tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84891117422782731952023-11-16T19:00:00.144+00:00A Nearly Dead ArtBasically this is my attempt to prove to the masses that hitching isn't dangerous and scary based upon my experiences. Though I must say I'm not responsible if something goes horribly wrong. :PLone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-62430680167947848182011-05-02T23:49:00.002+01:002011-05-03T00:02:53.540+01:00WEDDING!!!!DAMN! What a weekend. <div>The weekend just gone was fantastic. My friends Charlie and Padraic got married on Saturday and it was an awesome day. As the wedding was in Galway I had to get up there some how. As the weather was so good I decided hitching up on the Friday was the best plan. Walking across the city took the bones of an hour but when I got into a decent position I got a lift in around 20 minutes to Mallow which was a damn fine start. While walking around the last roundabout in Mallow I heard my name being called from a car. One of the locals from back home was going past and was heading to Galway! I was well pleased. Good weather and speedy lifts make for a happy Panda! </div><div>Got to Galway and headed to my friend Meg's place as I was staying there for the weekend. Watched some Dr. Who and then headed to pub to go drinking with wedding peeps. There were around 10 or so people there that I knew and much fun was had by all. At one stage in the proceedings the groom may or may not have said "after the proposal my work was done, after that all I had to do was hand over large sums of money for undisclosed reason" (or words to that effect). </div><div> Cue Saturday morning, getting up an heading to the church. Wedding started at 1:30ish and Charlie's dress was amazing!! I don't think even the great Charlie Sheen (Warlock) could have done better. The champagne reception followed by epic level food and a best man's speech that included a Rick-Roll was topped off with a decent band that Charlie used to Rick-Roll the best man right back! </div><div> Waking up on Sunday thinking all the epic was done and the relaxing was all that was left was a bad assumption. My friend Meg gave me 11 or so books on archaeology and Old Irish. All the winning happened this weekend!!! </div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-40267501264169318702011-04-17T23:32:00.002+01:002011-04-17T23:39:52.736+01:00DrivenSo lately all I have done is study. Exams are drawing closer and I have finally settled into academic life. I know it's a bit late in the year but I finally did it. The slightly surprising thing is that I am enjoying it far more than I expected. If I can maintain this level of motivation in second year it should all go well. <div>This week also saw character creation for the Discworld game I want to run over the summer. I think it will go well. So far Sadhbh, Dudley and Oisin have characters made and I expect a lot of insanity!</div><div>The only sour note of late is that I am single. To be honest it was kindof expected but this doesn't mean I'm happy about it. We are still friends but I'd be lying if I said I was happy with it. </div><div>Aside from all of the above there is little else to report.</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-1046332185942915412011-04-02T02:37:00.002+01:002011-04-02T02:46:03.490+01:00ChangesBeen around a few of my old hang outs lately and was annoyed to find that they have changed. I know that all things change and grow etc, but all the late bars and pubs I used to like have changed or closed. Nancy's is gone, the Slate is always too loud and the Quad is now becoming a clone of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Brog</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Freakscene</span> also is shite compared to what it used to be. I miss Purgatory. There was a night out that was always good. Metal, moshing and decent <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Jager</span>. How I long for those days. To be honest this is one of the hardest changes to adjust to living back in Cork. I have to find brand new places to go out and in a time as financially hard as this it is not easy. Thankfully the Franciscan Well is still good or else I would be completely scuppered. <div>One of the other problems is that people I know are going away, and not like the used to. Before they might got to America for a summer or Australia for a year for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">craic</span>. Now however they are fleeing the country and starting lives in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">foreign</span> parts. Mostly because they can't find jobs here. Having been on the dole I can understand this but I don't like the fact that a lot of them are gone and are planning on staying there for good. Ireland will come right again (granted not to the same degree) and we will have to import a whole new wave of qualified people to fill jobs. Sometimes money isn't important and having the patience to wait and do things for the greater good is a better plan.</div><div>That is enough whinging for now....