# Do you really like to hitchhike?



## Unslap

Im by the yard in clinton IOwa. Ten minutes ago i was looking where the hwy heads up a huge hill thinking "damn im glad im not hitchhiking up that". Id end up waiting 3 hrs for a 30 minute ride to the next town instead of chilling in the shade waiting for a DS to Cheyenne. 
Then i look across the street and theres a couple walking to the hill with packs on, all smiles and energy. They say theyre going to stockton CA, but are apparently too motivated to even stop walking to chat.
I guess my question is, WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT HITCHHIKING because i HATE THAT SHIT. even in oregon id wait forever for short rides even tho i had blond hair (race matters), a purple striped polo shirt (yep) and no beard.


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## Kim Chee

I've had the chance to hang out with ladies briefly while on the street. Dude looks a lot less creepy when he's with a girl. While hitching with the doobster, I actually let my hair down while hitching/carboard flying in hopes that somebody would think I'm a woman and have a heart (had my back turned and couldn't see the beard). Yeah, dirty trick, but whatever. They can assume whatever they want when they see hair, I'm not gonna stop favoritism when things are down a bit. Not too sure if it was successful, but I'd do it again. It was a little funny.

To answer your question:
Hitchhiking sucks, getting rides doesn't.


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## Doobie_D

HA!!! That shit was ridiculous!! ..Me and a big ol 8 ft tall, blonde/grey haired, manly figured "lady" It was actually fairly convincing from behind tho. I had to keep telling myself you were actually a man


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## Kim Chee

Doobie_D said:


> It was actually fairly convincing from behind tho.


I'm never doing it again.

Miles, kickdown potential, occasional food, change of pace, meeting somebody new. Those are a few things that I like about hitchhiking.


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## dawgrunner

mmmmmmmichael said:


> I'm never doing it again.
> 
> Miles, kickdown potential, occasional food, change of pace, meeting somebody new. Those are a few things that I like about hitchhiking.


 
I agree, but if I'm smart I'm going to be using both methods of transportation. Never hitched with another person always been solo.


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## Chewbacka

Thumbing it can suck at times, but some times it's better to thumb it. I've gotten some pretty good rides. Most are short but it's still getting some where.


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## brokenteeth

mmmmmmmichael said:


> I've had the chance to hang out with ladies briefly while on the street. Dude looks a lot less creepy when he's with a girl. While hitching with the doobster, I actually let my hair down while hitching/carboard flying in hopes that somebody would think I'm a woman and have a heart (had my back turned and couldn't see the beard). Yeah, dirty trick, but whatever. They can assume whatever they want when they see hair, I'm not gonna stop favoritism when things are down a bit. Not too sure if it was successful, but I'd do it again. It was a little funny.


 
yeah, this. shitty it's like that, but I've also had similar experiences. my friend gave me this woolen hat with pigtails, made me look like a girl from afar. worked like gold on the highways... on ramp entrances, not so much. when summer came i couldn't take sweating/looking like an arshole so now if I have to hitch somewhere i wear a regular hat and just try to smile and look happy. also i met some cool folks up in northern AZ who dressed in athletic gear when they would thumb rides and they said it worked great. as for this thread, hitching (traveling in general) is one big rollercoaster for me. high highs and low low's... it can get pretty discouraging after a few days with no luck. i've had a few. it sucks


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## daveycrockett

i started hitching at about 15 doing seasonal work in ny then hitching to fla to work with clothes and a nickel in my pocket. either i thumbed it or went hungry and froze. kinda became force of habit after a number of times/years. i dont LIKE to hitch but sometimes there is no other option.


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## Doobie_D

daveycrockett said:


> but sometimes there is no other option.


 
That right there sums up hitchhiking for me. I consider it plan Y in my quest to get somewhere (dirty dog being plan Z). But sometimes you really have no choice.


