Swede on the road in 2009

supertramp · Post by **supertramp** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:38 pm

Hey burners!

My name is Gustav and in the summer of 2009 I'm planning to do what Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan has been telling me, i e. hit the road. I'm flying to New York from Sweden and then I'm hitch-hiking east, hoping to get to San Fransisco.

The only thing I feel that I have to do is experience Burning Man! And since I'm hitching westbound I figured I would hit this forum up for brothers and sisters who would like to meet new people on the road!
Basically, I'm looking for people visiting BM in a motorhome or something like that that feel that a tramp is just what they need to fulfill their trip. As long as you are coming from east of Reno I'd be glad to tag along! And of course I'll chip in for gas and such! Also, I'll bring some nice stories!
Other tramps going my way are also most welcome to contact me! Well, you all are really!

More about me: I'm a 21-year old swede living in Copenhagen, Denmark. I work at a travel hostel and on my spare time I dedicate myself to multiple art forms - such as: painting, writing and film making (which I also study). I also obviously love traveling, mostly because you meet so many great people in doing so. Perspective!

So feel free to contact me! I'm stoked to hear from you!

Email: [email protected]

Peace and love!

Gustav

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:00 pm

Hey SuperTramp,

welcome to eplaya!

JK

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:11 pm

yes, welcome....
*now the welcomes can begin, since, we all wait for the official "JK" greeting*.......

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:16 pm

So, what's the status with Sweden and Norway? Have any issues about your split in the 19th century? And are you as happy as the Danes?

supertramp · Post by **supertramp** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:55 pm

[quote="theCryptofishist"]So, what's the status with Sweden and Norway? Have any issues about your split in the 19th century? And are you as happy as the Danes?[/quote]

Well some of the danish are happier then some of the swedes most of the time. But all the danish can't be happier then all of the swedish all of the time.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:06 pm

And are their legs long enough to reach the ground?

BTW, you might want to make sure that BBCode is on, so you can have fancy quotes and things like that when you post.

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:10 pm

If your hitch-hiking East it is either going to be a very short trip or a really really long one and that first ride better be incredible it would be a drag to be dropped off some place in the Atlantic.

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:11 pm

Zulegoona wrote:If your hitch-hiking East it is either going to be a very short trip or a really really long one and that first ride better be incredible it would be a drag to be dropped off some place in the Atlantic.

That's funny. I didn't even catch that!

JK

supertramp · Post by **supertramp** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:32 am

Zulegoona wrote:If your hitch-hiking East it is either going to be a very short trip or a really really long one and that first ride better be incredible it would be a drag to be dropped off some place in the Atlantic.

I'll give you that! Thanks for the heads-up!

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:52 am

i remember listening to "Take the Long way home" on AM radio.

good luck supertramp, i have hitched to BM before, and although it is not easy, especially on the east coast where people are a little more wary of hitch-hikers, but i think you'll find it's a great way to really get a taste of America, and how BIG and varied a country we are.

be prepared to be stuck in the middle of nowhere...those moments may bring despair, but something tells me you'll get what you need when you need it.

and when you actually arrive, and taste the dust for the first time, like many others, you'll feel like you accomplished something truly fantastic. The Journey there is just as important as arriving, and sometimes more so.

Oh Yeah, one more thing, try not to stay in Sparks for more than a half an hour, it will eat your soul.

PS....Can you do the Swedish Chef Voice from the muppets?

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:38 am

Zulegoona wrote:If your hitch-hiking East it is either going to be a very short trip or a really really long one and that first ride better be incredible it would be a drag to be dropped off some place in the Atlantic.

Damn! Beat me to the punch on that one Zulegoona

I as well was thinking he better bring his water wings.

Supertramp, welcome to eplaya. I think you'll find alot of burners willing to help you out, especially in the bigger cities. I'm in the Detroit area, we have an active group here, and we're tied into the Toronto and Chicago groups as well. In fact, we'll be putting on a regional burn in late June called Lakes of Fire. PM me if you want more info, we'll help you out. After the east coast,

you'll be appreciative how warm and welcoming we can be in the midwest

fciron · Post by **fciron** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:52 am

He corrected the east-west thing in the next paragraph. Give the man a break.

I could have gotten him in the first post, but for some reason I had run out of snark.

I would suggest a little advance planning on the leg of my trip into BRC. Standing by the highway with your thumb out and a couple of hundred pounds of water could be a tough gig.

Give me a shout if you pass through Kentucky.