</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-13935762701594134162011-03-14T23:09:00.004+00:002011-03-14T23:29:29.914+00:00VictoryI have been having all of the lazy, for this I apologise. I do intend to update more often but it's rare that I feel inclined to do so. This update however had to happen. Of late hitching has been very slow and bad. I was beginning to think that I had lost my touch. Last Thursday I was hitching to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Galway</span> for Convergence and it took me over 7 hours. Considering (see what I did there) in the past I have done it in 3.5 hours this was a very bad day. Also other times I have been hitching lately it has been a similar story. Today however all that changed. I went from my friend Hazel's house in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Galway</span> to my house in Cork City, including a stop in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Tescos</span> in 4 hours. I WAS <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">FECKING</span> DELIGHTED!!!! I still have it! This gives me all of the happy. It also turns out that I'm fitter than I thought so I think I may do a bit of hiking this summer if I don't find a job. As most of you know I don't tend to travel light but that doesn't seem to slow me down when walking. Just have to figure out somewhere nice to start. Suggestions please!<div>The reason for my trip to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Galway</span> of course was <a href="http://www.itzacon.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Itzacon</span></a> which was bi-winning all the way!! If you are into gaming at all I would <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">recommend</span> it. Due to the fact that I was reared on treasure hunts I won a VIP ticket for <a href="http://www.gaelcon.com/gaelcon/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Gaelcon</span></a> so I shall be making an appearance there in October. I would like to say thanks to the Itzacon team again cause they were all awesome!! MORE CON NOW PLEASE!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>In other life matters I am still doing the college thing. Finally settled in and used to having structure to my days (I think), and getting things done. From this week on I am going to be preparing for my summer exams. Today I had an Archaeology class test and I'm reasonably sure I got over 60 and considering the effort I put (the usual 5 minute cram) in I should be OK If I do some bit of work. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm also trying to plan for the summer. Ideally I would have a job but they are few and far between so I am thinking of volunteering with my Dad, wandering around the country visiting people and improving my skills. I'm tempted to take a year off gigs as I'm not quite happy with my Early Irish/Viking fisher man thing and also there is very few gigs so it's a good year to take a break as far as I'm concerned.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think that is enough rambling for now so I will leave you all to it.</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-64766755876408722142010-12-30T03:06:00.002+00:002010-12-30T03:11:53.387+00:00Nearly a New OneSo the year is near over and for me it was far better than the year that went before it. I have finally made it back into college. First semester was a bit messy but I think I'm on top of things again. Getting some reading done over the holidays is a good plan. <div>For the first time in my life I didn't spend Christmas at home. I was at my girlfriend's family place and it was nice. I hadn't gotten to see her since October so there was much to talk about. </div><div>As for what is to come in the New Year, I'll still try and post more. I also hope to see a better season of gigs than I had this year. </div><div>That is all for now. I know it is a bit terse but the words aren't coming. Maybe there will be more next time....</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-69693150689493651262010-10-18T00:18:00.004+01:002010-12-30T03:06:20.356+00:00Making History....for realSo the weekend started fairly normally as a hitching trip up the country. I was heading to County Galway and did rather well by getting a lift from the petrol station across the way from the Blackpool shopping center. Only drawback was that a lot of the road was closed for roadworks which meant epic detour of senicness.
<br />Anyway Saturday found me running up and down a road training horses and in the evening I was at this mans house:{there is meant to be a link here but it doesn't want to work, look up Billy's bronze age beer on youtube} drinking his beer. But no that was not the best part of the weekend. On Sunday I was travelling at 15 miles an hour on this: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/pandairongrip/Chariot?authkey=Gv1sRgCIaHo6vJuJaEYQ#"></a><div><meta equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nIQELx7TMZ0U6ss2dZViclmPhfGEtZI_wAScnH_kvbbX3n0xZxSrJQxHmkMnQm_W38M8YCDGKg0kirO20Ag031lsxi1ud1Gd_SjfAyBes3Q1RDr9iVdGb68682EXwglUDtwztd6shW2V/s640/17102010171.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nIQELx7TMZ0U6ss2dZViclmPhfGEtZI_wAScnH_kvbbX3n0xZxSrJQxHmkMnQm_W38M8YCDGKg0kirO20Ag031lsxi1ud1Gd_SjfAyBes3Q1RDr9iVdGb68682EXwglUDtwztd6shW2V/s640/17102010171.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px; " /></a></div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-23338673061108650542010-10-11T23:52:00.004+01:002010-10-12T00:00:58.621+01:00Derp Derp DooSo being back in college is great. The only problem is that I can't seem to force myself into getting a decent sleeping pattern. Tea helps me stay going but I shouldn't be relying on it to keep me awake. It takes away from the enjoyment. Anyone out there have any tips for fixing this.<br />In other news I have started to get involved in the art soc and they want me to model in kit for one of their classes. They seem like a sound bunch of people and at their first meeting there was free pizza!!!