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By Ben Fornell
The Daily Iowan, October 19, 2006
Video
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Come rain, sleet, hail, or 4 a.m., you can still get your Burger King -
and help save the planet.
Velocipede is an Iowa City bike-messenger delivery service started by
brothers Lewis and Nate Hayward as an alternative to petroleum-based
delivery services. The Haywards have a crew of 12 cyclists and
skateboarders who'll cart almost anything that will fit in a bike
trailer or a backpack to homes at almost any hour.
The $1.50 to $5 they earn on an average delivery goes entirely to
charitable non-governmental organizations.
"People call me at 4 in the morning for [Burger King]," Lewis Hayward
said. "I go and get it."
Groceries and cigarettes are common requests, but he has delivered
scrunchy pet toys and 40-pound bags of dog food on a Schwinn mountain
bike that carried him through Mexico and Guatemala last summer.
But for only $5?
Yes. The service is run completely by volunteers, and each delivery is
logged in the Velocipede bank account. The deliverers then make online
donations from the account to charities of their choice.
Popular NGOs include the Common Ground Project, Doctors Without
Borders, and the Prisoners Correspondence Project.
"I get to do what I want," Lewis Hayward said. "You can be your own
boss and bike around. [People] can save themselves an errand and help
save the environment at the same time. Plus they get a free mystery
prize."
As if social and environmental stewardship weren't a good enough reason
to use Velocipede, the deliverers give out a different "mystery prize"
on each trip.
"Every delivery gives out a ton of information on activist causes,"
Lewis Hayward said. In addition to a variety of novelties, Velocipede
volunteers give out copies of reprinted zines, or underground
publications typically created with a copy machine and often focused on
fringe culture or activists' causes.
He said he started Velocipede after returning from his second trip to
hurricane-crushed New Orleans - six weeks after Katrina slammed into
the Gulf Coast. After distributing supplies and patching roofs with
tarps, he felt compelled to continue helping.
An Iowa City native, he returned to start a business focused on
supporting charitable causes through donations.
"I wanted people to be able to work on New Orleans relief without
actually being in New Orleans," he said. "I find in Iowa City, it's
kind of hard to [support the causes] you want, because it's kind of an
out-of-the-way place."
The brothers have plans to expand Velocipede, Nate Hayward said.
Soon, the bikes used by the group may have electric motors to help them
carry heavier loads and move more quickly during busy times, such as
football Saturdays. They also plan to acquire at least one more bike
trailer, and Lewis Hayward said the brothers will soon open a
Velocipede coffee shop in the Hall Mall, 114 1?2 College St., that
would be a base for its volunteers.
In the month and a half since its incorporation, Velocipede has
inspired a variety of creative ventures, in addition to the dollars
they have donated.
Nate Hayward has designed a Velocipede logo, stickers, and T-shirts,
and he said he plans to use his designs to build a graphics portfolio
for college. Additionally, the group is planning a concert fundraiser
for November.
While Velocipede uses all volunteers for its work, the deliverers are
routinely tipped. When Lewis Hayward was called at 4 a.m. for Burger
King, he said he got a $7 tip. Once, after biking a pint of Ben and
Jerry's and two brownies out to a Second Avenue residence in
Coralville, he got a $20 bill for an $11 order.
"I don't think people should feel pressured to give tips," he said. "If
some old lady can't get off her couch and wants a sandwich, she can pay
$2 or something and get it delivered. I just like to ride my bike."
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