The following letter was submitted to the Canadian Trucking Alliance:

Dear Mr. Bradley:

Earlier this year, for three weeks in May and June, we rode our bicycles from Nanaimo, via Whistle, Lillooet, Kamloops, Calgary and Regina to Winnipeg. Needless to say we had a great time seeing the country in a manner that we had previously missed when travelling by automobile.

The purpose of this letter is to thank all the long-haul truckers for the courtesy they showed us throughout our bicycle trip. Without a doubt this group of drivers was the most courteous and safety-conscious on the highways.

One often hears negative comments about truckers’ driving habits, but our experience was just the opposite, leaving us with just positive comments about the long-haul truck drivers. For example, most of the highways had a paved shoulder for us to ride on, and this helped to keep us away from the traffic. Even then the big rigs moved to the left as far as possible, which decreased our being buffeted by the air turbulence and increased our safety. Occasionally, a rig did not pull over into the far left lane, and invariably it was because the other traffic did not allow it to do so.

We also appreciated their friendly waves and the occasional toot of a horn. Next spring, we plan to ride from Winnipeg to Kingston. We hope that other drivers, especially tour buses, follow the example of the professional truck drivers and look out for us little guys on two wheels.

Susie and Kanji Nakatsu