swee'pea99
Squire
Did it for years over here, and when I spent a year travelling around NZ and Australia after university it was my only transport. Had some great rides - and no really bad ones.
HitchHiking?
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threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
Used to all the time - my most famous lift was from Jonathan Pryce about 25-ish years ago and the strangest was a loony lorry driver who I was convinced was going to murder me or worse, but in the end managed to drop me off at Hanger Lane without incident!
threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
Used to all the time - my most famous lift was from Jonathan Pryce about 25-ish years ago and the strangest was a loony lorry driver who I was convinced was going to murder me or worse, but in the end managed to drop me off at Hanger Lane without incident!
CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
Hitched all the time when I was a teenager, and always stopped for hitchikers afterwards. In these days of £1 coach fares, you don't really see them any more.
No mad stories, but my best hitch was leaving Huddersfield at 2am to stay with a friend in London. Got a lift within five minutes, and they were going literally one street away from my friend's place!
No mad stories, but my best hitch was leaving Huddersfield at 2am to stay with a friend in London. Got a lift within five minutes, and they were going literally one street away from my friend's place!
CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
Hitched all the time when I was a teenager, and always stopped for hitchikers afterwards. In these days of £1 coach fares, you don't really see them any more.
No mad stories, but my best hitch was leaving Huddersfield at 2am to stay with a friend in London. Got a lift within five minutes, and they were going literally one street away from my friend's place!
No mad stories, but my best hitch was leaving Huddersfield at 2am to stay with a friend in London. Got a lift within five minutes, and they were going literally one street away from my friend's place!
swee'pea99
Squire
Wasn't it great when that happened? I had to get up to Sheffield one time for a party - potentially a bit of a nitemare journey - many stages, many waits in service stations en route. Got picked up within 5 minutes by a nice bloke in a brand new super-fast Fiat he was delivering to his brother - in Sheffield! One super-fast ride later he dropped me at the front door.Ben Lovejoy said:
swee'pea99
Squire
Wasn't it great when that happened? I had to get up to Sheffield one time for a party - potentially a bit of a nitemare journey - many stages, many waits in service stations en route. Got picked up within 5 minutes by a nice bloke in a brand new super-fast Fiat he was delivering to his brother - in Sheffield! One super-fast ride later he dropped me at the front door.Ben Lovejoy said:
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Used to hitch all the time across Germany, Switzerland, Austria. Best year was when I was 18, and spent six weeks over there at a total cost of about a hundred quid. Only remember one uncomfortable moment when a huge fat guy in a Merc picked me up near to Frankfurt's footy stadium. He sussed I was English and immediately started talking about corporal punishment, rubbing my leg as he did so. Funnily enough I decided I'd get out at the next junction if it was all the same to him.......
Longest ever lift was from Pisa to Coventry in a truck.
Longest ever lift was from Pisa to Coventry in a truck.
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Used to hitch all the time across Germany, Switzerland, Austria. Best year was when I was 18, and spent six weeks over there at a total cost of about a hundred quid. Only remember one uncomfortable moment when a huge fat guy in a Merc picked me up near to Frankfurt's footy stadium. He sussed I was English and immediately started talking about corporal punishment, rubbing my leg as he did so. Funnily enough I decided I'd get out at the next junction if it was all the same to him.......
Longest ever lift was from Pisa to Coventry in a truck.
Longest ever lift was from Pisa to Coventry in a truck.
Globalti
Legendary Member
I used to LOVE hitch-hiking, I did it for years. Met some kind and fascinating people because most people who picked you up were interesting. Never had a bad experience and used to be able to get from Newcastle upon Tyne to London in 5 hours if I was lucky and got a speedy executive in a Granada Ghia.
Towards the end of my hitch-hiking career I had gone beyond the cardboard and marker direction signs and was actually waiting outside motorway services cafes and asking people for a lift as they came out - that was fantastic; I seldom waited more than a couple of minutes for a lift.
I used to find that having a rucsac with a climbing rope under the lid helped a lot.
Nobody hitch-hikes nowadays - they must be softies.
Towards the end of my hitch-hiking career I had gone beyond the cardboard and marker direction signs and was actually waiting outside motorway services cafes and asking people for a lift as they came out - that was fantastic; I seldom waited more than a couple of minutes for a lift.
I used to find that having a rucsac with a climbing rope under the lid helped a lot.
Nobody hitch-hikes nowadays - they must be softies.
