“Happy to go back to Canada?” the bakery assistant asked when I mentioned we were flying the following day.
I wasn’t, so I just shrugged.
“I mean, I can see why,” she went on, correctly interpreting the classic gallic gesture. “The weather is still lovely here, and what’s waiting for you? Close to 24-hour darkness and snow! Wow… the transition is going to be brutal.”
It wasn’t the time nor the place to start educating yet another French on the many differences between living in Southern Ontario and the Arctic Circle. There was a long lineup of hungry customers behind me and it doesn’t take much for French society to descend into chaos when bread is involved—I assume you’ve heard about the French Revolution.
So I shrugged again, grabbed the baguette that would be my sandwich for the flight, and I au revoir’ed the empathic yet geographically challenged assistant.
“It’s not going to be cold in Canada, is it?” Mark immediately asked after we stepped out.
“Of course, not! It’s only September!”
“Oh, good. Cause I need to go to the park. That’s where my friends hang out, you know.”
“You should be able to. Honestly, I don’t start worrying about cold weather and all until at least after your birthday. Fall is gorgeous in Ottawa. Indian Summer is probably my favourite North American meteorological phenomenon.”
But the weather is just a game of probabilities. The September 2018 tornado outbreak was a complete surprise, and flurries aren’t unheard of in late October. Still, usually, the temperature goes down very gradually in Ottawa, with hot and sunny days and cooler nights—the best of both worlds.
Except for this year.
“Feels much colder than in France!” I noted when Feng picked us up in Montreal.
“It’s just today because it rained overnight,” Feng quickly assured. “It will be warmer tomorrow, I promise,” he added, probably worrying I was already considering flying somewhere reliably hot.
We did have a few nice days here and there, but it got cold, windy, damp and rainy really fast.
No Indian Summer this year.
No “I can’t believe I’m still wearing shorts!” moments either.
It sucks.
But on the positive side, colder weather brought us amazing fall colours this year.
I had -23° 10 days ago in Beaver Creek. Snow everywhere until Haines Junction.
And it’s not yet dark 24h/24 north of Artic circle.
Do you still sleep in the truck when it’s this cold?
Yes, I have a bunk heater, it works well.
In extrem colds (like under -25° for all night long), the problem the morning is to start the engine. Unfortunately, the best solution is to keep the engine running. I hate it, but better than being stuck. Another solution is to have an auxiliary power unit (APU), it’s a small Diesel engine that power the electrical system, charge the batteries and can keep the engine warm. But it’s expensive and I don’t have room left on my frame to install one.
Is it okay to keep the engine running for hours? I had no idea it was an option. Does it use a lot of gas?
No, it damages the engines in the long term, and it uses between 4 to 6 liters of fuel per hour.
That’s something that isn’t done in France, but it’s something surprising (and appaling) here. But a lot of companies have policies forbidding it, due to the huge cost (fuel and engine wear). I talked with a driver who said he started the engine once when he left the yard the monday and only shut it off when he came back the next friday.
Thing is, there is an archaic way of thinking here. I’ve seen trucks build in the 2000s, in Canada, without the bunk heater option, so to stay warm the only options are go to a motel or keep the engine running. And it’s not always possible to go to a motel. In France, we have bunk heaters since at least the mid-80 (Webasto is an antonomasia for bunk heater because it was the first company to be successful to commercialise these). They use fuel too, but 10 to 20 times less than running the engine.
And there is now systems to have A/C during warm weathers, either with an APU or with an additional battery pack powering an indépendant A/C unit, because that’s the other reason drivers keep their engine running in summer. The waste of fuel is tremondous.
Ugh. I’m one of these people who turns off the laptop at night, so I can’t imagine keeping a truck running (is that idling? I guess so). Is the motel option no doable because sometimes, there are no motels?
Side note, how is business for you these days? I’m asking because I find it very slow this month… I know, very different industry, but I’m wondering if the economy is slowing down already.
Indeed, motel is not always an option.
And we’re busy, no sign of anything slowing down. Maybe it will happen later. I was talking with a driver from another company last week, and same thing, they still have work.
It’s comforting in a way! I have no idea what’s going on around me, but I can’t get anything done and there’s no work, which is strange for fall. Not just me, Feng as well, other freelancers, etc.
Ah, we were just talking about it with colleagues: highway 1 (the Transcanadienne) is closed in Saskatchewan between Swift Current and Regina¹ due to heavy snow.
¹: I wonder… Should Regina be renamed Rex?
I’m voting for Rex.
Tiens, une question… l’endroit au nom de plus bêtement marrant où tu as été?
La Pine, en Orégon.
Pas mal!
Je crois que c’est Newfoundland qui a le record des noms marrants, genre Dildo.
I have almost the same pictures with the raindrops on a leaf! Too funny! It’s also my favorite season in Canada… beautiful weather and we finally got some nice warm days today and the days before.
I went to see your pictures, I loved your lovely mushrooms! I haven’t been able to spot any here but my closest forest patch isn’t big and it’s quite urban.
Fall has become one of my favorite season. I know shocking lol
😆 Same, I like fall in Canada better than in France (except this year, it got cold too fast here and it’s still hot in Europe!).