<br /><br />Also as it turns out Med&Ren have a committee position opening up and people are say that I should go for it. Do I really want to get involved? I don't want people thinking that now that I'm back in the college I want to subvert the society or something. I know this can be a view when someone comes back after a few years away and has memories of how it was "back in the day" (TM). But I wonder would it be possible for me to contribute to the society by being equips? I have a feeling that one of my house mates and his SO may try and nominate me for the position. I suppose if that happens I'll think about it.<br />And on that note. DerpLone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-87768555889951772422010-10-03T17:06:00.001+01:002010-10-03T17:19:43.146+01:00Achievement acqiredI am finally back in Cork City!!! As in living. This is awesome. It does however mean that I will now be hitching a lot less. In good news I do now get to do the reading more books than god and hanging out with new people. The house I have moved into is populated by crazies, but they are crazies that I know and get on with and this is awesome. For example yesterday as I came out of the shower I heard Oisin taking to some Baptists who were doing the door to door soul saving. He started by quizing them on Leviticus and then I came down and trolled them for over an hour with some very akward questions... They also informed me that carbon 14 dating was wrong. And the world was only 6000 years old or so. I was also told that we are devolving....<br />I had so much fun. XD<br />I see this year being a good one and for those of you that care due to work avoidance based procrastination I will probably be blogging more. so ta ta for now. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-33659225630901780872010-03-03T14:24:00.002+00:002010-03-03T14:32:11.591+00:00TangentsSo part of the whole hitching thing involves talking to a lot of different people. One thing I have noticed is they all, no matter their background, have one thing in common. A huge dissatisfaction with the government. Everyone has some complaint, whether it be about NAMA, the roads or just simple arrrgh frustration arrrgh! The thing that I wonder is, what can a regular joe like me do about it? As I have never really had any form of interest in politics and my education in the way this country is run is fairly limited I have no idea. Granted I can vote for someone else when the election around but is there any way to do something now?Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-92136166923912728692010-03-02T22:09:00.004+00:002010-03-02T22:50:50.186+00:00Going up the country.So I'm obviously doing well on the posting more regularly thing. :P What can I say, life gets in the way. I have been at home for maybe 2 weeks in total since Christmas but that is no bad thing. In January I made an epic journey from near Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim to Cashel in South Tipp. I was on the road from 9am until dark and decided for the sake of my safety to get the bus from Cashel to Cork. It was interesting, it gave me a better idea of the true distances involved in travelling the length of a country. I would make you realize how long it would have taken people to travel before motorized transport. It also showed me that in the summer months I could probably hitch the length of the country in the hours of daylight.<br /><br />The weekend just gone I hitched to Clara in Offaly. This was hilarious as I was in Moate on Monday last week as I got stuck there for 2 and a half hours when trying to hitch from Galway to Maynooth. I got dropped in Midleton by the one of the parents. Then I got a lift from there to Dunkettle from a couple that had never picked up a hitcher before so thanks very much to them. <br /> I then spent the bones of an hour standing on the side of the road before the roundabout trying to get a lift and was getting nowhere. I then got a lift from a lad I believe his name was Padraig with whom I chatted tek and the inability of UCC to teach computer science. He dropped me at the Horse and Jockey and I was walking only five or so minutes when a fella called Cathail picked me up. He had two lovely dogs in the car. One a King Charles spaniel and the other some kind of wire-haired terrier cross. Some of the friendliest dogs I have met and they spent a good portion of the journey on my lap. THe pair of us spent a load of time chatting about the state of the county. He's the type of guy that you'd like to chat to in the pub. We had a grand laugh and he dropped me in Birr.<br /> My next lift was in some ways one of the most interesting. He was a semi-suit (sorry if you are reading this but this is for clarification) which only pick up maybe one in every 200 or so and his name was Brian. He had told me he had passed me at Horse and Jockey but he had a rather good excuse. He's from Athlone and had driven from there to Cork that morning and he was not driving back. He had one problem however...He had left his wallet at home. He told me that when he was leaving Glanmire the tank was looking low and the reason he passed me earlier was that he was making a bee line for a petrol station as he had scraped together around seven euro which he spent on petrol. When he picked me up outside Birr the tank was showing empty. When he dropped me in Firbane the tank was still showing empty, I scincerly hope he made it. He was so sound he refused the €10 I offered to give him to ensure he made it home. And for those of you that want to know I believe he was driving a Toyota Avensis. <br />My final lift was more or less uneventful as it was only a short trip with time only for the basic plesantries. All said and done it was a fun day of travel and an equally fun weekend of social activities followed.. