Looks like I'm not alone in daydreaming about doing this:

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http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news ... -a6rr.html

"A 15-year-old Brisbane boy with Asperger's syndrome who went missing for two weeks has been found in Sydney, after riding his bike more than 950km down the Pacific Highway.

Police found Ethan Johnson of Kingston, south of Brisbane, at Merrylands train station, in western Sydney on Good Friday.

He had slept at truck stops and under bridges, and ate at fast-food restaurants during his six-day, dawn-to-dusk ride to Sydney.

He had as good a reason as any for the epic journey down the east coast on one of Australia's busiest highways - because he thought he could.

"I just wanted to see if I could get down to Sydney on a bike and how long it was going to take," Ethan told the Nine Network's A Current Affair program on Wednesday."

Continued - click on link.

That last sentence doesn't really fit in. The article says nothing about socializing. Yeah I'm just nit picking here.

Answer to the poll: Yes, I've just wanted to jump on a bus to Melbourne, with little planning and telling no one. The reason is I've never been to Melbourne before.
Actually when I'm at the train station in Sydney I feel like jumping on the train to Mt. Victoria.

As a kid I always wanted to leave home on my own, with no one ever noticing. I would think about packing a small bag, and just leaving but I had no idea where I wanted to go, as long as I was free from my parents.

Can Top that!
I rode from Melbourne to Perth via the coast and Kangaroo Island (5300 Km)
without Mum knowing. I had told Dad though- and he told Mum when I got half way
across at Eucla (the day Keating won the election).
Took 50 days.
Lost 18Kg!!
I was 26.

After everything went to shite at home one day, I considered running away and living on the streets in Leeds, the nearest big city. It would have been better than living at home.

I too wish I would live on the street. In fact, at 39 with my marriage of 9 years dead... and my health failing from lifetime of stress of not understanding... I'm planning backpacking trip. Just a small netbook computer, GPS, light bags. I've traveled a lot my adult life trying to find my home planet, only to realize now it is by myself with light social encounters.

Did his parents know he was doing this or were they thinking he was lost?

I would love to do that. Never did anything that cool. And I told my parents anytime I thought they'd notice. My fav was walking the railroad tracks to see where they'd go. But the longest was when I spontaneously decided to drive from Victoria BC to Toronto Ontario (Canada) nonstop; 4300 KM. I remembering it taking 66 hours, but technically it should have taken 43. My wife flew. I think stopping to see Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore and driving the badlands must have slowed me down. I did have a co-driver, but I was angry at him and refused to talk to him the whole trip. Dreamed of dumping him out of the moving car. I'd drive for 6 hours... drink a pint of beer... sleep 4 hours while he drove... repeat. Never got out of the car cept for gas, beer, pee break. In South Dakota he finally begged to go to a real restaurant. I walked in, but couldn't handle all the people and left, sitting on the curb for the hour. Never saw that guy again after that. Thank god.

Oh, I want to do another nonstop road trip! I've done three and never been friends with my co-driver afterwards. Toronto > Austin in 28 hours. Toronto > Charlottetown PEI in 23.

I always dreamed of packing up all of my things and leaving my Mom's house while she was at work, without a goodbye or a phonecall! I just wanted to vanish!


I did do something like that... after I agreed to move in with my boyfriend, I secretly packed one box at a time and he came to my house and took the box over to his house when neither my mom nor my brother was home. After about four boxes, my brother started to notice that my room looked 'emptier' than usual. Then he went and told mom that stuff was missing from my room, and she demanded to know why.

So I told her, and she was furious. Apparently, I was a very 'selfish' person for wanting to leave a hostile household and live in a more peaceful household once I am legally able to leave her custody. How dare I!

But I did leave and I've never spoken to my brother again except for at Christmas time. I still call mom about once a week, or else she gets all depressed and worried.

I used to want to run away when I was younger... I was always trying to convince my cousin to just go, to come and run away with me. She wouldn't, so I didn't go. I was always too chickensh** back then to do it on my own.

Sometimes still want to, but I know a lot better now. The world isn't really a friendly place.

Did something like that once. Decided to go to New Zealand for a week. Had plane tickets and a hotel room but no other specific plans. Told my dorm-mates, so if I didn't come back they would know where I had been.

Had a great time. (I was 21.)

Rode a couple thousand miles on freight trains back when I was younger. Ain't nothing like watching the country go by sitting in an open boxcar door.

Has been before, will be again.

Lately it's been walls and a ceiling. Less physical discomfort, but a whole lot less interesting. Walls are for prisons.

Remember those mythological sirens? I hear them sometimes...

Dive in, sailor. Swim to your doom. This time you won't get away.

I ran away from Sydney to Perth when I was 16, took three months as I left with $48. I didn't tell dad where I was until South Australia and was really glad not to have spoken to my mother, who still holds it against me 23 years later. No wonder I didn't want to live with her!! ! Was an incredible adventure, the most memorable bits were living in the desert just outside Kalgoorlie, and joining up with Ashton's Circus - it made me anti-circus for life! Came back six months later and stayed with my parents for about two days before I was out again - thank god for generous friends!

An interesting story, I love to take trips alone and I have done so. I've gone to Boston by myself to see Red Sox games, I've gone to the beach by myself, I go to movies by myself. I do almost everything alone because I don't have anyone else but myself. So after reading that, I can relate to that boy's story.

i want to take a friend tho then be alone