# So in regaurds to catching a ride...



## Staralar

Hitchhiking: is an interesting form of travel to say the least. The people you meet along the way, the places you end up going... & everything in between. I tend to over romantacize things I haven't had extensive experience in yet.

But here's why. Although I've caught more than just a couple rides in my day- ever since I've hooked up with my most recent road dog; he's more than just a little against me on this topic.

I can fully comprehend all the risks that I could possibily face while asking strangers for a lift; but I'm also gifted with the ability to more often than not correctily assess my situations & my potentional survival ratio. Not to mention that when your life is in danger, you'd be surprized by the things some people go through in order to survivie.

I'm ready to take these risks.

He's not. Granted I weigh nothing sort of 110 lbs. & he feels as though I'm his responsability... but he's mine as well. Would any one be able to offer me any tips or information on this subject so that I may be able to more properly persuade him? We don't really have any other modes of travel that he'd be willing to take on at the moment... & God knows I wouldn't leave without him.

I'm not really a big fan of pushing people to do things they're not comfortable with.. but at the least a little bit more of information would be helpful with allowing he & I to see the bigger picture of what we could be potentially be doing.


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## Richard57

pushing people out of there boundaries is helping them grow, so it's a good thing. and not really any tips for you, but i get this alot " you could be getting in a car with someone that could potentially be a serial killer" and thats true, but think about it, people driving by are thinking the same thing, "i'm not picking them up, they could potentially kill me" you know, so its kind of ironic. to be quite honest, if you get a bad vib e, or someone taht looks super sketch, jsut pass em up.


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## sharks77

wait so your road dog doesnt feel comfortable hitching but doesnt want to travel any other way?


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## Staralar

I do agree with you on the boundaries thing; but at the same point in time... if you push someone too far past their original comfort level- it could actuily inhibit the both of you... rather than help.

& the whole part about the "psycho killer" statement, I couldn't agree more. :]


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## Staralar

He wants to hop trains as well... but it's more of just something he likes to romantacise & play up in his head; rather than do. Not to mention, he just wants us to wing it; if anything. But everyone knows that's not safe in the least. With no prior experience at all... & no one to get least give us an outline while we're on our journey; I'd be afraid of dying of dehydration or fucking up the crew changes...


You know, mis-reading them & shit. Or hopping on the wrong train.


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## stove

Agreed with Richard: Pushing people (without exceeding their limits too far) can help. That being said, how is it that you've got a road-dog without hitching/riding. If he's too skittish, I'd personally say Put up or Shut up; Take him in easy, but show him that it's really NOT that scary/sketchy as most people seem to think.

Personally, a skittish dawg might be trouble, but good luck nonetheless.


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## sharks77

ohh i see. well its a difficult balance to get, to encourage him to go outside his comfort zone but not push him so far that it backfires.
ships are safe in the harbor but that is not where ships are meant to be, blah blah, all that good stuff.
i think if youve got a knife with you youre probably going to be able to handle any situation you get in with a ride, not that that's terribly likely to happen anyways


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## Staralar

stove said:


> Agreed with Richard: Pushing people (without exceeding their limits too far) can help. That being said, how is it that you've got a road-dog without hitching/riding. If he's too skittish, I'd personally say Put up or Shut up; Take him in easy, but show him that it's really NOT that scary/sketchy as most people seem to think.
> 
> Personally, a skittish dawg might be trouble, but good luck nonetheless.




Well, we've done a multitude of bouncing back in forth- mostly hitching of course. But it's very far & few in between. But I don't feel like battling him in order just to get out of state by said means of transportation. I suppose you're right though [put up or shut up]; it's just hard seeming as how he's pretty much become my best friend now over the past couple of months. :] But what's the point in complaning; if no active investment of change is being made.


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## Staralar

Knife? Yes ma'am. & when the threat arises- afirmative action is always at the top of the list. You need to protect YOURSELF; first & formost in damn near every & any situation.


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## Angela

Staralar said:


> He wants to hop trains as well... but it's more of just something he likes to romantacise & play up in his head; rather than do. Not to mention, he just wants us to wing it; if anything. But everyone knows that's not safe in the least. With no prior experience at all... & no one to get least give us an outline while we're on our journey; I'd be afraid of dying of dehydration or fucking up the crew changes...
> You know, mis-reading them & shit. Or hopping on the wrong train.




Oh getting on the wrong train can and does happen but it's not the end of the world. I think that's really what you need to think about is how comfortable you are with just "winging" it as you say and how confidant you are in yourselves that you can handle unexpected things. If you set out with a particular itinerary in mind and are uncomfortable with extended detours then you definitely might be disappointed with either hitching or trains. Dehydration is quite preventable with some jugs of water! There's some great threads already in here about things to pack which might be useful for you to browse through. If you've got everything you need with you fewer things can go wrong no matter where you end up.


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## Staralar

I've been looking into the threads posted on here, hahaa believe me. & I'm not nessicarily worried about boarding the wrong train, or having to stop for an undetermined amount of time... but for my first ride, I'd at least like to have someone with me who's done it before.

I wouldn't nessicarily be completely dependant on them; it's more of just the comfort factor... not to mention, I'll be the first person to admit that when I need help; I ask for it.


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

well in most circumstances you ahve to remember the driver is just as wary of you as you are of them, but these days its hard to catch a ride hitching from what ive experienced but not impossible. I say push him a lil bit thats how i had to eventually start my travel buddy pushed me until I gave in. He doesnt want to travel without you so you take control of the situation!