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-55476326216366748732009-12-17T15:12:00.004+00:002010-01-08T18:53:36.178+00:00Like the good old days.Haven't been doing anything long distance recently. Just the routine home to Midleton and Cork. Did go from Roscrae to Shinrone on New Years Eve. <br />The reason for the title of this thread is because of an interesting incident that occoured the week before Christmas. I was hitching home from Castlemartyr when I got a lift from a guy in a dumper. As in one of these:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.doneganplanthire.com/Images/Dumper.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 425px; height: 314px;" src="http://www.doneganplanthire.com/Images/Dumper.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />During the boom years that would never have happened. It seems the recession has returned people to sensible health and safety practices. Don't have much more to post that I can think of at the moment. But my newyears resolution is get shit done so that includes trying to post more. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-70015412370393207932009-11-09T15:59:00.002+00:002009-11-09T16:28:15.269+00:00InconvinienceWell it's finally happened. Last Thursday I was hitching home from Cork when I believe I left my phone in a car. I always knew this was a risk and to be fair it has taken over 6 years. I'm just glad it was the older of my two phones and the one I was planning on decommissioning this month. This is still annoying though as up until now I have never lost a phone. I can name the location of all my previous phones. <br />Ah well. Such is life. Just be sure to keep a close eye on the contents of your pockets wen hitching . :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-32172556601569841262009-10-27T15:27:00.002+00:002009-10-27T20:22:37.669+00:00Bloody Government!!!As some of you may know as well as my many other faults I'm a gamer. Soooo the weekend just gone was Galecon. First may I say that the M8 now begins directly at the Dunkettle Roundabout!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGH!!!!!<br />What the hell am I meant to do now!!! That makes it really hard to make it to anywhere in the midlands and Dublin. And because of the nature of that roundabout one can't really hitch just before the motorway starts. Part of me is tempted to kjust hitch anyway but we shall see.Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-24542139785587668452009-10-18T00:15:00.002+01:002009-10-18T00:48:52.746+01:00Most Random NHI (Near Hitching Incedent)So there I was after having spent the day doing archery with Pajo and then having food with him, Angie and Róisín. Then on his way back to Kilkenny Pajo dropped me at the roundabout in Midleton and I had walked out as far as the aforementioned light in Ballinacurra when I remembered I had gotten a text message from an old school friend. I replied to it and got a message back: "Fancy a road trip to Cork?"<br /> So went to the movies and saw Up which was a rather good move. So all I have to say is that sometimes a slow day of hitching can work out for the best. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-88842103100572555012009-10-03T00:44:00.002+01:002009-10-16T20:11:26.803+01:00I apologise for the lateness of publishing this. I was sure I had put it up weeks ago. It is referencing the weekend of the 29th of September<br /><br />And finally I rouse myself from the lazies.<br />Last weekend was a fun one. I went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kilkenny</span> for a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Michaelmas</span> fair in a place called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Graiguenamanagh</span>. It was a good gig. On the way up I had to go into <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Midleton</span> to get some new tent pegs in the army surplus store. Luckily I got a lift from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Shan</span>' to the door of the shop. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">THen</span> I had to walk from there to thee other side of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Midleton</span> with my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">excessively</span> heavy bag. After a short while <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">hitching</span> I got a lift to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Youghal</span> from a rather unique person. An <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Englisman</span> in the Irish army. :P<br />The next lift that I got was from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Youghal</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Piltown</span>. A rather nice chunk of the journey which got me within 20min drive of my mate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Pajo's</span> place. Then I got a lift to Owning ad after only walking for a few seconds I got a lift as far as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Killmoganny</span>. As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Pajo</span> was already on the road he asked how far I was. As I was only 5 minutes away he picked me up. <br /><br />Over the course of the weekend the pair of us were chatting about <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">hitching</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">wierd</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">experiences</span> while