Thursday 30 July 2009

09 - Hitchhike

Much um-ing and ah-ing preceded today's outing:

(a) where to go?
(b) what should the sign say?

Point (a) - I took a good look at Sproughton Road down by Morrison's, possibly as far as the A14 sliproad; I considered the Foxhall Road / Heath Road junction by the firework shop; I wondered about the Henley Road lights where they cross Valley Road. Ultimately I chose the Shell garage where Colchester Road meets Woodbridge Road.

Point (b) - attempt 1 said BT Martlesham, but Martlesham is 10 (count 'em) letters and they squash up; attempt 2 said BT Labs, which was shorter but still too much; final attempt said, remembering that less is more, BT.

I can recommend a black Sharpie, a clear plastic A4 wallet (rain was chucking it down when I was doing my Blue Peter preparation), a reinforcing bit of cardboard and several sheets of printer paper.

Standing there in the 8am sunlight with my rucksack & laptop, holding out my two character signage, how long do you think it took before I got picked up? 5 mins? 10 mins? Half an hour? Answer: 2 mins, barely time to feel the self-consciousness kicking in. A couple made eye contact from their shiny Japanese MPV and nodded towards the back seat, and in I got. Sorted.

You do mean BT at Martlesham, the man (driver) asked? That's the one, said I. I'm heading out to work for Suffolk Police, said the lady (passenger), and my husband's giving me a lift.

I'd normally be on my bike, I said, but it's currently off the road (true 'cos it's locked to some railings by the petrol forecourt). Oh, she said. I've biked a few times before but the shower facilities aren't great. Ah, we're pretty lucky in that respect, I said. Smalltalk continued as we cruised Kesgrave and motored into Martlesham past yesterday's Park & Ride destination.

Very kindly, they dropped me off outside Kingpin, a pebble's skim from the Route 66 stop for Adastral Park. Have a good day, we both said: I never knew their names. Made a quick diversion by the main gate to snap today's photo of my amazing sign and the BT Tower, getting an odd look from some geeky looking bloke standing nearby, jotting things down. Never trust a man with a clipboard.

To get home -- well, back to my bike -- I should probably have made an Ipswich sign and stood outside the gatehouse. Instead, I hitched an impromptu lift with a colleague in the office.

These are the pros and cons of hitch hiking:

Cost - free
Duration - 15mins (08:00-08:15)

Pros - meeting people; green travel
Cons - reliance on the generosity and trust of others

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