Globalti
Legendary Member
I used to LOVE hitch-hiking, I did it for years. Met some kind and fascinating people because most people who picked you up were interesting. Never had a bad experience and used to be able to get from Newcastle upon Tyne to London in 5 hours if I was lucky and got a speedy executive in a Granada Ghia.
Towards the end of my hitch-hiking career I had gone beyond the cardboard and marker direction signs and was actually waiting outside motorway services cafes and asking people for a lift as they came out - that was fantastic; I seldom waited more than a couple of minutes for a lift.
I used to find that having a rucsac with a climbing rope under the lid helped a lot.
Nobody hitch-hikes nowadays - they must be softies.
Towards the end of my hitch-hiking career I had gone beyond the cardboard and marker direction signs and was actually waiting outside motorway services cafes and asking people for a lift as they came out - that was fantastic; I seldom waited more than a couple of minutes for a lift.
I used to find that having a rucsac with a climbing rope under the lid helped a lot.
Nobody hitch-hikes nowadays - they must be softies.
gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
Havnt hitched for years, but used to regularly. The only notable one i had was when an Alstons (funny how i can still remember that) .
lorry stopped for me in the 70s
The driver was in his 60s, moderately overweight, scruffy and needed a shave. He seemed friendly enough...we chatted for 1/2 hour, then he started asking about girlfriends etc....then he put his hand on my leg
and asked if i wanted to earn some money 
I decamped PDQ...
Given lifts plenty as well, and thats brought more problems than hitching myself. Most were ok, but i seem to have picked up more nutters as the years went on.
I've had foreigners who didnt know where they were heading
Ive had one nutter that just rocked in the seat and mumbled...i was glad to get rid of him
Ive had foreigners (actually, usually Australians) that wanted to go to Birmingham, but didnt know where exactly, so it was just drop them off at the first (of many) exits.
Some won't talk...some wont shut up
...you really get all sorts.
It just got all a bit wierd, so i dont generally bother any more.
lorry stopped for me in the 70s
The driver was in his 60s, moderately overweight, scruffy and needed a shave. He seemed friendly enough...we chatted for 1/2 hour, then he started asking about girlfriends etc....then he put his hand on my leg
and asked if i wanted to earn some money I decamped PDQ...
Given lifts plenty as well, and thats brought more problems than hitching myself. Most were ok, but i seem to have picked up more nutters as the years went on.
I've had foreigners who didnt know where they were heading
Ive had one nutter that just rocked in the seat and mumbled...i was glad to get rid of him
Ive had foreigners (actually, usually Australians) that wanted to go to Birmingham, but didnt know where exactly, so it was just drop them off at the first (of many) exits.
Some won't talk...some wont shut up
...you really get all sorts.It just got all a bit wierd, so i dont generally bother any more.
gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
Havnt hitched for years, but used to regularly. The only notable one i had was when an Alstons (funny how i can still remember that) .
lorry stopped for me in the 70s
The driver was in his 60s, moderately overweight, scruffy and needed a shave. He seemed friendly enough...we chatted for 1/2 hour, then he started asking about girlfriends etc....then he put his hand on my leg
and asked if i wanted to earn some money
I decamped PDQ...
Given lifts plenty as well, and thats brought more problems than hitching myself. Most were ok, but i seem to have picked up more nutters as the years went on.
I've had foreigners who didnt know where they were heading
Ive had one nutter that just rocked in the seat and mumbled...i was glad to get rid of him
Ive had foreigners (actually, usually Australians) that wanted to go to Birmingham, but didnt know where exactly, so it was just drop them off at the first (of many) exits.
Some won't talk...some wont shut up
...you really get all sorts.
It just got all a bit wierd, so i dont generally bother any more.
lorry stopped for me in the 70s
The driver was in his 60s, moderately overweight, scruffy and needed a shave. He seemed friendly enough...we chatted for 1/2 hour, then he started asking about girlfriends etc....then he put his hand on my leg
and asked if i wanted to earn some money I decamped PDQ...
Given lifts plenty as well, and thats brought more problems than hitching myself. Most were ok, but i seem to have picked up more nutters as the years went on.
I've had foreigners who didnt know where they were heading
Ive had one nutter that just rocked in the seat and mumbled...i was glad to get rid of him
Ive had foreigners (actually, usually Australians) that wanted to go to Birmingham, but didnt know where exactly, so it was just drop them off at the first (of many) exits.
Some won't talk...some wont shut up
...you really get all sorts.It just got all a bit wierd, so i dont generally bother any more.