Aged 28, Ryan Keily drives a Kenworth T610 out of Brisbane for Blenners Transport and was far away at Coolgardie in WA when Big Rigs spoke to him.
“I am heading to Perth with a load of bananas,” Ryan said.
It is a genuine case of like father, like son for Ryan, whose dad Bill is a driver for Brown’s Citrus at Gayndah.
Ryan loves the variety of work he does and the places he gets to see.
“I travel to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and get to see Australia. Even up to north Queensland,” he said.
As for rest areas, Ryan said there was a good one called the Firetail near Narrandera in NSW.
He also has some roadhouses around the country he likes stopping at including the Vibe at Coolgardie.
“Also, the Border Village on the SA/WA border and the Jerilderie in NSW. They have good food and great service,’ he said.
When he gets time off Ryan loves fishing and 4WD camping.
“I go reef fishing on charters and have caught red emperor and sweetlip species,” he said.
Ryan has been at Blenners for about a year and before that drove a T604 for Wickham Freight Lines.
Enthusiastic Ryan would recommend a career as a truckie to other youngsters in an industry where the average age of drivers is above 50.