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[[Image:Dhoonglen.jpg|thumb|right|300px|My favourite type of hitchhiking - narrow countryside roads. The [[Isle of Man]] is perfect for this.]]
==The stats==
''Adventure #23:'' '''England, Scotland, Isle of Man''', April 2009
''Adventure #24:'' '''EscapingGrand Tour of Europe''', May-June 2009
''Adventure #25:'' '''Klöden and the Surprise''', August-September 2009
''Longest liftDistance travelled:'' I think it's '''352km16937km'''of which 7374km hitchhiking alone, 6807km with one other hitchhiker, 2138km hitchhiking in a group of three, and 618km in a group of four; done 16357km by road, 580km by rail, through Germany from [[Inntal Ost]] ([[A93_Germany|A93]] services) to [[Pforzheim Nord]] ([[A8_Germany|A8]] services)under 1km by tram, September 2006 - and not hitchhiked by the goodest good golly gosh were we grateful for itsea or air... yet
''Longest lift:'' I think it's '''589km''', from [[Povegliano Est]] ([[A22_Italy|A22]] services near [[Verona]], Italy), to [[Feucht]] ([[A9_Germany|A9]] services near [[Nürnberg]], Germany), in September 2009. The driver was going from [[Bologna]] to [[Szczecin]], and took four hitchhikers in a five-seater car at the same time ''Furthest distance in 24 hours:'' '''1042km''', from [[Rome]], Italy, to [[Lausanne]], Switzerland, in August 2006 ''Furthest distance in 12 hours:'' '''1033km''', from [[Bisenzio Est]] ([[A1_Italy|A1]] services near [[Firenze]], Italy), to [[Frankfurt am Main]], Germany, in September 2009
''Countries hitchhiked (earliest first):'' [[Belgium]], [[Germany]], [[Netherlands]], [[Poland]], [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], [[Estonia]], [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Switzerland]], [[Italy]], [[Austria]], [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], [[Ireland]], [[Isle of Man]], [[Israel]], [[Monaco]]
''Most useful lift:'' Gabor the Hungarian, who picked us up at [[Pforzheim Nord ]] ([[A8_Germany|A8]] services near [[Pforzheim]], Germany) and didn't care where he was going - he wanted to be a personal taxi service. So we got him to take us to a mate's house in [[Kelkheim]], 177km away. Although neither of us trusted him, and he tried to abduct my travelling partner, it was one hell of a useful lift
''Least useful lift:'' the Slovakian white van man who took us to the wrong side of [[Bratislava]], on the wrong motorway and facing in the wrong direction, making us fail the Bummit to Belgrade competition
''Most fun lift:'' two Israeli soldiers found me north of [[Tiberias]], and took me with them for a great day out throwing snowballs, avoiding minefields and exploring abandoned military outposts in the [[Golan Heights]], before tasty ostrich steak and a cross-country drive just to drop me back in [[Haifa]]. Also, drinking syrupy hot chocolate with a French white van man and his two young children as we travelled through the Italian Alps was fun. And I won't forget the three Danish students on the start of their roadtrip
''Best hitchhiking spot used:'' [[Brunautal West]] ([[A7_Germany|A7]] servicesnear [[Hamburg]], Germany) in Germany, where those three Danish students dropped me off in front of around 200 hard rock fans going home from the Wacken festival. I could pick and choose from so many offered rides, going all over Europe... the only way the situation could have been better would be if I was among a crowd of hippies
''Worst hitchhiking spot used:'' an empty motorway junction outside a McDonalds restaurant in [[Meerane]] (near [[Zwickau]], Germany), Germanya couple of kilometres away from an empty motorway junction. All hope seemed lost. Whilst I was thankful to the previous driver for going 50km off his route, he did it so as to drop me off in the most useless place he could find
''Best scenery:'' waking up at a service station in the mountains east of [[Aosta]], then travelling through the town, and north on the [[E27]] across the Swiss border towards [[Lausanne]] - this was unforgettable and was well worth the overnight hitchhike from [[Rome]]. In Germany, I had the opportunity to hitchhike to [[Traben-Trarbach]] through the hills and vineyards. I've hitchhiked through some beautiful Israeli scenery, especially Route 40 south of [[Be'er Sheva]], and the mountain roads around [[Galilee]] and the [[Golan Heights]]. Most of the Isle of Man (especially the A18 'mountain road') is breathtaking
''Scariest lift:'' any of the old-age drivers with terrible eyesight who pick you up on the [[Isle of Man]], and drive way too fast. The Isle of Man has no national speed limit
''Shortest time waiting:'' two seconds, no time at [[Antwerp]], Belgiumall. A driver pulled up just as weOn many lucky occasions it'd picked our spot, and took us towards the Netherlandss taken under five seconds to thumb a lift. My travelling partners both fancied the pants off himIt's a big relief
''Longest time waiting:'' a spot in central [[Cologne]], going east. I'd used the spot the year before and it took 2 hours for a lift to arrive. This time we weren't so lucky; after waiting for eight hours, we cut our losses and hitchhiked a train
''Most ride offers turned down:'' I turned down many, many ride offers in the direction of Munich while on the German-Austrian border at [[Inntal Ost]] ([[A93_Germany|A93]] services) during a seven-hour wait. I was trying to get to Vienna - there was a fair bit of traffic going in my direction, but no-one was interested in helping
''Biggest moment of genius:'' none. In this era, your average hitchhiker has a few screws loose
''Biggest moment of stupidity:'' spilling freshly squeezed orange juice onto my rucksack and sleeping bag whilst trying to thumb down a VW camper van outside [[Jönköping]], Sweden on a hot, sticky afternoon. The van didn't stop and I had to grudgingly trudge back to Jönköping centre, wash out my equipment and catch a bus
''Best lap time on [[Monaco]]'s [[Circuit de Monaco|Formula 1 street circuit]]:'' about 9 minutes - I forgot to time it accurately, but I'll be back
[[Image:Sheffieldbedroomwall.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A collection of [[signs]] used in 2006. 2009 collection under construction...]]
==You want some more info! Yes you do ;)==