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## daveycrockett

Doobie_D said:


> That right there sums up hitchhiking for me. I consider it plan Y in my quest to get somewhere (dirty dog being plan Z). But sometimes you really have no choice.


dirty dog? please..lemme know!
fuck is a dirty dog?
might need a plan z one day you never know


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## Doobie_D

Its a very sketchy way to get where you gotta go.






Especially when you have to "ride the rods" on that bad boy


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## Doobie_D

But nah its Greyhound aka Loser cruiser, shame hound, dirty dog, etc


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## daveycrockett

seriously?


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## Doobie_D

Yes. Greyhound.


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## daveycrockett

oh now i get it fuck that first time i hitched to fla i was in port authority ny tryiing to finagle my way onto a bus to fla talking to people on the line and workers, couldnt get on so i hitched when i got to panama city i got dropped off at the bus depot and after about half an hour a bus pulls in with the same people from port authority bus line fuck that layover garbage and its fuckin expensive as hell to theyve got some nerve charging the prices they do. iwas in va goin about 120 miles they wanted about 120 dollars, im good, it is a plan z though.


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## Kim Chee

Doobie_D said:


> Yes. Greyhound.


One of the fastest known ways to get crust points is to lick the headrest.


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## Dmac

i guess i am just lucky, i have never had to wait more than an hour and a half for a ride and usually get long ones. standing in the sun on the on ramp with no place to piss is not fun and the unknown/unsure factor sucks, not like waiting on a train, cuz you know there will be one sooner or later. i always smile and wave at each car, and have had more than a few stop and back up the shoulder to pick me up just because of that, they said. i feel like i have more control riding trains, but it is all good if it gets me where i want to go.


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## bikegeek666

i kinda like hitchhiking because of being forced to interact with people, which i'm not always the best at, and i like being in situations where i kind of have to rely on my instincts and "street smarts". also i have made friends with drivers who've picked me up, and gotten some really beautiful treatment from people. also, i love the moments when you're standing still in the great outdoors, remembering that you're not where you came from or where you're going, i feel a sort of great weight lifted from my shoulders as the city slips away. that's also why one of the better trips i took i had a bike with me. it was hard to get rides and took 4 days from portland to oakland, but i strapped a sign to my messenger bag and rode when i didn't have a ride, and it was just beautiful riding some of those southern oregon/northern california roads.


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## bikegeek666

also stories. spending half a day in a van with christian missionaries from russia was a weird situation but it's funny now and i don't know anyone else who can tell that story.


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## Deleted member 2626

My favorite hitch hiking is that one ride to where your going and don't have to hitch anymore. I enjoy it if I've been laid up awhile and am ready to roll. But, most times it kinda sucks. But, when you get areas where rides are quick, friendly and helpful its awesome. As kinda is with anything and life in general.


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## 1544c

i normally hate hitching. but sometimes you get a ride with a hot girl and maybe you get laid, or you get $20, or someone buys you dinner.
when you're waiting for a train, a box car with 3 good looking women doesn't pull over for you with comfortable leather seats and AC. (i guess most of the time that doesn't happen hitching either but your odds are much better)


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## Doobie_D

1544c said:


> when you're waiting for a train, a box car with 3 good looking women doesn't pull over for you with comfortable leather seats and AC. (i guess most of the time that doesn't happen hitching either but your odds are much better)


 

^ HEY HEY HEY!!! Dont you ruin my dreams!!!  

At one point me and a couple buddies were super starved waiting for a train in the middle of nowhere and we kept joking about how a steaming hot turkey dinner with all the trimmings was gonna be waiting for us in the next 48 that pulled up...

Never happened... But im bound to find at least a steaming hot turd on a 48 these days


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## Mongo

I enjoy a lot of the stories I get from the people who pick me up. at least half of the drivers I've been picked up by have kicked down something. I don't usually have to wait more than a few hours and usually make about 500 miles or more in a day. I also love the emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows. It's definitely a lot easier to stay clean, for some reason I'm always surprised after just a few hundred miles on a train and getting off looking like a chimney sweep.


