The vast majority of times i've hitched it has been a highly pleasant experience, some of the best encounters of my life have been hitching.When someone picks you up it is an absolute joy, it's exciting to travel so fast and to meet someone new, to chat and share an hour or so in someone elses company especially if you've spent the last few days alone. It also feels good that they wanted to pick you up, that they have added to that pot of positivity we all rely upon to make life good. But you don't need to feel the burden of debt to them because it is no bother for them, it's one of those perfect win win situations.
That said I was pretty gutted not to have been picked up the other day when i was trying to get up North. especially as, though now i am settled i have access to a car, i didn't have any money to put petrol in it, but it was an important trip so i borrowed money and drove, if i had planned i would have been able to book a cheap coach or something but i hadn't.
I had decided i wasn't going to hitch anymore, basically i was pissed off that for 4 1/2 hrs nobody had bothered to pick me up. But luckily whilst i was driving up the M5 there was a hitcher obviously i always pick up hitchers (all hitchers do). This man was absolutely fascinating, he had been on the road for 20 odd years and knew the country and it's roads inside out, he also knew a huge amount about what he called Freeman Laws, during the hour or so he was in my car he gave me a whole wealth of information about living on the road that is of great use to me. But my lasting impression was that these old laws most of which still stand made a lot of sense and were designed to protect the individual.
A lot of my moral beliefs are based upon individualism and i passionately believe Laws should protect the individual who can be overwhelmed by the greater powers that exist. So it is good to know Laws still exist to protect a person (man or woman) and that it is legal and right for a person to exist and make his or her way in life.
Whenever i am asked to join a community or travelling band i decline, part of the joy of being on the road for me is being alone, but that does not mean i do not support their cause, making a persons way of life illegal is a very dangerous thing, and if we make it impossible to exist as the lowest common denominator, we lose part of being human.
Anyway i will be back hitching again, and i'll stand there with my little cardboard sign out and if someone wants to pick me up they will and if they want to shout Pikey! swear at me, spit at me, or throw food at me (all of which has happened), i will stand proud knowing i have done nothing wrong that my lifestyle is just as moral as theirs and i will do my best not to hate them because hate gets us nowhere.
I too love the ideal of hitching and for many years it was my mode of transport. There was for a while in the 80s a liftshare scheme called freewheelers but it was far more hassle than putting your thumb out. Surely in todays world of interconnectedness and mobiles it should be possible for folk to register somehow as bona fide hitchers and for that to ping up on the sat nav of anyone that entered a route you wanted to go. I think a lot of the problem today is fear, folk have a few split seconds to choose whether to pull over or not, I know you well but at a glance you don't make it easy for Joe Blogs to know you are an intelligent, interesting, compassionate and safe guy. Whilst challenging peoples perceptions about appearance is a good thing it does mean you have to accept being stuck by the side of the road for longer. You pays your money and takes your choice.
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