Post by **Sham** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:31 pm

Sail Man wrote:
Zulegoona wrote:If your hitch-hiking East it is either going to be a very short trip or a really really long one and that first ride better be incredible it would be a drag to be dropped off some place in the Atlantic.
After the east coast, you'll be appreciative how warm and welcoming we can be in the midwest

If you're hitchhiking out of New York, you'd better give yourself a few days to be picked up. Those NY'ers would easily run you down and then try to sue you for getting your blood on their nice cars. (can't you see I'm drivin' here you bastard?)

.

supertramp · Post by **supertramp** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:11 pm

Hey brothers and sisters!

Thanks for all the strange and positive feedback!

If you want to hook up on my way to the westcoast or just want to exchange som toughts feel free to email me. Last night I got a song sent to me for instance!

This is from me to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7rKBGv8Zeo

Turnip · Post by **Turnip** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:49 pm

Isn't Hitchhiking majorly Illegal now?
As well as picking up a Hitchhiker?

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:30 pm

Hitchhiking laws vary by state, but you often can find a trucker to give you a ride.

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 6:43 pm

AntiM wrote:Hitchhiking laws vary by state, but you often can find a trucker to give you a ride.

This may be true. I wouldn't know, as I have no experience with that side of the "fence". But on my side, as a former truck driver, I should perhaps mention that unauthorized passengers are prohibited, industry-wide. Generally, for a driver who is an employee, picking up a hitch hiker is an instant firing offense. (In a nut shell, besides the law, it is a major financial liability issue.)
If the driver owns the truck AND his own operating permits, he MAY have a blanket passenger insurance policy and a blank authorization form on hand. These guys are few and far between.

There is a system in place to authorize a passenger, and many trucking companies do this. It requires a flurry of faxes of identification documents and signatures -- and a payroll deduction for the weekly insurance premium. And enough clout with the boss to approve a sight-unseen passenger.

I've gone thru this process with a hitch hiker in a truck stop one time. But he was Norwegian....

...Which brings us to... Jeg vil ha tilbake Hjemtland og Herjedalen! So you return Hjemt Land and Herje Valley to Norway, and we Norwegian Burners will consider your application for a new Foreign Agent Franchise in Black Rock City.

To get back to the trucking thing.... If you are flying into New York City, you would need to get yourself at least into New Jersey to find truckers who travel west.

So I suggest you try to contact some New York burners and offer labor in exchange for transportation. It's a total guess on my part, but there may be folks who could use a hand with getting their Stuff finished in time, loaded on a U-Haul, driving the U-Haul, unloading it and setting up their Stuff. I'm just brainstorming that somebody might pick you up at the airport on that basis.

But first, Hjemtland og Herjedalen!

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:26 am

fciron wrote:He corrected the east-west thing in the next paragraph. Give the man a break.

I could have gotten him in the first post, but for some reason I had run out of snark.

I would suggest a little advance planning on the leg of my trip into BRC. Standing by the highway with your thumb out and a couple of hundred pounds of water could be a tough gig.

Give me a shout if you pass through Kentucky.

Hey Hey Hey FC, give me a break, I gotta have some fun out here on a bleak grey day.

BTW, would that shout sound something like this?

http://www.soundamerica.com/soundameric ... squeal.wav

supertramp · Post by **supertramp** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:46 am

The parts I can't hitchhike I'll probably greyhound. Or grab a train. Or walk. Or not move for a while. Or hitchhike anyways. The road will tell!

Elliot · Post by **Elliot** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:45 am

supertramp wrote:The parts I can't hitchhike I'll probably greyhound. Or grab a train. Or walk. Or not move for a while. Or hitchhike anyways. The road will tell!

If you have not already, you might want to look at a globe or world map to gain an understanding of the distances in this country. It takes me something like five days to drive from coast to coast. And that's on freeways (motorveg), barely stopping to eat and sleep. Wouldn't want you to arrive a week late!

fciron · Post by **fciron** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:08 am

Sail Man wrote:
fciron wrote:He corrected the east-west thing in the next paragraph. Give the man a break.

I could have gotten him in the first post, but for some reason I had run out of snark.

I would suggest a little advance planning on the leg of my trip into BRC. Standing by the highway with your thumb out and a couple of hundred pounds of water could be a tough gig.

Give me a shout if you pass through Kentucky.
Hey Hey Hey FC, give me a break, I gotta have some fun out here on a bleak grey day.

BTW, would that shout sound something like this?

http://www.soundamerica.com/soundameric ... squeal.wav

No, that's Georgia.

FrostyMan · Post by **FrostyMan** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:21 am

Elliot wrote:
supertramp wrote:The parts I can't hitchhike I'll probably greyhound. Or grab a train. Or walk. Or not move for a while. Or hitchhike anyways. The road will tell!

