by Samuel Glasgow

Created on: October 17, 2008

Hitch-hiking has received a bad name in recent times. The general public regards hitching as a sketchy method of travel, thanks to a few horror flicks and a couple of urban myths with one or two disproportioned stories. With my friend I have hitch-hiked from Jasper, Alberta to Winnepeg, Manitoba and have lived to tell the tale. As new members to this age old brotherhood we developed a few strategies for landing a ride.

-Look and be clean: I have a beard and my friend does not. So he faces traffic in front of me. We both wear decent looking jackets with lighter coloured clothing.

-Pack light, or look like it and in hiker packs. We are carrying two backpacks a small keyboard and a guitar. Whenever we stand on the side of the road we try to put the keyboard behind the guitar. Lots of gear intimidates people. The hiker packs also help in getting rides. When drivers see the pack they think you have a destination and are on an adventure. (Which you are!)

-Pick a good location: The key to getting a ride. If a driver is going to stop for a hitcher they need room. On a slow highway it's good to stand a hundred feet or so past the merge lane of a on-ramp. This doesn't work so well on a busy highway. The busier the highway the more room the driver needs from the on-ramp. When it comes to curves in the highway, stay on the far side. Traffic has to slow down for the curve. But again, give enough distance so they can see you.
The place to be is a little way down anywhere traffic slows down.

Signs: So far my friend and I have not used them. We feel that if we were holding a sign then people are less inclined to pick us up. If our sign says "Winnepeg" and we are in Saskatoon, someone going to halfway to Regina might not want to pick us up because they'll think "Oh I can't help them because I"m not going the whole way". However this doesn't help a hitcher. Here are some good sign ideas, remember humour is the key; "I'm nice", "I have good Ipod selection" or "I don't smell" are prime examples.

Now we've covered all the aspects of getting a ride. There's one more aspect of getting a ride, getting off. If you are travelling with a friend it's a wise idea to choose a safety word. This way if either of you or your friend feel uncomfortable with who you're riding with then you bring up the safety word in conversation and ask to get off at the next possible stop.

One last piece of information. Truckers, they are the bonanza of a hitch-hikers gold panning dream. All a trucker wants is company and conversation. They go for long hauls, making them good rides. However they rarely stop, and sometimes insurance policies don't allow them. Best place for rides with truckers is a truck stop. Be prepared to talk and hold conversation. Some truckers are a little rough around the edges, but that's easily put aside by their kindness and good humour.

Good luck and happy hitching!

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