Traveling on a bus for more than 12 hours can be annoying, of course.

But it also give you a lot of time to think.

Anyone who knows me knows that giving me time to think can be a very, very dangerous thing.

Here are a few thoughts from the road:

10:45 p.m. Wednesday – Why in God’s name did the team elect to leave at 10 p.m.? It’s a dismal night to be out here on the road, with the ice pelting the side of the bus. Oh, wow, good movie choice up on the screen, though. ‘Gangs of New York’ is a great flick. I just have to stay awake.

12:45 a.m. Thursday – Wow. ‘Gangs of New York’ is a long movie. Good, but long. The roads out there are getting pretty scary. Bangor isn’t bad, but I can only imagine what Route 9 is going to look like when we get out there.

2:45 a.m.- Holy Mother of God! There’s a Ford F150 in the middle of the road – on its roof! There is a cinder block in the middle of the road, too, likely from the bed of the truck, and trash from the back of the vehicle is scattered across Route 9. Tom Bourdon, the Maineiacs’ athletic therapist, gets out to see if anyone needs medical attention, and calls back that there isn’t anyone in the cab of the truck, but that the steering wheel is through the drivers’ side seat. There are turnaround marks about 45 feet back on the road, like another vehicle was there and bolted. An ambulance pulls up behind the bus, happening along the scene on its way back to Calais. After a short delay, back on the road.

3:45 a.m. – This pillow is comfy …

6:45 a.m. – The arm of this bus seat hurts, man. Ugh. Hey, where are we now? Eh, somehwhere in New Brunswick I suppose. It’s awful quiet on this bus at this time of morning. Wow, even coach Harding is asleep. And he never sleeps. Probably a good thing, though. The bus driver is doing a fantastic job of navigating these icy conditions. I suppose I’ll try to sleep a bit more.

7:30 a.m. – We’re stopping. Huh? This is Truro, not Sydney. Ah, Smitty’s for breakfast. Interesting choice, since I thought the team was also practicing this morning. Oh well. Eggs at 7:30 and eggs at 9:30 taste the same, I suppose.

8:15 a.m. – That was quick. On to Antigonish, and back to sleep. Looks like the players feel the same way.

10:15 a.m. – This place is gorgeous. What a stereotypically beautiful college campus St. Francis Xavier has. The rink is modern, a bit small as far as seating, but nice. Time to stretch the legs a bit.

12:15 p.m. – That was a long practice. But the boys looked good. Oh no, another movie. So much for another nap.

1:45 p.m. – ‘I Am Legend’ is a decent movie, but something is missing. People, maybe? I don’t know. Anyway, the weather is much better here, which is good, because the road is a bit more narrow. This isn’t nearly as bad as what team photographer Ron Morin told me about his experience last year. The views are gorgeous.

2:45 p.m. – That’s a sharp curve, yikes. These playing cards won’t stay where I put them, and my laptop battery is low. I hope we’re almost there. I’m starting to feel like a sardine.

3:30 p.m. – This rink is a relic of the ’80s! Wow. At least it looks close to the hotel, so we can walk. And it’s got a casino attached to it. Sweet!

3:40 p.m. – Did that stop sign almost hit the bus? Whoa, what is that sound? Wow, is that fire hydrant going to explode? The bus just scraped the fire hydrant, and we’re, like, 50 feet from the hotel. Oy!

3:45 p.m. – I’m allowed off this thing? Really? Awesome. Time to unload and take a nap. No, wait, I can’t take a nap, the NCAA basketball tournament is on. I hope I didn’t lose any Sweet 16 teams yet, it’s too early. Whatever, time for a nap.

I suppose the players are much more used to this than I ever have been, which is a good thing for them. They are younger, too, which speeds their time of recovery, and allows them to contort themselves into comfortable sleeping positions on the bus. Cape Breton is, of course, the toughest – and longest – of the team’s road trips all season, rivaled only, perhaps, by Rouyn-Noranda.

There is little doubt, despite what the company line is from the staff, that travel like this – three times in 10 days – can affect the way hockey players prepare for and play the games.

Cape Breton will be flying into Portland on Monday instead of bussing down.

Hmm. Wonder why?