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## Johnny P

I hate hitching alone. I get bored and frustrated standing there with my thumb out. I always feel like the thumb would be better used up my ass!I always have people yell obsenities, flip me off, give me the thumbs up...yada yada. It's bullshit.

But, sometimes it can be rewarding. You get kickdowns, meals, smoked up, I've been given work by my rides. 

It seems like I have better luck when there are two of us, regardless if the other person is male or female. Though when I was traveling with my lady friend we got rides quick. Even though she said it was the slowest she's ever went. Girls get rides waaaay quicker. I'll stick to trains unless I have to hitch


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## Doobie_D

Johnny P said:


> I hate hitching alone. I get bored and frustrated standing there with my thumb out


 

I swear theres a such thing as hitchhikers dellirium. After about an hour I start acting kinda loopy and generally crazy in a happy way. Probably akin to how they say some people who are on the verge of death happily accept their fate. I guess its my brain happily accepting my fate of living forever on the exit in trying to get a ride out of.


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## Johnny P

^^^probably. Especially standing in the hot sun, when you have to take a shit but don't wanna leave the onramp because you might miss your ride. BLAH! Hitching sucks!


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## Doobie_D

Yup. Plan X as opposed to plan Y (straight walking) and plan Z (greyhound).

I'll get to the point where i make a gun with my hand a "shoot" everyone that goes by. Got a few rides that way before tho.


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## Bl3wbyyou

I found out that hitching is just rather boring and not full of much excitement.If im banged the hell up from ridding trains its a nice break from that.And the kick downs are often very nice.

All i do is sit beside a gas station or at a old run down place near a gas station and hold my sign.Ya get tired of sitting in the baking heat waiting for a ride after 3-4 hrs.

The other thing that sorta pissed me off is that people will more then likely give you $$ as you are waiting for your ride.And that pissed me off quickly in GA as i was waiting for hrs sweating my ass off.Ohhh you fuckers will give me $$ but not a damn ride?LOL.I could careless about the $$ just get me out of this place lol.


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## Doobie_D

Your supposed to fly a sign that says "need $300 for bus home OR A RIDE TO (insert town name)" in places like that.


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## nameless

i read a body language book that said to not hitchhike in Greece because they take the thumbsup as a "fuck you"
random little bit of info for you guys


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## Noble Savage

RR Tracks and Highways are scars across the landscape...Damn them all!


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## Ouija

I'm not a fan of hitchiking although it has worked out for me more than once. Problem with catching a ride with a a stranger is no matter what you have in common or how chill the ride seems to be, in the back (or front) of everyone in the cars mind is 'Who is the fxcking axe murder!?!"


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## Ravenhood

> I'm not a fan of hitchiking although it has worked out for me more than once. Problem with catching a ride with a a stranger is no matter what you have in common or how chill the ride seems to be, in the back (or front) of everyone in the cars mind is 'Who is the fxcking axe murder!?!"


-Ahahaha, yeah I know what you mean, unfortunately there's lots of awkward moments and suspicion involved in hitchhiking. I myself can't help but keep lots of caution in the air since I'm a gal.

Sure, hitchhiking can regularly put you in various shitty situations that you'd prefer never to have to deal with again, but for me it's totally worth it. I've hitchhiked through Canada, the States and a bit in Mexico over the past couple of years and haven't tired of it. I am a patient person who loves to observe my surroundings, pondering whatever flies through my head, taking my time doing whatever it is I'm doing, so I don't care to be stuck in Bum Fuck Nowhere for unknown amounts of time. Shitting situations make me really be able to enjoy the amazing moments, and they toughen me up in all kinds of ways. I've met some amazing people that have inspired me, and I have inspired others in return. I've learned to do with what I got, and I've learned what I gotta do. So besides the worries of who exactly is picking me up, the cold and the mosquitoes, it's all good.