hitching and who would/wouldn't pick us up. Ya see the both of us are rather hairy chaps. With long hair and rather <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">noticeable</span> beards. For some people this is a put off which means no lift. Or as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Pajo</span> rightly said can sometimes make more people pick ya up. This is because we're not hiding anything. Standing there quite often as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Pajo</span> said in a long black leather jacket and looking for a lift you are not going to be carrying anything dodgy. Now I mention all this for a very important reason. Well two <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">in fact</span>. I shall elaborate below.<br /><br />At the end of the weekend I had to head home fairly late. The only problem was that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">busses</span> from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Kilkenny</span> to Cork stop very early in the day (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">GRRR</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">ARRGH</span> SMASH SMASH!!). So I had to head down to Waterford. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Pajo</span> drove me down and we literally chased the bus to the interior edge of Waterford City. I then sat back to figure out how I was going to get home from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Midleton</span> at 11pm. Yes. It was that late. So anyway I got dropped in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Midleton</span> and started walking. As soon as I got to the last street light in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Ballinacurra</span>. I had decided that if I was still there an hour later I would start to walk the 12 miles home. Around 15 minutes after I had started a car slowed down and stopped. I thought I was sorted. But no. For the first time in several years of hitching the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Gardai</span> stopped to have a chat. To be fair, there I was big hairy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">eejit</span> standing on the side of the road at nearly 11:30pm. They asked what I was doing, where I was from, and very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">insistently</span> was I carrying any drugs. Now as anyone who knows me well will tell you not once in my life have I had anything stronger than booze, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">caffeine</span> or nicotine. I did tell them that there were several <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">knoves</span> in my bag as I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">had</span> been camping and so they left. There I was standing in the middle of the night looking for a lift. And the next car that stopped was.......a woman on her own!!! Talk about madness. She said she lived in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Ballymaloe</span> but would drop me home. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Turns</span> out she was had the attitude that if I was looking as I did that she should be perfectly safe (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Pajo</span> was right). I jokingly told her that I had the various camping implements and she didn't mind.<br /><br />Yet again all the above proves that there are some awesome people in the world. And as a friend of mine says. Just be awesome. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-55196867415063608952009-09-11T20:48:00.002+01:002009-09-12T23:20:39.717+01:00Been mostly quiet lately. Not much happening. Been hitching up and down to the city a few times and such. On Thursday I was hitching up to the city to get the bus to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Killarney</span> for a wedding. As luck would have it the lift I got from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Midleton</span> to the city dropped me off on the south ring on the N22. So instead of the bus...MORE HITCHING!!!! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">XD</span> So got a lift handy enough and got dropped again at the turn off for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Castletownbere</span> Haven. Then got picked up by a pair of dead sound lads in a van. Mad Mick and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Seb</span>. They were going the whole way. It was great. They did have to make one detour to the <a href="http://www.princeaugust.ie/cork-visitor-centre-activities/index.html">Toy Soldier Factory</a> which only marginally delayed us and was absolutely and completely worth it. :) We then motored on rather nicely until we came close to a level crossing outside <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Killarney</span> where a truck had so considerately jack knifed. It did take us a bit to figure this out, but thanks to the monocular I always carry in my bag we were able to see it, do a u-turn and get onto the back road. <br /> Coming back from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Killarney</span> was also interesting. I was just buying a bottle of milk from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Centra</span> near the hostel I was staying at before I left and I bumped into one of the girls that was at the wedding. She asked how I was getting home and I said that I was going to hitch. She asked why I wasn't getting the train or the bus. I said no as I was going to hitch. She then informed me that I was going by train as she could get me a free ticket....which she did. What we learn from this is hitching is great, but if we are offered a free and faster alternative, we take it! Anyway, I got the train to cork and then I got a lift from town to Little Island from a guy I used to work with. Then got 2 more lifts to get myself the rest of the way home.