All positive other than being picked up for sex by a middle aged fella in Avignon. He was initially a bit threatening but I was bigger than him though and i guess he decided it wasn't worth the risk so took me to where i wanted to go. Had a stand off as my bag was in the boot and i made him get out and get it before i would get out of the car.
Quote from: gme on February 26, 2024, 05:22:48 pmAll positive other than being picked up for sex by a middle aged fella in Avignon. He was initially a bit threatening but I was bigger than him though and i guess he decided it wasn't worth the risk so took me to where i wanted to go. Had a stand off as my bag was in the boot and i made him get out and get it before i would get out of the car.I was propositioned hitching back from the Alps and was offered the princely sum of 5 francs! That did not do much for my self-esteem, I can tell you. Anyway, he was totally fine when I said no and took me where he'd said he would (which was a good long distance that got me north of Paris).
You're projecting your opinions about capitalism onto the discussion.
QuoteAnother anecdote about lone women hitching: my aunt hitched alone from Bristol to India, through the middle east in the 1950s. I'm sure that wouldn't be recommended now.Why not now if then?I think the risks are just the same then as they are now. Arguably safer now, as someone said, re trackable mobile phones, gps, communications etc.
Another anecdote about lone women hitching: my aunt hitched alone from Bristol to India, through the middle east in the 1950s. I'm sure that wouldn't be recommended now.
On our Euro-trip Nat and I used one of the canoe companies (smugly) to hitch to the start of the trips they do. However, being tight I'd spent the day before purchasing the cheapest inflatable boat I could find and some cheap plastic oars. We set off (eventually after blowing the boat up without a pump etc.) and promptly grounded and popped the bottom leaving us with just an inflatable ring. The gorge walls increased in height and we soon realised we'd committed to 27km or so. It was hot so Nat was wearing a bikini and some shorts and I think I was just in shorts. This changed when it got dark.
It was rated for one 7-9yr old
Could the answer to the thread question be: because car ownership increased massively from c19M in 1970 to c33M today? And maybe social attitudes have changed to make it a less practicable mode of transport.
Quote from: mrjonathanr on February 27, 2024, 06:55:59 pmCould the answer to the thread question be: because car ownership increased massively from c19M in 1970 to c33M today? And maybe social attitudes have changed to make it a less practicable mode of transport.Basically the same amount that the population has increased by (55M in 1970 and 68M today). But that puts ownership up from 33% to 48%.
That still leaves the deeper question of why that aversion gets traction now when it didn't then.
it has become the norm to have a car or a friend with a car. If you don't have access to personal transport then you're not keeping up with the living standards of the average person, which feels shit when you're hard-wired to compare.
Especially the bit about being shown the ropes.. there's a definate art to it.
If you don't have access to personal transport then you're not keeping up with the living standards of the average person, which feels shit when you're hard-wired to compare.