Hitchhiking

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[edit] Safety

When hitching a ride especially where the trip will take you through remote areas you should take a glance at the fuel gauge and size up the vehicle and tires for road worthiness, no sense getting stuck with a break down that isn't yours. Assess the driver and do the sniff test, we are cool with drinking and drugs when used safely, but a drunk or stoned driver is a recipe for disaster.

Have a verbal contract ready before you get in, it must include exactly where you want to be dropped off, also that you have no gas money. The driver must agree before you get in or you set yourself up for trouble later. If they don't agree to your deal wait for another ride. Be specific, say “Thanks for stopping I need to be dropped at exit 44 and I have no cash for gas, is a free ride cool?” then if they ask why explain about a guy who demanded gas money once after you had traveled some distance and you had none. It is rarely a problem but gas money and free sex are not required to successfully hitch and if you specify that you are riding free it is much harder psychologicaly for the driver to demand something from you later.

[edit] The most important things to remember about hitchhiking are

  • Travel light.
  • Be neat, clean and polite.
  • Always try to look like someone you'd want to pick up.
  • Make a large sign with your destination and don't forget your markers.
  • Don't bring a weapon or anything otherwise illegal for you to be carrying. Sooner or later you will encounter police, who will lock you up for the night if you're holding anything.
  • ALWAYS be specific that you have no gas money or credit cards, you cannot and will not pay for the ride.
  • ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS specify your exact destination and get confirmation from the driver that he will take you there directly.
  • You can always pass on a ride if ANYTHING seems weird or the driver makes any demands in exchange for the ride. Remember, hitching is free.

[edit] Who picks up hitchikers?

Back in the day everyone picked up hitchikers, but after a bunch of lame stereotypes were pushed by various media the people who pick you up will generally be:

  • Men looking for sex. This applies whether you're male or female and describes the plurality of people who'll pick you up. These range from the awkward/benevolent types who will give you a ride and not push sex once they realize you're not that girl from the album cover to the mean troll who'll quickly try to get you out of the car when you aren't interested. Actual rapists are rare to nonexistent. Still, be careful.
  • Religious/political extremists. Don't be shocked if they try to convert you to their sect, but this can also work in your favor. You can carry long conversations about your distaste for how things are run. (That is, if you're politically active). One thing they tend to bring up is the 9/11 attacks being an inside job, which most would be surprised to hear from the right-wing.
  • The armed dude. We have ridden with people in Amerika who tell us they are wearing a gun, these guys tend to be no problem so far in our experience, they tend to be right wingy if you talk politics but are confident you wont jump them and so they are relaxed. Ask them about Obama, martial law, and gun bans and let the good times roll.
  • The con-artist. Rarely a desperate con artist will surprise you and try to pressure you to pay for fuel at some point in the trip, especially if you are at the gas station and he is filling up while you are flashing cash to buy yourself junk food. You should be fine as long as you are specific before you get in that you wont be paying for fuel or anything else.
  • The flake. This guy wants somebody to talk to and figures any ride, any progress at all is a good ride for you and a big favor from him. Always ask the drivers destination and route before saying where you are going. These guys might feel charitable and agree to overshoot their destination to help you out but after a few hours of driving get tired and cranky, sometimes kicking you out in a bad hitching near their destination but miles from your destination. Never take rides from people offering to go very far out of their way especially at night.
  • People who may expect you to chip in for gas and/or tolls, no crime in that, you can refuse the ride and wait or agree up front and pay your share especially if that is the only way for get a hitch to a better location, compare bus prices though if you are in this situation.
  • Nice, bored people. Yeah they do still exist. But they will be a minority of people who pick you up.

[edit] Truckers

Your best bet is to ask around at a truck stop, many truckers like to have a rider to talk to. Stick to private truckers, most large corporations like UPS and FedEx forbid riders in their marked trucks. Women especially but men too should watch out at truck stops since these places are also frequent workplaces for prostitutes or lot lizards in CB lingo, partnering up is a good idea in this sexist world. Even if a trucker is not interested in giving a ride ask if he will CB for someone heading your way. Talk to your ride first and set up how far they will take you for free, no tricks later, especially at a truck stop where there are plenty of rides so make sure they are cool, there is no reason to ride with a creep. If you were not carrying enough already a small CB handheld radio can be used better than your thumb, call out to truckers even on the highway, talk directly to trucks you see wave and ask them for a ride. Of course when roadside hitching a big sign and CB channnel if you have always helps too, be sure you are on the correct side of the highway heading where you want to go. Never put you bag in the back, snuggle it to yourself so you will have it if you decide to bail out.

[edit] Maps

Most states offer free maps which you can either order from the official state website, the state tourism website, or from welcome/info/tourist buildings as you enter the state. Always have a highway map and good compass so you can keep yourself on the right road and headed in the right direction. A small map book of national highways which includes exit numbers is essential and worth the extra weight if going beyond the local area, don't trust a GPS and be sure your map is up to date.

