dude, fuck hitchhiking.

[Dirty Rig]

ps: there's nothing fucking fun about those wackos. wingnuts and homebums are one thing, but bigots get a beatdown.

which brings me back to my conundrum? is it worth it to fuck this guy up after he carried across state lines? further than he intended? does one good deed make up for a lifetime of hatred? my answer is no, but at a 3-1 vote, i had to concede to the wishes of the group, eh?

[/little jonny badass]

 

[rezmutts]

That is true. I usually take my lover along, It's faster, But you just don't jump in without checking if the person is sober.

 

[creativitysucks]

I don't mind hitchhiking, it tends to be the quickest way to get where I'm going. I've met a few creepers - one guy gave me a ride about five miles when he offered me 50 more miles to be able to feel my crotch through my jeans while masturbating. I pulled out my mace and told him to just keep driving and drop me off. I started walking the highway from there, just trying to make the next on-ramp when a cop pulled up and started giving me shit. We made friendly pretty quick though and he drove me 3 exits up to a truck stop and gave me $5 to get lunch! I bought beer instead, but regardless, a cop gave me money!

I'm a firm believer that dressing to please is a huge help in getting good rides. I put my day clothes in my pack, and switch into my 'fancy duds,' which I always take with me, and make myself smell better at a gas station. On a train there's no reason to worry about it, but yeah, I'll play their game. It's their ride after all!

 

[Sandbeard]

Sorry. This is where I'm different from a lot of people. You bust out some ignorant fucking racist bullshit after I've already told you twice not to spew that shit, yer ass warrants a thrashing in my book. It's not PC, but I don't fucking tolerate bigotry. Not against blacks, not against women, and especially not against the residents of my hometown.

Well said. Everyone is allowed their own opinion, but when its outright offensive and have been told such, really they need to stfu.

 

[RnJ]

there's nothing worse than a shitty hitch. but it someone is being inappropriate to you or yer roaddawg, you can whip out a knife and hop out of the car. what bothers me is those "iffy" rides. example: caught a ride to baltimore with some good ol' boy. vomit was in the front seat, with me and two other roaddawgs in the back. decent ride the whole way (upwards of a 120 mile ride, which is a pretty long hitch for me) until we pull into the city. then homeboy starts spewing a lot of racist ignorant bullshit.

now, he hasnt done anything to us personally, and we made our views very clear. he was offending us, and we weren't comfortable with what he was saying, but he persisted. what do you do in that situation? my gut instinct is to pull out my railspike and smack him in the temple with the blunt end. but my roaddawgs must've read my mind, because i was getting that "dude, dont fuck up, we need to get to baltimore" look from them all. that's what i hate the most. that uncomfortable "do i fuck this guy up, or do i put up with it for the sake of a ride?" situation. ugh.

This is how I feel with wingnuts and haters. Except I know I would never deliver a blow to him. For me it's more an ethical dilemma. As in, how could I just sit and listen to that bullshit without intervening, just to get myself a ride? Feels like I'm letting someone talk shit about certains kinds of people just so I can get a free ride. I usually try to provide soft arguments against whatever the driver is BSing about, like BS stories and hater propaganda.

 

[ary]

CHUGACHUGACHOOOOOCHOOOOOO!!!!!! all the way....only been hoppin for a yr n whenever i find myself hitchin, i just wanna blow up every minivan wit one person in it haha.....

 

[LarZ]

that era has just really passed us by in this new millennium of ours. i say get a bike. my prediction is that bike or bus travel will be the next big thing in the coming years.

Hitch hiking never was and never will be "the big thing". It's not simply a mode of transportation and (almost) anyone who has done it has felt the magic. The era isn't over just because you get less frequent rides. It changes, yes, but to something equally fulfilling, just at a slower pace. Waiting and waiting is completely worth that one ride who drives you all the way there, is great conversation, buys you dinner and drops you off at the edge of the woods with your leftovers, $10 and a joint. (that's a true story =)

I don't do it to get anywhere, or not primarily at least. You head in a particular direction and let the universe do with you what it will; crossing hundreds of other people's lives every hour, each that might make your day or you theirs. It's only aggravating if you're impatient or on a schedule, so don't be. Hitch hiking is beautiful and everyone should try it at least once.

 

[brotherart]

If i just have to go, i often hitchhike out, because i like to wait fr nightfall b4 hoppin out. However, i've got to get my train fix, and usually i can wait fr a train.

i didn't feel like readin this whole thread, so i don't know if anyone mentioned it yet, but i make bank hitchin without even tryin. Usually, the folks end up really liking me and want to help me out. That's one of the best things about hitchin--the social and material resources.

Rail workers have helped me with food, water, and info many times; but not nearly as often as hitched rides, especially since i try to avoid everyone when riding trains.

 

[Diagaro]

@larzkaz14. Fuckin right on man.

