Unlike North Americans, Europeans accept hitching as an integral mode of transport. Thus a much wider sample of European society sticks out its collective thumb along the highways, improving the chances that your experiences with hitchhikers there will be pleasant if not wonderful. There are even organizations throughout Europe that match riders with drivers. Use your best judgment when it comes to hitchhiking. You're under no obligation to pick up anybody.
Many people consider touring Europe by bicycle.
Of course bicycling leads to intimate experiences with the landscape and the people. You will sleep well but unless you're an experienced bicyclist you may get in over your head and end up dreading the next day. With the great effort inherent in such bicycling you can't justify many deviations from your planned route, and to avoid superfluous physical expenditure you must plan that route with extreme care. The overwhelming tendency, then, is to limit yourself, to keep on the move, to pass up the fecundity of the unexpected. In short, you'd better love bicycling for the sake of bicycling.