If you have not already, you might want to look at a globe or world map to gain an understanding of the distances in this country. It takes me something like five days to drive from coast to coast. And that's on freeways (motorveg), barely stopping to eat and sleep. Wouldn't want you to arrive a week late!

I think alot of visitors underestimate how ingrained the car culture is here in the US. I live/work with a good number of immigrants who didn't have cars when they first got here but after their first January of peddling to work they rectified that situation.
Coast to coast could be done by greyhound but...only if the smell of armpit can be tolerated for 5 days (good conditioning for BM perhaps?)
And travel by train???

Silly Europeans. We don't have none of that efficient, Eco-Friendly stuff in these parts! AmTrak I guess but You have a 86.73% chance of ending up dead on a river bank.

supertramp · Post by **supertramp** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:56 am

Good thing I'm not trying to get from New York to BRC in a week then! I'd say my current time schedule is about 3-4 weeks, and then another 4 weeks to spend on the west coast. So if I spread out the waiting for cars to pick me up and sitting on sweaty greyhounds with meeting exiting people and seeing cool places I'm sure it'll work! I'm not looking for a cushy environment, if I did, I would not go to Burning Man.
But hey, if you think it wont happen you guys could always start betting on in. "Will Supertramp get to Black Rock City?" I'll provide you with live odds from the road!

Peace

Silly European

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:57 pm

fciron wrote:
Sail Man wrote:
fciron wrote:He corrected the east-west thing in the next paragraph. Give the man a break.

I could have gotten him in the first post, but for some reason I had run out of snark.

I would suggest a little advance planning on the leg of my trip into BRC. Standing by the highway with your thumb out and a couple of hundred pounds of water could be a tough gig.

Give me a shout if you pass through Kentucky.
Hey Hey Hey FC, give me a break, I gotta have some fun out here on a bleak grey day.

BTW, would that shout sound something like this?

http://www.soundamerica.com/soundameric ... squeal.wav

No, that's Georgia.

Somebody please make the banjo go away!!

[youtube][/youtube]

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:19 pm

http://www.zimride.com/home.php

Post by **Elderberry** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:31 pm

gyre wrote:http://www.zimride.com/home.php

Interesting site.

JK

littleflower · Post by **littleflower** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:28 pm

sounds like a great adventure, supertramp ... i envy you!

but another thing about trains in the US ... they are slow and rather expensive, and stations are not always in the better parts of the city. also, most US cities do not have great public transportation. i wish this were not true ... i love traveling by train in europe ... but in the US we go primarily by airplane and car.

i wish you luck though, and hope to hear about your travels in BRC!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:51 pm

And the airlines are doing everything they can to discourage flying.

Check for discount packages available only from europe for flight, train, bus.
Some are not for sale here.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:52 pm

FrostyMan wrote:
Elliot wrote:
supertramp wrote:The parts I can't hitchhike I'll probably greyhound. Or grab a train. Or walk. Or not move for a while. Or hitchhike anyways. The road will tell!
:D
If you have not already, you might want to look at a globe or world map to gain an understanding of the distances in this country. It takes me something like five days to drive from coast to coast. And that's on freeways (motorveg), barely stopping to eat and sleep. Wouldn't want you to arrive a week late!
:D
I think alot of visitors underestimate how ingrained the car culture is here in the US. I live/work with a good number of immigrants who didn't have cars when they first got here but after their first January of peddling to work they rectified that situation.
Coast to coast could be done by greyhound but...only if the smell of armpit can be tolerated for 5 days (good conditioning for BM perhaps?)
And travel by train??? :lol: Silly Europeans. We don't have none of that efficient, Eco-Friendly stuff in these parts! AmTrak I guess but You have a 86.73% chance of ending up dead on a river bank.

Yeah, those european trains are wonderful. Nothing bad ever happens on them. Or under them.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:16 am

theCryptofishist wrote:
FrostyMan wrote:
Elliot wrote:
If you have not already, you might want to look at a globe or world map to gain an understanding of the distances in this country. It takes me something like five days to drive from coast to coast. And that's on freeways (motorveg), barely stopping to eat and sleep. Wouldn't want you to arrive a week late!

I think alot of visitors underestimate how ingrained the car culture is here in the US. I live/work with a good number of immigrants who didn't have cars when they first got here but after their first January of peddling to work they rectified that situation.
Coast to coast could be done by greyhound but...only if the smell of armpit can be tolerated for 5 days (good conditioning for BM perhaps?)
And travel by train??? Silly Europeans. We don't have none of that efficient, Eco-Friendly stuff in these parts! AmTrak I guess but You have a 86.73% chance of ending up dead on a river bank.
Yeah, those european trains are wonderful. Nothing bad ever happens on them. Or under them.

Touche