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## PlasticSturgeon

bikegeek666 said:


> *i kinda like hitchhiking because of being forced to interact with people, which i'm not always the best at, and i like being in situations where i kind of have to rely on my instincts and "street smarts". also i have made friends with drivers who've picked me up, and gotten some really beautiful treatment from people. also, i love the moments when you're standing still in the great outdoors, remembering that you're not where you came from or where you're going, i feel a sort of great weight lifted from my shoulders as the city slips away.* that's also why one of the better trips i took i had a bike with me. it was hard to get rides and took 4 days from portland to oakland, but i strapped a sign to my messenger bag and rode when i didn't have a ride, and it was just beautiful riding some of those southern oregon/northern california roads.



I don't think you could have said it better. I really enjoy hitchhiking and those are mainly the reasons why. I'm not the most social person ever, and I rarely go out of my way to talk to people, but because of that "forced interaction" I've heard a lot of interesting stories, met some wonderful people (of course a few not so wonderful ones too), and basically have had opportunities to get to know people who I ordinary wouldn't talk to.
It's fun. And I often get an unusual sense of accomplishment when I reach my destination, even if it was a short distance, hah. 

When you rode/hitched to Oakland, did you go down the 101 or did you take a different route?


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## schmutz

I love people and therefore I love hitchiking? Something like that....I like getting to know someone's story. I have very rarely gotten in a bad situation thumbing it, and I usually find its a good way to find a meal (and sometimes a place to stay for the night)


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## Mongo

I'm starting to realize that hitchhiking and trainriding are too different emotional highs

Hitchiking- a constant state of extreme lows with extreme highs kinda like a bipolar person.

Trainriding- an extreme adrenaline rush with an extremely long bouts of boredom.

at least that's how I feel


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## RnJ

In a single, simple statement, yes, I hugely enjoy hitchhiking.
But, I mostly dart between Toronto and Vancouver, floating around the prairies of Canada where getting rides is 10x easier than trap like Ohio.
I could do without intolerant truckers, Medicine Hat, and Sault Ste. Marie though -- those are the things I dislike.


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## RnJ

Doobie_D said:


> But nah its Greyhound aka Loser cruiser, shame hound, dirty dog, etc


 
Terry and Deaner of FUBAR call that single backseat on which two people sit (but on which they are usually spooning of getting all fondly) the "fingerbang seat."
Greyhound is why I like hitchhiking. No grumpy busdrivers or "town hero" alpha-male barking orders at people when the bus breaks down outside of Albany, NY or brats sprawled out across the last seat available.


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## Komjaunimas

bikegeek666 said:


> i kinda like hitchhiking because of being forced to interact with people, which i'm not always the best at, and i like being in situations where i kind of have to rely on my instincts and "street smarts". also i have made friends with drivers who've picked me up, and gotten some really beautiful treatment from people. also, i love the moments when you're standing still in the great outdoors, remembering that you're not where you came from or where you're going, i feel a sort of great weight lifted from my shoulders as the city slips away. that's also why one of the better trips i took i had a bike with me. it was hard to get rides and took 4 days from portland to oakland, but i strapped a sign to my messenger bag and rode when i didn't have a ride, and it was just beautiful riding some of those southern oregon/northern california roads.


 
Couldnt have said bettter...


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## nati

i hitch and hop trains as well i like hitchhikin because i always know exactly where im going and i get to meet people i would have never of otherwise met plus i usaully get kicked down when I get a ride housed op free drugs shit gotta blowjob from this one chick outta rosevilee cuz i decide to hitch instead of wait in hobo jungle and hopout


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## mittens

I enjoy hitchin'. I usually don't have to wait for more than an hour. It probably has something to do with the fact that Im in canada, but In four years i've only had one ride that could even be remotely considered sketchy. I told the driver to drop me off at a gas station near the edge of town. Something was off with buddy's eyes. It didn't seem like he was on anything. He was just off. After he passed the gas station, I told him that he'd missed my stop and that he'd better stop the f-cking car. He did, and then went on his merry f-ckin' way.