<br /><br /><br />Today I was down in Charles' Fort in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Kinsale</span>. Had a good day hanging out in the fort with the lads as there was a gig on. Hitching back I got a lift from a guy that was in the same class as me in college. He graduated on Wednesday. Out of a class of 92 I think he said 8 graduated. Some are on a year of work placement but there is still only 6 or 7 of them. Just shows that the course was only suited for a very small number of people.<br /><br />That should be it for now. May your towels be fluffy and your lifts swift. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-47662892756767180702009-08-27T17:03:00.002+01:002009-08-27T17:07:38.757+01:00Advantge me!Was going for a short trip from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Roscrae</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Shinrone</span> the other day and got a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">lift</span> the whole way. The unusual thing was, I was in competition with another hitcher. This has never happened to me before! EVER!!! The good news is I won. For a very simple reason. My girlfriend was with me. The woman that picked us up says that she never pics up lone men. But the fact that I had a woman with me meant I was not a threat so therefore I got a lift. Just goes to show that there are advantages to hitching in pairs. :)Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-51190755781599346402009-08-19T12:37:00.002+01:002018-03-15T18:03:36.629+00:00Life, Death and Epic JourneysAny of you that follow my blog may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in a while. Well lets just say there are several reasons for this among them laziness and unexpected events. Firstly at the start of July my grandmother went in for a routine cataract operation. She had a bad reaction to the anaesthetic and had a heart attack. 12 days later she died. so for the bones of three weeks I didn't leave home. Also as you can imagine I was in no mood to write in the blog. On the up side during the weekend before she died I was up in Maynooth as my dad was inducted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. It is a Papal honor which he got for the charity work that he does.<br />
Anyway back to this whole hitching lark. Nearly 2 weeks ago I hitched to <a href="http://www.craggaunowen.org/"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Craggaunowen.</span></a> From door to door it took me 3 hours (for those that don't know the average time for this journey according to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Ballycotton,+Co.+Cork,+Ireland&daddr=52.0171462,-8.5891215+to:deerpark+south&hl=en&geocode=FenYFgMd48uF_w%3BFfq3GQMdv_B8_ympzxuSb5ZESDHhtdf7pscAEw%3B&mra=ls&sll=52.77712,-8.763914&sspn=0.022897,0.084372&ie=UTF8&ll=52.24462,-8.600235&spn=0.092704,0.337486&z=12&via=1">Google Maps</a> is 2:40). That's right kids! I'm back in full epic journey mode. The bad luck I was plagued by seems to be gone. I must in the near future have a go at getting to Laois again. See if I can do better than 7 hours. The lads up there couldn't believe it. Even my parents who are used to me having stupid good luck on the road couldn't believe me.<br />
There are of course some unusual factors to take into account in this case. Firstly I got a lift from Cork City to Mallow from a friends brother (my mate Scully was in the car as well). When I was outside Mallow after they had dropped me off there was a guy on the other side of the road heading to Mallow in Punto that he was trying to push start. I gave him a hand and after he got it going again he gave me a lift to Buttevant. Then outside Buttevant I got a lift from a couple going all the way to Galway who dropped me off at the gate of Craggaunowen. It was a good day.<br />
<br />
So things are looking up. Also there may be some interesting happenings on here in the near future as my friend Fergal is back from Japan......<br />
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Oh! What do people think of the profile pic?Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-52825447415542263472009-07-02T13:13:00.003+01:002009-07-02T14:50:32.143+01:00AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGG!!!So after getting that out of my system I can get started. Motorways suck!!!!!!!!!!<div>I was hitching up to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Laois</span> at the weekend and it was abysmal. I left home at 1pm. At 8:30 I was only at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Urlingford</span>. Considering that I was at the Horse and Jockey for 5 this was an epic fail. Looking at the cars going by it was fairly obvious that all the traffic on the old road was all local. That motorway kills the chance to get a lift. It really does suck great big floppy donkey dick!!! </div><div>Another factor is since the end of May and that trip back from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Duncannon</span> it seems to be harder to get lifts. I don't know what it is but the past month hitching has been very slow.