San Francisco >> San Jose

The internet is a wonderful tool for hitchhiking. It lets you research major cities and find the best places for hitching, without having to wander the freeway looking for sites. It also lets you know that if you're trying to get out of San Francisco, your best bet is to take Caltrain as far south as possible, then try to hitch there. Getting out of SF otherwise is nearly impossible. I wanted to know how true this was, so I set aside an afternoon and decided to hitch to San Jose via the 280. It turns out that the internet is rather right about this route. It's a pain in the neck.

I started off where 19th Ave turns into I-280. Unfortunately...it's a rather hi-speed stretch of road, with very little space to pull over. I tried two different spots which appeared to have potential, but ultimately decided that neither was good enough to stay. I then walked down the road a mile, till I came to a formal on ramp. Great position, plenty of space to pull over...but not much luck. Another guy with hitching experience walked by and said hello. He said that I wasn't going to have much luck here. While he wasn't racist, it was simple fact that this area was Asian/Filipino, and that demographic does not pick up hitchhikers. Which is true. I've done a decent amount of bay area hitching, and I have had exactly one individual of Asian decent stop for me, which is not at all representative of the racial makeup of they Bay. The vast majority of people who pick up hitchhikers are Caucasian, with African American being the next most common.

It took well over an hour, but I caught a ride halfway to my destination. From one of the minority of Caucasians passing by, I suppose I should add. I got dropped off on what looked like a great spot: plenty of space to pull over, and a good amount of flow, with a road that's a fairly straight shot to San Jose. No luck. I had one car of teenagers pull over and offer to take me to the Hillsdale train station, but at this point I was still hopeful of getting a ride and so I turned them down. An hour later, with the sun below the horizon, I accepted a ride to the same train station from a Russian woman.

It was dissapointing to not make it to my destination by thumb, though not at all surprising. I knew what to expect, and got it. I imagine that if I had begun earlier, I could have made it to where I wanted to go. If I started at the on ramp, rather than the beginning of the freeway, I may have moved faster. Still, I don't think it's a route I'll try again. If I need to get south, I'll take the train, or relax and take the 1.

Trip Details:

Distance Hitched: 20 miles
Total Time: ~4 hrs
# of rides: 2
Total Spent: $10.75