Country roads

Hello Everyone,

I once heard a comedian joke that the line about "all guys think about it sex" is wrong. What we really think about it how we would defeat a gang of ninjas, should they happen upon us, with kung fu moves we don't have. He was quite perceptive. There's a subset of this category though. If you grew up in the country, currently live in the city, and drive a truck, you spend a lot of time driving around, hoping someone will need your manly truck abilities and know-how. Especially if you normally work in an office. 

And so it was, that I was going to hit the gym at Carleton, and opted for the free parking in the lot across from the school. With on-campus parking being expensive, the free lot was full, so I chose to head down an unplowed laneway to park behind some baseball diamonds. With all the snow we've been having, and the flash thaw of that morning, conditions were pretty rough: deep ruts filled with slush and hard packed snow/ice in between. No problem. I switched on the 4x4 and was away to the races. When I got to that parking lot, I noticed a couple of other vehicles there, one in particular I though was ill suited to the road. 

Sure enough, as I am returning an hour later, I see this car, stuck in the slush, with a couple of people trying to push it out. I head over to give them a hand, but we get nowhere. This is where my inner country kid kicked into gear. No problem, I said, I have a tow strap in my truck, I'll just pull you out. 

As they were blocking the laneway, I first pulled them back to a wider section, so I could get around them to then pull them out. Everything was going great. I had to kneel in the snow and slush to attach the strap, so my pants were a little wet, but no big deal. I was heading home and could warm up there. The slush was deep, but I had my rubber boots on. 

But, as I am towing this car out of the laneway, I see another vehicle turn down towards us. As the kids say, What The Frig. And this wasn't another off-road capable vehicle. It was a little Mazda sedan. There are only one set of tracks here. I tried to way them off, but by the time they cottoned on to what was happening, they had gone about 50 meters or so down the laneway. When they tried to reverse out, they got stuck. Of course they did. 

For the next half hour, it was a comedic show of trying to get this stuck vehicle out, so I could tow the next stuck vehicle out. We tried pushing. That didn't work. Then we cleared a path through the snow so I could get the truck around tow them out, only to discover they were no attachment point on the rear of this second vehicle. Then we tried pushing again. By this point, my jeans are wet, my hands are wet, the sun is going down, and it is getting cold. The flash warm period is over. I'm starting to shiver. 

Finally, we push the car out, then I go back to reattach the strap to the first car. Except, now that it's been through the slush and the temperature had dropped, it's frozen and won't fit in the tiny loop at the front of the first car. I was having less fun by this point.

My last trick was to fish out the nylon rope I keep in the truck for tying down a tarp.  It is definitely not rated for towing, but I could fit a bunch of loops through and tie that to the strap. It worked, and I pulled them out. I was less triumphant, and more relieved by the end. 

I'm trying to sell my truck, and I'm having difficulties. The first is because I have not received a lot of interest from potential buyers. That's likely the biggest thing. But also, it's been great driving it around this winter with the conditions we're having, and I kinda don't want to get rid of it. I'm not sure if this incident helps or hurts that case.

wes

Photos

This is a shot I took when we first started this business. We were so hopeful.