Triking with a tuba in tow...

Jon Hodkin and his Tricycle and trailer
​

Free talk and music event at Preston Climate Emergency Centre Blog Preston

A free event which will include a talk and musical performances is set to take place on Saturday, 17th September.

The event, which will take place at the Preston Climate Emergency Centre on Market Street from 11am – 12pm, will include a talk from Jon Hodkin and Jon Aveyard on their use of pedal power to transport themselves and instruments to venues and a unique tuba & percussion performance.

Jon Hodkin is a tuba-player who travels the UK on his recumbent tricycle carrying his musical instrument and camping equipment on a trailer. He camps when he needs to but otherwise stops at the homes of people along his route and provides house concerts for them and their friends and family.

In this way, he makes connections with a large number of diverse people and offers musical entertainment in return for their hospitality. He also visits schools to deliver presentations and meets up with local musicians to play together.

Jon Aveyard is a Preston-based musician who has ...



Continue reading...

 

​

Triking with a tuba in tow, from delta to headwaters MPR News

Anyone in marching band who carried a tuba around had a more physically demanding job than most. Now, imagine pulling a tuba behind you while traveling the length of the Mississippi River — by tricycle.

Jon Hodkin is a tuba player from Scotland and he’s in Minnesota nearing the end of just such a journey. He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about why.

Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: Those of you who carried a tuba around had a more physically demanding job than most. All right, so now imagine pulling a tuba behind you while traveling the length of the Mississippi River by tricycle.

Our next guest can tell us what that's like. Jon Hodkin is a tuba player from Scotland. He's in Minnesota nearing the end of an interesting journey. He's on the line. Jon, welcome to the program.

JON HODKIN: Thanks for having me, Cathy. It's great to be with you on Minnesota Public Radio.

CATHY WURZER: That clip we heard was from a video about a 2019 tour of the Midwest, which you also made by tricycle. So you've toured via tricycle before with a tuba. Jon, clearly this is an odd combination. What's the story behind this?

JON HODKIN: Well, basically, it's all the four T's, as I call it, which are the four things that I love to have and do with my life. And the T's in my life are, number one, is my tuba, and number two is my tricycle. I have an ICE Trikes recumbent trike, behind which I tow a trailer.

And with my tuba, tricycle, and trailer, I love to-- guess what? Travel. So that's basically what it's all about. And I'm now in a position where for now I'm able to indulge my four loves to a very high extent.

CATHY WURZER: And tell me about your ...

Continue reading...

 

Intrepid cyclist and musician making his way to Bemidji from Gulf of ...The Bemidji Pioneer

Jon Hodkin plans to reach his final destination in Bemidji on Sunday, Sept. 10, and will culminate the 150-day pedaling pilgrimage with a performance with Bemidji musicians on Friday, Sept. 15.

BEMIDJI — Many folks have traveled from the Mississippi River’s source at Lake Itasca to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. They’ve done it by canoeing, kayaking, swimming, bicycling or walking.

But there’s only one guy who has made the trek from the Gulf to Itasca at 6 miles per hour on a recumbent bicycle towing a tuba-toting trailer.

That guy, 62-year-old Jon Hodkin, is nearing the end of his journey this weekend with a concert at Itasca State Park on Saturday, Sept. 9. He plans to reach his final destination in Bemidji on Sunday, Sept. 10, and will culminate the 150-day pedaling pilgrimage with a performance with Bemidji musicians on Friday, Sept. 15.

It all started in April when Hodkin left his home in Scotland and arrived in Louisiana to embark on a 3,000-mile journey. He averaged 30 miles per day, spending his nights camping in a tent or with hosts who are part of a worldwide network of cycle enthusiasts called Warm Showers.

He endured this summer’s scorching heat with only one emergency stop at a farm in Wisconsin, where the owner put him up in a barn for the night.


“I’ve been very lucky with the weather,” Hodkin said this week while taking a break along the Paul Bunyan Trail near Brainerd. “As an Englishman living in the north of Scotland, we’re just not used to this level of humidity and this level of heat. But it only stopped me that one day when I had to come off the road sooner than I wanted to.”

Hodkin has combined his passions for cycling and music, which he calls "InnerTuba," since 2000. His first “professional” tour was a 21-day, 1,200-mile trek across England’s East Midlands Region.

Since that time, he has pedaled and performed extensively throughout the United Kingdom. In 2019, he took his show overseas for the first time, taking part in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. He had planned the Gulf-to-Itasca ride for 2020, but COVID put that trip on hold until this year.

Hodkin's journey
While his itinerary has been closely mapped out, Hodkin said the most memorable moments have been spontaneous and coincidental. He’ll stop in a town and play impromptu concerts or entertain people at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

“When you’re traveling you’ve really no idea exactly what’s going to happen in the next moment,” he said. “Some unbelievably spellbinding, joyful occurrences have arisen. Just meeting people who are generous in spirit.”

An example occurred last week when Hodkin set up his tent for the night at Charles A. Lindbergh State Park near Little Falls.

“I turn up there and I pay money and go and get a shower,” he recalled. “The people opposite from me are a family … the most phenomenally talented close harmony singers. It was just unreal. They played for me, I played for them.”

Hodkin spent most of his career as a healthcare professional, first as a care worker and later as an occupational therapist.


“That’s why I absolutely adore playing in places like assisted living centers and special needs units in schools,” he said, “because I speak the language of the people being treated and I speak the language of the people who are looking after them.”

Hodkin lost his partner, Karin Prior, when she was killed in a car crash 11 years ago. As a tribute to Karin, who was an occupational therapist for children, he has been raising money for organizations that work with youth.

“When I do performances I’m inviting ...


Continue reading...