check my set up relative to the hole I would be pivoting and nudging the trailer into. Set up was perfect as I used only one pull up, took my time, and never encroached or hit any cones! My score for all cumulatively was ZERO!! My test was the best in all 3 areas for all four students in our class (2 failed on their drives)

The moral of the story here is to KEEP YOUR HEAD...and also keep it out of your @$$ and avoid overthinking and creating your own stress. TRUST your instructor, apply the skills they gave you and succeed. While I was not really that nervous, I did have to dismiss a handful of bad thoughts (what if I'm not good enough?, If I fail will they send me home and what is my plan B?). Those thoughts needed to be met immediately with an internal and assertive *** off, I am doing this and I will succeed. I took the teeth out of the test anxiety by realizing that EVERY day of my trucking career will be it's own test. The only difference is that today, a guy is riding along with a clipboard.

I will say this about CDL school, you not only need to pick up the fundamental skills they are teaching quickly, you also need to pick up mental toughness, mental endurance, and an iron disposition. I expect this to be a daily requirement of the job. Veriha has been very impressive to me so far.

So after I passed the test I called my wife on FaceTime and pointed the phone at the examiner and he said "Hey darlin', have some bad news for you...you ain't seeing this boy on weekends anytime soon he just earned his CDL". I took the time to celebrate by going out with my class that evening to a Cajon restaurant and ordering a huge bourbon BBQ sauce, bacon 1/2 pound cheeseburger, fries, and a huge slice of Chocolate Mouse cake. We had some laughs at the dinner and enjoyed each other's company.

On Friday, the Director of Driver Ops. took me one on one and taught my the basics of coupling/uncoupling and shared some nuggets of wisdom from his own experience of 2.5 million accident free miles. I nearly gave him a heart attack as I was pulling around the yard and got distracted by whether or not I should take my jacket and said "Crap" and looked in my right mirror and I cleared the nose of a trailer by about 4 inches!! He said "This is a good lesson for you, you'll never forget this." Monday morning I head out with my in cab coach for local/regional deliveries. Day 1 I am in the passenger seat.

Ultimately, I kept pushing myself and remembering that my prior career of 20 years ended it forced me to sit down in front of this demon named (failure, financial disaster, destruction of your family's American Dream). They say when these moments happen in life, you need to sit down at the table calmly and look it straight in the eyes and tell you how you will prevail...I didn't do that. I ripped off my shirt, jumped over the table and went straight for the knockout! The greatest blessing in all this is not the pride of passing the first time, the 2 CPM bonus I get for passing 1st time, or the convenience of staying on track. The biggest blessing is the personal growth I am experiencing! I'll need that growth to survive on the road out there 5 days a week running regional Midwest.

Went home this weekend to celebrate my daughter's 11th birthday with family and friends. I took in the moments the last 3 days. Now the streamers and confetti all need to go away and back to the hardhat and lunchbox. As my examiner said after I passed the test...."The good news is you just climbed a mountain in 3 weeks...the bad news is there is a whole chain of tall mountains ahead of you". A very accurate and sobering statement. The very grace of God will help me through the next chapter. All of my glory is owed to Him.

This concludes the CDL School portion of my diary. Onto Phase 2 of training. Everyone be blessed and safe out there!