What's Better: Hitch Hiking Or Biking?

This morning, a post on a travel forum about hitch hiking caught my eye. The post was from a guy in his early 20's asking for suggestions about hitch hiking across the USA. It reminded me of an experience I had some 20 years ago that could have been the end of my life.

When I was in my 20's, I traveled extensively in both the USA & Europe, sometimes with very little cash. The more I traveled, the more confident I felt and the more likely I was to take an occasional risk. When I found myself in a bind with no other option and desire to get from Point A to Point B, I hitched. About 70% of the time, I used a service that matched drivers and riders as this requires providing identification info from both parties. There was one time though when I hitched on my own out of Munich and, frankly, it was quite a creepy experience.

I was at an on ramp of the Autobahn thumbing and a guy pulled up in a Volkswagen Bug. He looked middle aged, clean cut and trustworthy. He said that he was going in the right direction too so I hopped in. We drove for about an hour, talking about travel, the weather, etc. and everything was fine. After sunset though, the guy became unnerving. I don't remember all the details (mental block?) but once he mentioned that he liked to take young guys to his house WAY out in the countryside, my mind started racing for an exit strategy.

I began talking about friends of mine in Austria, that they were expecting me, that I was already overdue and thus needed to call them. Meanwhile, it began snowing quite hard, slimming my chances to catch another ride if I got outta' there. He kept saying that I could use the phone when we got to his place but I was adamant that we stop. Angrily, he pulled over at a rest stop and I jumped out.

I found myself standing in a blizzard at a rest stop on the Autobahn. The snowfall had turned into a blizzard, it was late and there was NO shelter from the storm. I was cold, wet, alone, angry (at being so foolish) and anxious about what would happen next. Thankfully, God took mercy on me. After about 20 minutes of thumbing alongside the highway in the numbing cold, a student on his way home for the weekend pulled over and gave me a ride. We drove late into the night, over the border into Austria and on into the Alps.

What's the point? This hitching experience involved 2 clean cut guys. One was a weirdo, the other, a God send. Unfortunately, I COULDN'T TELL who was who just by looking at them and therein lies the problem with thumbing; you just don't know what you're getting into. Add to that the VAST distances involved with traveling across the USA, the fact that it could be a LONG wait between rides and, in my humble opinion, 'nuff said 'bout hitchin'.

On the other hand, I did a solo, 1500 mile bike trip (basically from Yellowstone NP to Las Vegas, with many stops in between). It took 3 weeks and was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The point is that I had fun and felt safe the entire time. I went where I wanted to go. I didn't have to wait on a ride. I didn't have to worry whether the driver was a sicko. I camped in the country side and was never bothered. In some cases, I'm sure no one knew I was even there b/c bikes leave such a small footprint. Of course, having the bike also allowed me to bring lots more gear than I could comfortably if I was backpacking so that made for a more enjoyable trip too.

For anyone considering hitching as a means to travel, my suggestion is to buy a light yet sturdy, folding bike (like a Giatex for $289) and a $100 bike trailer (the kind folks use for their kids) to go with it. The whole rig will cost you less than $400. Pack your gear into the bike trailer and hit the road. Not only does the kiddie trailer transport up to 100 lbs, it also causes drivers to give you a wider berth than they would otherwise. If you get yourself the right suitcase, both the bike and the trailer can be packed up when you're trip is over. You can put the suitcase on a train, plane or ship it via Fedex, etc, giving you transportation for your next journey.

If this sounds interesting, you can find more information both about traveling by bike and about folding bikes at RideTHISbike.com. I can personally recommend the Giatex bikes; I've used them on several trips and pull my son to school and back in a trailer that's towed by a Giatex.

Regards,
Larry