</div><div>When I came back from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Laois</span> I used the bus. Coming out of Cork was dead slow. I got a lift from town to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Glanmire</span> roundabout and then walked as far as the Little Island/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Gounthaune</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">slip-road</span> before I got a lift. Then I got a lift from there all the way home from a dead sound bloke. Part of me is starting to think this whole hitching lark may not be viable anymore. I'm heading to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Offaly</span> this weekend so I'll see how it goes...</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-59621867336717510652009-06-07T13:05:00.004+01:002009-06-07T17:32:52.945+01:00What an interesting week.....Well as the title says it was an interesting week. It started off with hitching home from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Duncannon</span> on Monday. As in Bank Holiday Monday. Now normally Bank holidays are great for hitching. Lots of people on the road and often willing to pick up. My brother dropped me off in New Ross as he was heading back up the country. I was on the road for 17:30. By rights I should have been home in 3 to 4 hours. Normally the Journey would take 2 to 3 hours if driving. It took me 6 hours. 23:30 I was walking in the door at home. I may not even have gotten home that early save for the fact that the last lift I got was from a guy going from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Dungarvan</span> to Cork, who took pity on me and dropped me home. Added an extra 30 minutes to his journey time at least. Well done that man and thank you very much. <div><br /></div><div>Next was Wednesday. I was hitching from home to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Portarlington</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Laois</span> to visit my girlfriend. I left home at around 14:00 a 3 hour journey at the most when driving. It took me 7 hours. I was starting to think I was losing my touch. Thankfully I got a lift from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Cahir</span> practically to the door by a very sound lad.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then on Friday I was hitching down from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Portarlington</span> on Friday. Left at 11:00. Didn't get home till 17:30. There were some advantages. I got to prove how utterly random and awesome the world is. Myself and my girlfriend were after getting dropped at the top of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Cobh</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">sliproad</span> on the Cork/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Midleton</span> road. After walking back down onto the hard shoulder and waiting a while we got a lift... It was the man whose tyre I had helped change. Granted he could only take us a small distance but I thought it was kind of cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway. After some consideration I figured out a decent reason for the slowness of the travel. At first I thought it may have been the fact that I was wearing a straw hat as I had left my leather one in my brother's car (Also known as my hitching hat. :P) . But then I realized that there was another time when hitching took a stupidly long time. Last summer it took me 5 hours to do 26 miles. On a hot day. From this I have deduced that hitching on a hot day is always slow. The higher the temperature the less generous the people - sounds crazy but my brother who also hitches would agree.</div><div><br /></div><div>Secondly my long trip on Monday was not helped by the fact that I had to walk through New Ross and Waterford City. New Ross wasn't too bad but Waterford was a nightmare. That city just goes on and on and on. Took 2 hours. Felt like one of the longest walks ever. Never, never, NEVER!!! Get a lift to the wrong side of a city. It's not worth the trouble. Even if it means you have to pass up a good long lift. Just leave it. Also never get a lift it is out of your way too far. For example getting a lift from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Portlaoise</span> to Limerick when you are going to Cork. Pass up the lift. Wait. You'll be better off.</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-491968469576764662009-05-27T18:09:00.003+01:002009-05-27T18:22:26.782+01:00Today I was hitching back from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ballincollig</span> to Cork city and I got a lift from a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">suit</span>. I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">surprised</span> considering that I'm a scruff <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">beardy</span> freeloader...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">kind of</span>. That however wasn't the most unusual thing that happened to me today. I was hitching out of Cork when I got picked up by a woman. Now this in itself is a bit strange. Women on their own don't pick you up unless they know you. The really weird thing is the fact there was a wee panda purse on the dash. (For those of you that don't know I'm known as Panda). I said that I truly am haunted and she asked me why. I told her that I'm known as Panda and then she said " So am I." I was almost <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">surprised</span>. I then went on to find out when she doesn't have/can't afford to run a car she also hitches. I could do nothing but laugh. A friend of mine used to say that there's a singularity of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">wierdness</span> around me. I think he may be right.....Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-57996734672832055442009-05-26T12:17:00.002+01:002009-05-26T12:25:21.263+01:00<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span> so there have been no updates recently but I have had some family stuff happening and at the moment I'm trying to put together a basic guide to hitching in my head. I'm trying to word it properly so it'll be clear and concise. <div>For now I'm just going to say one of the most important things about hitching. Be nice to those that give you a lift. For example at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">weekend</span> I went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Wexford</span>. On the way one of the cars I was getting a lift in got a flat tyre. The guy that was giving me a lift said that he'd do it himself when I said I'd help. I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">insistent</span>. It's what you have to do. The person is giving you a lift. They are going out of their way to be nice to you so do the same. </div><div>Bye for now.</div>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8489111742278273195.post-51394845578628897362009-03-10T23:05:00.001+00:002009-03-12T23:18:00.533+00:00And so it came to pass.....For a long time I didn't understand the point of blogging. But then a friend of mine made me realize how useful they can be (only today actually). So I decided to start this blog and hopefully it shall lead somewhere rather interesting indeed.<br /> As my be suggested by my screen name I hitch hike a lot. In fact this is what this blog is all about. Several years ago I was after missing a bus to the city from my village and my mother (yes of all people my mother) suggested that I stand at the edge of the village and stick my thumb out. I did this and soon enough I had a lift. This was the beginning of what soon came to be my preferred mode of transport. Soon I started purposefully missing my bus home from school to spend time hanging out with my friends, then hitch home. The first time I did this I was surprised to discover that I had beaten the bus home. I soon came to realize the true advantage of hitching it is mostly faster than public transport in this country.<br /><br />To most hitching conjures up images of the the film The Hitcher and therefore causes them to recoil in horror at the mere thought of someone undertaking such a dangerous and risky endeavour as obviously the world is a horrible and dangerous place. In actually the opposite is true. I have been hitching for around 5 years and I haven't had a single incident. Granted it only takes one incident to break the record but I remain hopeful that my trend will continue. Also one can meet many interesting people. What I hope to achieve with this blog is to record my adventures while hitching an hopefully encourage more to do it.<br /><br /> Fast forward a couple of years to last year when I did my first bit of long distance hitching. Up to now I had only hitched up to a distance of 30 miles. This time I was doing around 100. Cork City to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Shinrone</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Offaly</span>. It is not an easy place to get to using public transport. It tends to be a 4 hour journey via bus. When I managed to make the trip in 3 hours I knew I was onto something. Part of this I believe was down to timing. I left around 5pm which meant I was leaving at peak traffic time on a Friday. The return journey on the following Tuesday however took 5 and a half hours. This didn't bother me though as I had time to burn.<br /><br />Yet again we fast forward to only last Thursday when I headed to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Galway</span> for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Itzacon</span>, a gaming convention of much awesomeness. I manged to do the journey in 3 and a half hours from city to city. I did it in 3 separate lifts which seems to be the norm for long journeys. On the Friday when the rest of the Cork contingent arrived they couldn't believe that I had gotten to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Galway</span> faster than them as it had taken them 4 hours on the bus. Yet again my return journey was in excess of 5 hours but this was yet again due to heading back on a Tuesday morning. The lifts however were a bit more interesting. The longest stretch I covered was from 5 miles out of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Galway</span> to a garage near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Banogue</span> in Limerick. It was with a bunch of lads that were going paint balling for the day but as they were unsure of where they were going they ended up going 20 miles in the wrong direction. This benefited me was the wrong direction was Cork. The next lift that I got was from a guy wearing the same shirt as me...rather strange considering my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">hippyish</span> taste in clothing. Strange coincidences however are the spice of life.<br /><br />I think for now I will leave it at that. But when I have more time I shall post anecdotes as I think of them and record all my major hitching endeavours.<br /><br /><br /><span style="display: block; padding-left: 6em; text-indent: -1em;"><span></span></span>Lone Hitcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01300563723588313235noreply@blogger.com3