I've had so many interesting rides. I've been picked up by soccer moms, truckers, a dispatcher for the CPR, a prison guard, a van full of Mexicans, hippies, a prospecting member of the HA, a guy with a broken neck, a SF vet whom fought in Vietnam (thats odd for Canada), Business owners. One time I was hitching out of a town called Moose Jaw. As i walked across the ditch from the service rd to the hwy, four cars in a sheep train passed, and the last one stopped. She was hot chick in a mustang. That was my fastest pickup ever. 

The people that stop are usually pretty interesting. I've loved some of the conversations that I've had. The ones that don't suck. Ive almost been hit. I've had stuff thrown at me. Once I even had an 80 year old woman that had trouble seeing over the steering wheel, flip me the bird. Can you imagine being stuck in a car with those people for hrs. That would suck even more.

I love hitching because its interesting.


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## Charlie

Yes, I really like to hitchhike. It forces me to stay optimistic, calm, creative, and most of all to have fun.

I just discovered that a walking stick makes an excellent prop. Not only does a walking stick make a great prop, but it also gives me something to do when walking down a road with few cars. I'll start counting my steps like a beat (1, 2, 3, 4) and walk the stick on every 1st beat, add a hop into my beat, and I start adding silly things like foot drags and knee slaps, into my beat until I'm practically dancing (I haven't tried doing this with my thumb out while cars are passing, yet), I throw extra counts into my beat and do short sprints for that (1&2&3&4&1 2 3 4), and revert back to walking for regular count. I start twirling my stick and beating up the guard rail, throwing it like it's a spear, run up to it and pick it up. I also use it in ways that assist my hitching, I'll stand at one of those big green signs that show a few cities and how far they are away and I'll point at the next (or which ever one I can reach) city and put my thumb out. Surprisingly, a walking stick was responsible for 2 rides I got on my last trip that was 240 miles.
As for hitching on a freeway entrance, I gave up at this. The first time I tried this, I stood there for a few hours and the sun was almost down. People kept pointing at something and I kept thinking "What are they pointing at? they must be stupid.". Well turns out they were pointing at a gas station next to a restaurant. Eventually, I thought, I'm going to take a break and smoke a cigarette in the grass by that gas station. While I was there, I saw a dodge ram with a trailer that said 4x4 racing, I LOVE 4x4s and racing! So I decided to make some casual conversation with the driver. Turns out the driver was a Mexican (yes, from mexico), and when I approached him, he seemed surprised and confused, I said "excuse me, I couldn't help but to notice your trailer says 4x4 racing, are you driving to Moses Lake by chance?", he replied "Que?". HA!! Then I asked "Moses Lake?" while showing him my cardboard sign. He replied "Nooo". I was perseverant so I asked "Spokane?". He replied "Ci", I asked "Can I ride with you?". He thought about it and then replied "Sure, hop in.". HAHA! So I got a ride from the first person I asked, he even said that he was driving all the way to New York (from Washington) and I could ride with, I declined his offer as I wanted to see as many sites and meet as many people along the way and had another route in mind. A few months later, I realized that this was the perfect technique for hitching on freeways and I perfected it. Now if I'm stuck in a city, I'll walk to the other side (in the direction I'm hitching), and ask for rides at the gas station nearest the freeway entrance that I would hitch onto. A lot of freeway entrances are illegal to hitch on in some places, this method is a bypass to that and only takes a few minutes versus a few hours.

Highway hitchhiking is the best, I get to walk (or bicycle or skateboard) and take in the scenery and when night comes around, it's usually easiest to find a place to camp out.



1544c said:


> i normally hate hitching. but sometimes you get a ride with a hot girl and maybe you get laid, or you get $20, or someone buys you dinner.
> when you're waiting for a train, a box car with 3 good looking women doesn't pull over for you with comfortable leather seats and AC. (i guess most of the time that doesn't happen hitching either but your odds are much better)


 
Haha, so a few days ago I was hitching into town, and a VW Jetta pulled over to pick me up after about a half hour. It was 3 good looking college gals, I got in the car and it was comfortable leather seats and AC. They were quite friendly and made great conversation. They took a picture of themselves with their first hitchhiker at my destination and we parted ways.


