Bicycle / Hitching????

[UnionJack]

I was wondering how realistic it would be to Hitchhike with a Bicycle? Has anyone done it?

[hikecrazy]

Here's an article by Bernd "Thumb" which tells of his cycle hitching journeys:
Cycle Hitching (or On Your Bike?).

Other digihitchers have done this too, Espi from the Netherlands cycle-hitched around Canada and got some great lifts.

A friend of mine from Germany rode from San Diego to Las Vegas and was repeatedly asked if he needed/wanted a lift by passing motorists.

When I was living in Egypt I went for a ride with a couple of friends along the Suez Canal. One of my friends got so tired that he couldn't keep going so he caught a ride with a taxi. That's not hitching but it shows that it's not a problem to get lifts with your bike.

[gqsmoothie]

I hitched with my bike from Asheville NC to Raleigh NC. It's about 250 miles, I pedaled about 50 of them. I think that it gives drivers a better "feel" about you. In their minds cyclists who are hitchhiking are more normal and not perceived as crazy, lunatic bums as their counterparts on foot often are.
The only catch is that they have to have a lot of room for your wheels.

[dancingetard]

I would suggest buying an Army Recon folding MTB. They are a low end sollution to being able to be truely Intermodal with your travels. Small enough to fit in a trunk/bed of pickup, stow on the back porch of a grainer without being to big, take legally on greyhound,amtrack,planes as well as local busses & commuter trains & ferries. And then of course you can ride the damn thing! Sure its not a great bike with kickass components but it will do the job on the cheap. maybe hook up a backpack type rig for it, who knows.

[gqsmoothie]

Wow, this is an old thread.

But, I just hitched back from Morehead City to Raleigh with a mtn bike and a fully packed BOB trailer. I found (yet again) that hitching with a bike is better than just hitching with a rucksack. People think more highly of cyclists than they do someone with just a backpack, however nice the backpack might be. Even the cop who stopped me for hitching was really nice. I told him that I couldn't pedal anymore cause my knees hurt, which is a lie but not entirely, they did hurt a wee little bit. The only problem with hitching with a bike is the vehicle needs to be able to fit it. But there are a lot of vans and pickup trucks out there. Another benefit of hitching with a bike is that if you get stuck in a bad spot it's no big deal to cycle a few miles to a more advantageous spot, while walking with a pack for a few miles can be quite a physical ordeal.

Adios!

[oogelebush]

I would agree with the comment that having a bike makes you look less like a crazy bum. I recently got stranded in the middle of nowhere, a car every minute or so, and within four or five cars got a ride with my bike, because I looked like I was just some broken-down cyclist instead of a "crazy hithchhiker."

PS I didn't look like a cyclist because I was wearing tights; I looked liek a cyclist because of the bike. Bike shorts are weird.

[gqsmoothie]

Yes, bike shorts are weird. I find that they are more uncomfortable than regular shorts cause they make me sweat so much down there.

[TheDandeli]

I'm planning on hitching around the US this summer, and since reading the responses on bike-hitching I'm really considering taking my bike along. Thanks

The Dandeli

[serkit_ant]

If I had a bike I probably wouldn't hitch lol. I would just ride the bike, but where is the adventure in that right? I like hitching and the people I meet that pick me up. And half the excitement is waiting for the ride.

[Shamanskinz]

I would like to find a folding bike that I could fit onto (or be part of) the frame of a backpack. Any fabricators out there?