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## Staralar

dirty_rotten_squatter said:


> well in most circumstances you ahve to remember the driver is just as wary of you as you are of them, but these days its hard to catch a ride hitching from what ive experienced but not impossible. I say push him a lil bit thats how i had to eventually start my travel buddy pushed me until I gave in. He doesnt want to travel without you so you take control of the situation!


t

Pretty much after getting all this feedback; I feel pretty comfortable in doing just that.


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## finn

One thing that helps is if you have a good person sense, since it seems that your partner doesn't. I really hope you have it, because that will factor in your safety more than any fighting skill. I've had to do some hard convincing to get my earlier roaddogs to get on a ride they thought was sketch.


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## Speedy

I dont think hitchin is that nerve wracking. Its gonna be hard to get anywhere if he doesnt wanna hitch and you dont wanna take trains. Im not trying to be mean or shitty, but that whole situation seems like alot of drama. If you all wanna stay together on the road, maybe you can spange for a ticket on a greyhound. Other than that, this situation sounds fucked.


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## veggieguy12

Hitchhiking is as safe as walking to the library, or attending a public school.
Nobody stresses about driving down a highway at 70mph, but getting in a car with someone who'd willing to give you a lift when you need it, that's a risk?
THE WORLD OFFERS NO REAL SECURITY, we simply manufacture an *illusion* of security.
You and your pal could both be filled with tumors, and they're growing every minute, 'til one day - really soon - they're gonna end your living. So go out and try stuff, take some risks, push the envelope, experience life.


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## bote

I can sympathize with him worrying about you though, It's definitely more nerve-wracking to be with someone you feel responsible for, but that's his own trip and needs to move past it if you're going to travel together.
You sound like you have your head on straight, and if that's the case, you don't need anyone to show you how to ride trains. All you need is extreme caution (fear of fucking up will keep you safer) and patience. Go climb around on some stationary cars, figure out how to get on and off, where to ride, then go to a yard and watch how trains move and operate for awhile. Oh and most importantly, do that shit Sober.


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## Peacebaby

sharks77 said:


> ohh i see. well its a difficult balance to get, to encourage him to go outside his comfort zone but not push him so far that it backfires.
> ships are safe in the harbor but that is not where ships are meant to be, blah blah, all that good stuff.
> i think if you've got a knife with you you're probably going to be able to handle any situation you get in with a ride, not that that's terribly likely to happen anyways



One of the greatest benefits of having a road dog is the chance for one person to fully observe your driver, while the other engages them in conversation, and while i've only caught a few rides here and there for no great distances, I think that in most cases like shark said as long as u have a knife (or better yet, each have a knife) you should be safe enough to diffuse any serious situations without a real hassel. Unless the person is a real psycho, most people are going to stop and let anyone out, if they just pulled a knife on them (Oh nice knife. Is this ok? or should i go down to the next exit) Beyond that... just try to pay attention to the drivers attitude when you first engage them.


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## outskirts

For starters, let me say, I'm a hitchhiker not a trainhopper. So my knowledge of train hopping is very limited.
However I have been hitchhiking for years and have yet to have any serious problems with either drivers or cops.
I would imagine that train hopping is potentially more dangerous than hitchhiking. Some of you on here may disagree with that and that's OK, I will admit I'm rather ignorant of rail travel. I just see more potential to be maimed or killed while trying to jump on to or ride an open piece of massive steel. I'm not saying that I would never hop a train, I just havn't none it yet.
But back to hitching, Being a good people person helps when hitching. If you don't have people skills, well you best learn the ropes of and get used to train hopping. It's a balance getting rides and being safe. You have to look unintimidateing yet look like nobody to fuck with either. You gotta remember your hitching a ride, that's sketchy to most drivers. One trick I do use is to ask a ride that pulled up where they are heading before they even get a chance to speak. This gives me a few seconds to size up the driver and to get a gut feeling on the situation. If I've gotten a bad feeling or something don't seem right by the time they're done telling me their destination, I give an excuse to decline the ride(ride not far enough, wrong direction, etc.). If you start getting a bad feeling after you've gotten the ride, start acting like you're gonna get sick, they will pull over, no one wants puke in their car.
I've never had to pull a knife on anyone yet while hitching. One time a driver started creeping me out so I started some fake coughing and hit my inhaler. He asked me "asthma, huh?". I casually shot back "No man, it's my fucking TB.". He pulled over imediately and asked me to get out of his car, lol.


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## hutchie

> I'm not really a big fan of pushing people to do things they're not comfortable with.. but at the least a little bit more of information would be helpful with allowing he & I to see the bigger picture of what we could be potentially be doing.



What and spoil all of the fun? You never know till the rides over. Then the next and so on and so forth. No two trips are the same.


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## Linda/Ziggy

Okay,
have you thought of getting ANOTHER Roaddawg ?? One that wants to travel the same way that you do??

Also I've said this many many many times...............
I have been hitching since I was 14 (1981!).
I am a little over 5 feet tall, I am female.
I usually hitch & travel on my own.

I HAVE NEVER EVER NEVER EVER been attacked, threatened etc while hitch hiking !!
But I have had horrific things happen to me just walking down the street minding my own business.

I'm not saying that bad things don;t happen to people when they hitch.
But use your intuition sister, If the ride doens't feel right - don't get in.
Be clear BEFORE you get in to ask where they are going - first.

Don't let other people scare you out of doing something that you want to do.


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## outskirts

Linda/Ziggy said:


> I HAVE NEVER EVER NEVER EVER been attacked, threatened etc while hitch hiking !!
> But I have had horrific things happen to me just walking down the street minding my own business.



Ain't that the truth! I can't even count how many times I've had situations while just walking down the street(not hitchhiking). Bottles and stuff thrown at me, cars try and intentionally run me over, almost jumped once by a jeep full of drunk skinheads. All of which happened when I was NOT hitchhiking.


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