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## Ri Raw

I kinda love hitching. The first half hour standing there sucks but then you get comfortable and its just a waiting game. I usually get picked up pretty quickly and almost always get picked up eventually. I have had to give up or wait more then 2 hours maybe like 10% of the time. not too bad. Alot of that has to do with being a 20 year old white girl. I am currently a part of the most successful hitching demographic. I meet random people who I can basically say anything to because I will never see them again, and I have had people say some really weird and personal shit to me which is fun. I sometimes just invent a personality when I can tell that this person and me wont actually get along, like if they are super religious which alot of times they are in the south where I have the most experience. I always lie about why im hitching because really its just for fun and to get somewhere I want to go but dont necessarily have to be and people dont like letting strangers in their car for those reasons. I like meeting random people and the really unique social situation that is driver and hitcher. You are both trying to make sure the other is not trying to kill you, while getting to know them, while being in eachothers personal space, while navigating the road. And all the while there is this kinda back of the head narrative where this specific interaction is going to somehow prove or disprove that humans are good and nice and things might just turn out okay. Talking to the cops or getting beeped at or refusing rides from creepy people sucks though. But even worse is accidently taking a ride with a weirdo which happens eventually no matter what. But the stories are good and every time you learn stuff that will help you out of your next fucked up situation. But all the romantics aside I LOVE HITCHING CAUSE ITS FREE!


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## Ash Ludd

I enjoy it when you've got someone with you and doing it every once in a while. I just got back from hitching round Europe for like 3 weeks a couple weeks ago. Because we only had 3 weeks and wanted to see as much of Europe as we could we were hitching pretty much every day and it got really tiring and boring. I think like anything it kinda sucks when you sorta "have" to do it. But I think it would have been a lot more enjoyable if we'd set off with an indefinite amount of time and been able to stay places for a while. Before that trip we hitch-hiked from Andover (this is in the UK) to Sidmouth for the Folk Week which is a nice short distance and we stayed in Sidmouth for a few days playing folk sessions and doing ceilidh dances and then hitched back home. That was a really enjoyable week. 
So yeah, I think it depends when you do it, who you're doing it with and whether you "have" to do it.


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## Roosterruler

I thoroughly enjoy hitchhiking (and wouldn't do it if I didn't) as a solo female traveller.

It's always been a keen way to meet rad folks.

I'm not aiming for money or getting laid (that's the last thing I want, actually) - I crave connections. Since I travel alone, I thrive in the conversations I have in the moments I share with the strangers. Also, as mentioned above, getting around for free is rad!

My start with hitchhiking was pretty vanilla. I was living on an island in Canada that promoted the hitching culture so much that they had hitch-stops (signs with thumbs on them) around the island that you could just stand at and wait for someone to pick you up at. Folks had coloured tags in their cars that identified which part of the island they lived on so hitchhikers could more easily decide who to accept a ride from.

I've gotten some pretty sweet rides. There was the man that wanted to stop and buy me a cookie and then there was the woman in northern Scotland who ended up hosting me for a week with her family and they truly made me a part of the family, taking me out to the movies and a concert - complete with a departure gift (complete with a packed lunch and dinner) for when I had to leave. Can't wait to go back someday and see them again.

Sure, there's a handful of creepers out there, but I've never felt unsafe (which I know is the exception to a lot of folks' experiences and this isn't something I take for granted). Part of it might be that I seem to trigger _everyone's darn maternal-instincts_ - even folks who didn't know they had 'em.

I was getting a ride to California and it was me and this grizzly sort of man in the back seat. After we dropped him off, the driver turned around and said, "You really don't know the affect you have on people, do you?" I asked her what she meant and she expanded to explain that I sort of just soften up everyone I meet - she described it as "melting" them. She said that the moment she picked me up, all of a sudden, grizzly man turned from grizzly to papa bear.

I dunno.

It has yet to let me down.


