Advocate
S ince San Antonio-based trucker/ photographer Stephen Michaels launched his 24/7 live webcam in May 2008, broadcasting the view from his dash via , he's garnered the attention of , trucking media outlets and local TV news stations around the world as well as the love of hundreds of devoted individual followers. I love trucking, says the 44-year-old Central Refrigerated driver. I love photography, and the website ties everything together perfectly. The webcam portion of the site was named one of the top 25 most interesting cams on the net by EarthCam last year, and Michaels says lately he's getting about 50 e-mails a day from folks who follow his travels. There are a lot of per-sonal stories out there, he adds. It just started out where I could share my life with people, then it became where they could commu-nicate back to me. I call them the `Road Crew.' They meet and greet in the Road Crew Lounge section of the main site (click Blog, then the lounge banner). How better to understand Michaels' story than to hear from the crew themselves? In February 2009 I underwent surgery to fuse six vertebrae together and was informed I would no longer be able to drive trucks. I was devastated. Anytime in my life I needed an escape I climbed in a truck. And now more than ever I needed that escape. I found Steve's website out of pure boredom. This is my chance to sit at home and heal but still be a part of the trucking industry that I love so dearly. Steve lets me ride along shotgun nearly every day via his dash-mounted webcam. I get to see all the familiar places that made me so happy so many times in the past. I can sit at home and see him parked in a truck-stop and just imagine the C.B. kung-fu fights ... He posts blogs that tell of the trials and tribula-tions of his day. They are inconveniences to him, but I feel as if I am a part of the actual trip. One day I was riding with Steve, and I noticed he was in my hometown. I got the opportunity to meet him that day. He suggested checking out the chat room that I hadn't noticed before. The people in the chat room are mostly non-drivers, but they welcomed me with open arms, full of questions. I feel like I have purpose now: help-ing these people who have become friends to understand the industry I love so dearly. This gives me a reason to get out of bed. Steve doesn't realize it, but I didn't feel the need to go BigRigTravels.com owe my life to Steve. Kenny Ruff, Mounds, Okla. I had lived in Texas for several years (many years back) and have always had a yen to return to the United States. This dream has yet to be realized, but in the meantime, through the windscreen of Steve's truck, I am seeing so much more of your beautiful country than I ever thought possible! New places, beautiful scenery and a commentary from Steve nearly every day. There are other bonuses, too ... I have made a number of firm friends through this site. And then there are the antics of Steve's sidekick TK the Truck Kat, who amuses and delights us daily. So ... from someone who knows next to nothing about trucking and doesn't even live in the U.S., BigRigTravels has become my favorite website and certainly the only one I follow on a daily basis! Jill McErlich, Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand Road Crew JULY 2009 42 TRUCKERS NEWS ADVOCATE A micro-community with a truck driver's website at its center C O U R T E S Y S T E P H E N M IC H A E L S TODD DILLS proprietor Stephen Michaels