OCEANSIDE -- Allie Stevens is a familiar face around downtown Oceanside, offering visitors and friends free rides in an aluminum rickshaw that he pulls up and down the Oceanside Pier.

Now, the self-proclaimed "Rickshaw Man" is gearing up for a new adventure -- pulling his rig from Oceanside to the East Coast.

The 56-year-old Stevens already attempted the trek once, but in January, after three months on the road, he was struck by a car in Tombstone, Ariz.

He said Thursday that he has recuperated from his injuries and is training to pick up where he left off. On Veteran's Day, he plans to drive back to Tombstone, then continue his rickshaw trip all the way to Miami.

Stevens said he plans to travel about 20 miles a day and estimates the 2,000-mile trek will take about two years. His wife, Jill, will make the journey with him.

Stevens said pulling people up and down the pier or around downtown Oceanside every day helps him keep in shape. He doesn't charge for rides, but welcomes donations, which he said have helped him pay his bills and fund his quest for a world record for the longest trip with a rickshaw.

"I don't care how big and fat, rich or poor you are," he said. "You can ride this rickshaw."

Stevens came to Oceanside three years ago after working for years as a limo driver in Las Vegas. He said he picked the city because he wanted a change from the desert landscape.

"I saw this sign that said Oceanside and I figured that's got to be on the ocean," he said.

At first, Stevens was homeless and living under the pier, he said. He came up with the idea to start giving rickshaw rides after seeing a rig at a swap meet. Donations from local businesses helped him get off the street and into a motor home after only a few months.

People love "The Rickshaw Man" because he brings fun and publicity to the pier area, said Jason Schmidt, general manager of Ruby's, a restaurant at the end of the pier.

"They definitely get a kick out of it," he said. "They've never seen anything like that before in their life."

Stevens said he is so in love with Oceanside that he wants to bring attention to the city and its local businesses as he treks across the country. He has put stickers all over his rickshaw to promote local businesses on the road and said he welcomes more.

In 2007, he started his first long-distance rickshaw trip, planning to walk 360 miles from Oceanside to Las Vegas.

That trip also ended poorly. He had to stop after making it less than half way to his destination when someone threw a bottle at him from a passing car that injured his back.

Though he doesn't have a regular schedule for giving rickshaw rides on the pier, Stevens said he's usually out there if the weather is nice. It's a thrill to meet so many new people, he said, adding that he typically gets about 50 to 65 passengers a day.

"It's so much fun because I never know who I'm going to pick up or where I'm going to go," he said.

Jill Palmer Stevens said she's proud of what her husband has done over the last couple of years.

"It makes people happy," she said.

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at 760-901-4009.