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## HitchTube

i love it because it's social
unlike taking buses or trains
even a rideshare through craiglist is usually unsocial
drivers who pick up hitchhikers can be very interesting


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## falcon91

It's not about the destination, but the travel. Sure sitting on an on ramp in shitty weather for days on end isn't ideal. The best thing about hitchhiking is the assholes pass right on by. I prefer to keep in constant motion, most people will leave you with a charitable donation. I don't fly a sign or panhandle much.


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## Rob Nothing

No. But have done enough hitching to feel alright about it when I have no other option. Have to admit I've met some cool chicks that way and even some dudes that I felt tight with before we split. And I don't even smoke. It's the magic of knowing you will never have to see one another again.

Regardless, I avoid it as much as possible.


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## WanderLost Radical

Doobie_D said:


> I swear theres a such thing as hitchhikers dellirium. After about an hour I start acting kinda loopy and generally crazy in a happy way. Probably akin to how they say some people who are on the verge of death happily accept their fate. I guess its my brain happily accepting my fate of living forever on the exit in trying to get a ride out of.



I get weirdly joyful too xD I think it's just about telling yourself: okay, this sucks, so lets make it not suck ahah



nameless said:


> i read a body language book that said to not hitchhike in Greece because they take the thumbsup as a "fuck you"
> random little bit of info for you guys



Depending on where you are in the world, hitchiking signs are different. For example, here in asia, instead of sticking out your thumb, you wag your hand up and down  that kinda sucks though, cuz some people just think you're waving them hello xD

Back on topic:
I really enjoy hitching, for the only reasons that:
1. It's free
2. People that pick you up are either nice or weirdos. And if its weirdos, you just ask to get out and wait for someone nice, and then have a good time chatting with them. It really helps my cynism.

And like someone said, it's all about the journey, not the destination. And hitchiking happens to usually make fucking good stories


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## Whereamiwhatdoido

Hitchhiking has become quite a thing in my life. Several times when there's been a set destination to my trip it's been exciting and amusing. 

The last time from Denmark to Southern France took 27 hours, starting at 22:30 a tuesday night. - Trips like that are a blast! 

Last time, I went without a destination and it was pretty awful, not because I had no rides, just a complete lack of amusement where everything was kind of old. 

It's tough though, because travelling alone is what's gotten me down lately. 

As have been mentioned it's not the destination but the ride that matters. But having travelled(hitchhiked) through Europe more than 7-8 times back and forth, people start blurring together, the stereotypes that pick you up gets old, conversations are about reoccuring subject and emotions; therefore I've started thinking about hitchhiking down east, through Istanbul. There should be more excitement and new things to experience.

To the subject of the thread, I think hitchhiking is absolutely awesome, because it's free. And sleeping at reststops and gas stations doesn't get old, that's probably what I enjoy the most, waking up early mornings and hearing the trucks starting to thrub their diesel bellies, feeling refreshed and well rested and getting back on the road.


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## iflewoverthecuckoosnest

I am fairly new to hitching, but I really enjoy it so far. 
For one thing, when I am traveling alone I can barely even leave a gas station before I get a ride. Hitching as a girl is easy as pie. 
I love some of the folks I've met, too. Definitely make a lot more connections than I ever did rubbertramping. 
I suppose that what I enjoy the most is the adventurous freedom. I never know where I will wind up that night, and I certainly don't have to worry about car insurance payments or repairs. All I really need is a few good meals a day, and that's never hard to find. I get what I need.


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## sd40chef

RnJ said:


> In a single, simple statement, yes, I hugely enjoy hitchhiking.
> But, I mostly dart between Toronto and Vancouver, floating around the prairies of Canada where getting rides is 10x easier than trap like Ohio.
> I could do without intolerant truckers, Medicine Hat, and Sault Ste. Marie though -- those are the things I dislike.


hahaha.... medicine hat and the soo.... you could perhaps add thunder bay, regina, kelowna or Moncton if we are talking about shitty places to get stuck in Canada.
north Americas still somehow the most interesting place to hitch for me though, asia or Australia hasn't had as much diversity in rides that ive got, still interesting nonetheless.


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