 

[Melssen]

All I can say is Fuck Arizona Hitchhiking took me and a friend 4 days to get from El Frieda to Santa Monica. Especially Tucson People are cool there but the cops fucking blow

 

[Spirit]

When hitching is good, it's real good. When it sucks, it really sucks. I like how often rides turn into people giving me money or buying me a meal or is just cool people. I dislike when it's creepy people and you're stuck in a small space with them, or you get dropped off in the middle of nowhere, or that kind of thing.

I think sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad.

^ word.

 

[Dirty Rig]

i dunno if it will make more ppl pick up hitchhikers... perhaps, but yeah, i feel you on the hitchhiking thing. and it gets worse the older you get. that era has just really passed us by in this new millennium of ours. i say get a bike. my prediction is that bike or bus travel will be the next big thing in the coming years.

BULLSHIT

look, im glad yer enthusiastic about yer bike, and i know its been the new "thing" for the past couple years, but i cant stand bicycles. they're ugly, uncomfortable, utterly useless for less-than-paved terrain, and they wear my fat-ass out. i know everyone and her brother is biking now, but it takes some cajones to say bikes will replace hitch-hiking. i'd rather walk across the states than straddle one of those hipster-robots. i absolutely do not see how the pro's outweigh the con's when it comes to biking.

that being said, have fun on yer bikes and dont mind me

 

[Spirit]

BULLSHIT

look, im glad yer enthusiastic about yer bike, and i know its been the new "thing" for the past couple years, but i cant stand bicycles. they're ugly, uncomfortable, utterly useless for less-than-paved terrain, and they wear my fat-ass out. i know everyone and her brother is biking now, but it takes some cajones to say bikes will replace hitch-hiking. i'd rather walk across the states than straddle one of those hipster-robots. i absolutely do not see how the pro's outweigh the con's when it comes to biking.

that being said, have fun on yer bikes and dont mind me

HAHAHAHAH hipster robots i lol'd so hard man.

 

[vagabond719r]

I've lived in my van for over a year and a half now, parking in WalMart parking lots and blending in with the employee's cars. I have other places I go, but that's where I stay most often when in town. Finding a way to come up with cash to maintain it is worth it on those -15 degree nights. Getting the vehicle registered and insured, now that's the shitter. My van isn't any of that so every time I drive I have to be on cop watch constantly. If my van stalls, I gotta move fast getting it off the road, running, and back on the road. Or I have to abandon it, and most of the supplies that I have either worked for, or put the time and effort into building. Sometimes I wonder if it really is worth it all, but in the winter it's great. Friends or family are great in cases like this. Just park your vehicle in their yard while you go on brief stints of hitchhiking or whatever. If you are smart though, you can make it across country with a set of phony plates with a sticker from the state. I have a few times within the past couple of years to see family. I'll be making my way out west soon, and along the way I'll pick up people. My biggest problem when I hitchhiked was that the rides that you thought you'd get (VW's, cars full of stoners) never picked you up.

 

[cricket]

Dude i aggree hitching gets fucking annoying when you see large passenger vehicles fly by with maybe 2 people in it, but thanx to the DMV i cant get my license ( i am pretty much blind in my right eye) sooo hitching is were i am stuck at. bout to try my luck with frieght mayhaps.

 

[Linda/Ziggy]

I LOVE HITCHING !!
Yeah it can be CRAPPY at times, but that's usually the cops hassling me.
Otherwise I LOVE it. Meet cool & crazy peeps, have adventures.
Been hitching 30+ years, in the USA & UK.

REALLY if yer in a super hurry OR have a crappy attitude - DON'T HITCH.

 

[NyxNomasters]

I've only been hitchin a few months, but I've only had good experiences so far. A few creepers, but respectful when I have declined their advances. Having a wingman definitely helps that, I'm sure. Most rides hook me up with a meal or some cash. I've hardly had to panhandle due to good rides. One dude even gave me mystery drugs (some kind of white powder, which as a general rule I tend to avoid), which I gave to my adventurous brother to try out.

I'm guessing my good luck so far is simply female privilege, but I try to keep myself looking as clean as possible, which also helps a lot. Hitching with two fairly clean cut people (myself and a male) we have averaged 2 hour waits for rides, most of the time.

I like meeting people, the exchange of knowledge that occurs between us and, being slightly insane myself, I really enjoy meeting the strange people who aren't afraid to pick me up. I haven't hitched alone but I will in the future. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to use my blade to get out of a car if I needed to. But I would never threaten or use violence due to a difference of opinion, no matter how offensive an opinion may be. Taking offense is the problem of the person who is offended, not the other way around. Not everyone thinks the same as me and it's not my place to school them. I can only respectfully disagree and explain why. I learn a lot and I change my opinions from respectful conversations with people. I can only hope others do as well from their conversations with me.