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I'd love if hitchhiking made a revival. I've tried it once, but didn't get far. Well, actually, I didn't get anywhere at all! There's something about looking p

I'd love if hitchhiking made a revival. I've tried it once, but didn't get far. Well, actually, I didn't get anywhere at all! There's something about looking personable, well-groomed and attentive, and still being ignored by a succession of mostly empty vehicles that takes a toll on one's ego :( Good on you for rescuing the hedgehog though!

zabzonk 2y ago
> didn't get anywhere at all I know, it was a bit soul destroying. In my experience, the thing to do was not to try too hard (a bit of Zen here, perhaps). I remember being dropped at a roundabout outside Doncaster UK where there were already a couple of other guys, which is usually the kiss of death for all concerned. So I went up the road's embankment, laid down and slept for an hour or so - it was a sunny day. When I woke the other guys had got lifts and I stuck out my thumb and got one too. The thing about hitching is that you want a little money in your pocket so that if you really do get stuck somewhere you can maybe get a bus to somewhere better, and you don't feel too powerless and miserable. Also, hitch with a pretty woman - me and my ex-wife hitched Edinburgh-Yorkshire-Wales and back, doing camping. The last bit back to Edinburgh was in a Rolls Royce!
- seabass-labrax 2y ago
  Ha, thanks for the tips! Knowing me though I'd lie down for a 'nap' and wake up eight hours later! Re. public transport, indeed the occasion when I tried hitchhiking was after missing the one of the two twice-a-day buses on a recent journey of mine from a remote village. However, I eventually caught a succession of unlikely connections further on; I ended up arriving earlier than expected even without successfully hitchhiking, so all's well that ends well!
masfuerte 2y ago
There were still quite a few hitchhikers in the mid-1990s and I would always pick them up. I heard some tall tales but I never felt threatened. People have become absurdly risk-averse.
sandworm101 2y ago
It is increasingly illegal, for the drivers too. They don't want people walking on highways, nor cars stopping randomly.
jimnotgym 2y ago
The people who deliver new cars in the UK are well known for hitchhiking home. I think they are on a fixed fee, so hitching saves them money. You will see them holding their 'trade plates' (temporary registration plates that dealers can use without having to tax and insure the car registration) out to let other professional drivers know they are professionals. I met one in the Midlands once who had already driven to Edinburgh and hitched all the way back in the day. You often see them on the exits of motorway services where a lorry driver has dropped them so they can find someone going their way.
- smidgeon 2y ago
  I used to thumb a lot, standing by the side of the road you often see these car delivery lads, but only briefly; always picked up within a few minutes. I toyed with the idea of getting myself some fake trade-plates but thought better of it (they're mostly pretty hard looking blokes ...)
  - dboreham 2y ago
    Also works if you're a serial killer.

zabzonk 2y ago

> didn't get anywhere at all I know, it was a bit soul destroying. In my experience, the thing to do was not to try too hard (a bit of Zen here, perhaps). I remember being dropped at a roundabout outside Doncaster UK where there were already a couple of other guys, which is usually the kiss of death for all concerned. So I went up the road's embankment, laid down and slept for an hour or so - it was a sunny day. When I woke the other guys had got lifts and I stuck out my thumb and got one too. The thing about hitching is that you want a little money in your pocket so that if you really do get stuck somewhere you can maybe get a bus to somewhere better, and you don't feel too powerless and miserable. Also, hitch with a pretty woman - me and my ex-wife hitched Edinburgh-Yorkshire-Wales and back, doing camping. The last bit back to Edinburgh was in a Rolls Royce!

seabass-labrax 2y ago
Ha, thanks for the tips! Knowing me though I'd lie down for a 'nap' and wake up eight hours later! Re. public transport, indeed the occasion when I tried hitchhiking was after missing the one of the two twice-a-day buses on a recent journey of mine from a remote village. However, I eventually caught a succession of unlikely connections further on; I ended up arriving earlier than expected even without successfully hitchhiking, so all's well that ends well!

masfuerte 2y ago

There were still quite a few hitchhikers in the mid-1990s and I would always pick them up. I heard some tall tales but I never felt threatened. People have become absurdly risk-averse.

sandworm101 2y ago

It is increasingly illegal, for the drivers too. They don't want people walking on highways, nor cars stopping randomly.

jimnotgym 2y ago

The people who deliver new cars in the UK are well known for hitchhiking home. I think they are on a fixed fee, so hitching saves them money. You will see them holding their 'trade plates' (temporary registration plates that dealers can use without having to tax and insure the car registration) out to let other professional drivers know they are professionals. I met one in the Midlands once who had already driven to Edinburgh and hitched all the way back in the day. You often see them on the exits of motorway services where a lorry driver has dropped them so they can find someone going their way.

smidgeon 2y ago
I used to thumb a lot, standing by the side of the road you often see these car delivery lads, but only briefly; always picked up within a few minutes. I toyed with the idea of getting myself some fake trade-plates but thought better of it (they're mostly pretty hard looking blokes ...)
- dboreham 2y ago
  Also works if you're a serial killer.