Pros and cons of hitching a ride

[alainawhocares]

What are the pros and cons of hitchhiking? Weighing the good and bad and experiences/stories are welcomed.
Have you ever gotten in trouble for hitching a ride, what didn't you know when you first started that would've helped, etc.

 

[spectacular]

Lot of creeps hitting on me lately. I think if you're young and nicely dressed and are into it then there's a greater likelihood that you won't be picked up by creeps. I found as soon as I started getting tired and didn't really feel like traveling that was when the creeps came out of the woodwork.

 

[iamwhatiam]

Pros are you get money/drugs/weed/etc kick downs all the time. A ride I had once took me to lunch and then pulled up to an atm and gave me $100 before he let me out. Another lady who gave me a short 5 minute ride into town gave me $50 or $60 after I told her I was trying to find a new raincoat to buy. (she originally had passed me up, but turned around to come back and get me after God told her to do something nice for me or something like that). Hitchhiking through northern cali, just about every ride I've had smokes me out and/or gives me weed or bags of popcorn trim.
Have met people before who hooked me up with a day or two's worth of work before. Lots of people have given me a place to crash for the night. One ride I caught with this awesome old hippie couple from Georgia to New Orleans kept us stocked with beer and drunk the whole ride there.

Cons are mostly religious fanatics that want to talk your ear off about Jesus the whole way and pray for you to be saved from your lifestyle. And rides that talk Non-fucking-stop when all you want to do is take a nap/rest.
Oh....and of course the occasional pig that runs your name, or tells ya you can't hitchhike there.

 

[dyingslowlyeveryday]

I once woke up from a nap with the guy's hand on my inside thigh. Noped the fuck out of that real quick. Never gonna nap again.

Hitching ebd 10 from Texas to Florida right now, so far kicked down well over $600 cash n prizes.

 

[iamwhatiam]

I once woke up from a nap with the guy's hand on my inside thigh. Noped the fuck out of that real quick. Never gonna nap again.

Hitching ebd 10 from Texas to Florida right now, so far kicked down well over $600 cash n prizes.

Maybe you popped a nice woody in yer sleep and the guy was jus tryin to help you readjust? thats why ya always put yer backpack on yer lap!

 

[Cree]

^^^^^ ha

 

[Kal]

I have never had any problems. I do spend a lot of time walking and a lot of time outside. So you must be in good shape and like spending a lot of time outside. And once you get a ride just sit back and relax and if your lucky your ride will give you some money or buy you something to eat or both. Do try to keep some food on you for those times that you don't get a ride.

 

[Durp]

@Kal - ↑ the above post is great. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. You might not get picked up for days, but you have to keep on keepin on.

 

[Mankini]

Longest I ever got stuck was at Battle Rock OR. An awesome place to be stuck if you ask me! In fact I cant imagine a better place to be stuck. It's only a couple hours north of my destination anyway (Eureka)...Once, I got dropped off in Montrose CO at 10 pm in the middle of a windstorm, in November...That wasnt cool. But, as long as you don't get stuck somewhere lame or dangerous, you should be fine!

 

[Sip]

Pros: You get to meet a lot of really laid-back, cool people who give you money and treat you like a minor celebrity. I had one woman stop and pick me up, she started going on about how she wanted to backpack europe, and asked me for stories. So I told her a few, some true, some not, and every time I told her a story, she just acted as though I were a legend. Great for the ego.

Another guy took me to the lake-shore in my home state, showed me all the best spots to relax, gave me funions and 20$.

Another time a guy drove me all the way from Chicago to the front door of my parents house and supplied me with at least 50$ worth of snacks.

Cons: Standing on the roadside for 8 or 9 hours listening to the same playlist over and over again. Have people swerve at you , flip you off, and give you thumbs up. One can only play "pebbles" for so many hours.
Also, getting hurt and sick can be really rough if you are not in a good spot for resting. I fucked up my leg one time. It was late fall and every time I shivered in the night a blast of pain shot all the way to my hip. The next morning I was trying to get out of town and had to hop on one leg for like 3 miles, stopping every few hops to rest my leg until a nurse saw me, and picked me up and gave me some pills and a ride. She was late to work and everything. It makes a good story to tell to friends around fires, but I was close to crying at the time.

In summary: Hitching is amazing, and I believe addicting. You meet so many people, get so many stories to tell, and wind up in the most unexpected places. It's definitely a good way to travel.