[edit] Road repairs

If you plan on long range hitchhiking there are some useful things to carry in your pack to help you save yourself if your ride breaks down. The two most likely problems are engine cooling system problems and blown tires. If you carry a pair of large hose clamps you will be able to repair some burst hoses if the leak is near the end of the hose. A tube of radiator stop leak powder is very small and can be added to the radiator to repair small leaks. It might take half an hour or more but you can use a bicycle pump to refill a flat tire, it is a bit tricky finding the hole and adding a tire plug to a mounted tire but we have done it before in a pinch. Most of the time it is just as simple as helping somebody on the roadside change to a spare tire, add/remove snow chains, or add water to the radiator once the engine has cooled.

If you want to go the trading route make your offer of work for ride up front and confirm destination again after the handshake and before work starts. Confirm that they won't decide they are scared or weirded out once you are finished, confirm you are fixing their car for a ride, not for free. Unless you can get your cash up front don't expect to actually get paid for fixing a car, besides it is good karma to help breakdowns on the road for free. Don't offer your mobile phone, if there is an emergency call you can make it, otherwise you can expect the driver to spend all of your minutes in exchange for his valuable and generous offer of a ride. Above all be very reluctant on taking a long ride in an iffy vehicle, the last thing you need is to break down a car in the middle of the mountains that you had already needed to fix once.

[edit] Links

[edit] Original Hitchhiking

Certainly one of the neatest ways of getting where you want to go for nothing is to hitch. In the city it's a real snap. Just position yourself at a busy intersection and ask the drivers for a lift when they stop for the red light. If you're hitching on a road where the traffic zooms by pretty fast, be sure to stand where the car will have room to safely pull off the road. Traveling long distances, even cross-country, can be easy if you have some sense of what you are doing.

A lone hitch-hiker will do much better than two or more. A man and woman will do very well together. Single women are certain to get propositioned and possibly worse. Amerikan males have endless sexual fantasies about picking up a poor lonesome damsel in distress. Unless your karate and head are in top form, women should avoid hitching alone. Telling men you have V.D. might help in difficult situations.

New England and the entire West Coast are the best sections for easy hitches. The South and Midwest can sometimes be a real hassle. Easy Rider and all that. The best season to hitch is in the summer. Daytime is much better than night. If you have to hitch at night, get under some type of illumination where you'll be seen.

Hitch-hiking is legal in most states, but remember you always can get a "say-so" bust. A "say-so" arrest is to police what Catch-22 is to the Army. When you ask why you're under arrest, the pig answers, "cause I say-so." If you stand on the shoulder of the road, the pigs won't give you too bad a time. If you've got long hair, cops will often stop to play games. You can wear a hat with your hair tucked under to avoid hassles. However this might hurt your ability to get rides, since many straights will pick up hippies out of curiosity who would not pick up a straight scruffy looking kid. Freak drivers usually only pick up other freaks.

Once in a while you hear stories of fines levied or even a few arrests for hitching (Flagstaff, Arizona is notorious), but even in the states where it is illegal, the law is rarely enforced. If you're stopped by the pigs, play dumb and they'll just tell you to move along. You can wait until they leave and then let your thumb hang out again.

Hitchin on super highways is really far out. It's illegal but you won't get hassled if you hitch at the entrances. On a fucked-up exit, take your chances hitching right on the road, but keep a sharp eye out for porkers. When you get a ride be discriminating. Find out where the driver is headed. If you are at a good spot, don't take a ride under a hundred miles that won't end up in a location just as good. When the driver is headed to an out-of-the-way place, ask him to let you off where you can get the best rides. If he's going to a particularly small town, ask him to drive you to the other side of thy town line. It's usually only a mile or two. Small towns often enforce all sorts of "say-so" ordinances. If you get stuck on the wrong side of town, it would be wise to even hoof it through the place. Getting to a point on the road where the cars are inter-city rather than local traffic is always preferable.

When you hit the road you should have a good idea of how to get where you are going. You can pick up a free map (not free anymore. bummer...) at any gas station. Long distance routes, road conditions, weather and all sorts of information can be gotten free by calling the American Automobile Association in any city. Say that you are a member driving to Phoenix, Arizona or wherever your destination is, and find out what you want to know. Always carry a sign indicating where you are going. If you get stranded on the road without one, ask in a diner or gas station for a piece of cardboard and a magic marker. Make the letters bold and fill them in so they can be seen by drivers from a distance. If your destination is a small town, the sign should indicate the state. For really long distances, EAST or WEST is best. Unless, of course, you're going north or south. A phony foreign flag sewed on your pack also helps.

Carrying dope is not advisable, and although searching you is illegal, few pigs can read the Constitution. If you are carrying when the patrol car pulls up, tell them you are Kanadian and hitching through Amerika. Highway patrols are very uptight about promoting incidents with foreigners. The foreign bit goes over especially well with small-town types, and is also amazingly good for avoiding hassles with greasers. If you can't hack this one, tell them you are a reporter for a newspaper writing a feature story on hitching around the country. This story has averted many a bust.

Don't be shy when you hitch. Go into diners and gas stations and ask people if they're heading East or to Texas. Sometimes gas station attendants will help. When in the car be friendly as hell. Offer to share the driving if you've got a license. If you're broke, you can usually bum a meal or a few bucks, maybe even a free night's lodging. Never be intimidated into giving money for a ride.

As for what to carry when hitching, the advice is to travel light. The rule is to make up a pack of the absolute minimum, then cut that in half. Hitching is an art form as is all survival. Master it and you'll travel on a free trip forever.

[edit] Other resources

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