You can find a lot of interesting folks on the trail—just ask FLMSP volunteer Don Hahn. Last month at Avoca Park (at the southern end of the Little Miami State Park) he met Dodger, a cyclist from San Diego, California. Dodger had stopped at the park with his “mobile camper”—a bicycle that has been his home for three years.
Named by his British father for the Artful Dodger from Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Dodger is 61 and single. He had been living and cycling in the Cincinnati area for the past month when Don encountered him. He’s familiar with this area, and gets his mail delivered to the Terrace Park post office. He has even visited a Cincinnati dentist while here. As he travels, he takes on local jobs to earn the money he needs to live; he also sells his blood plasma twice a week.
Dodger carries about 100 pounds of gear, including repair parts such as sprockets, spare chain, and tools, packed in various bike bags and in his backpack. The bike’s front wheel hub is fitted with a small Dynamo generator to provide electricity for his phone and lights. He carries a tent, but prefers to look for a shelter or a lean-to when he’s ready to rest. He says he has been assaulted for no apparent reason in the past, so he tries to keep a low profile.
On Dodger’s handlebars sits a little mascot bear he named Navi. He explains that carrying a mascot is common among those who live on their bicycles; the rule is it must be something they have found along the trail. Navi now wears a mask because his face was partially chewed off by some animals that ate the food Dodger carried in the bike’s front bag.
We’re not sure where Dodger is now, but we certainly wish him well and hope that Navi continues to guide him to pleasant trails.
September 2023
