IOWA CITY — Barry Schreier, a psychology professor from the University of Iowa, has raised over $60,000 in the last decade by cycling across the Midwest to raise money for charitable organizations.
“The thing is that anyone can do this,” he said. “This just came out of me riding my bicycle, and then I got the idea that I'm already going to do this. I might as well see if I can raise money by biking.
“And so anybody can pick anything they do and turn it into an opportunity to bring support and funding to organizations doing so much important community work. Just go ahead and do it. Here I am, eight years later, having raised thousands of dollars for charities by simply asking people to donate to something I was probably going to do anyway.”
Schreier spoke with The Gazette about his efforts and his most recent trip over the summer from Iowa City to Duluth, Minn., during which he raised funds to support an Iowa City cafe that provides breakfast for people who are food insecure or homeless.
The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: When did you first start raising money with these long, cross-state bike rides?
A: So this all got started about eight years ago when a friend of mine, who lives in Indiana, just on a whim, said, “You know, you bicycle so much you should, you should bicycle from Iowa to Indiana and come visit.” And I initially thought, like, that's so far away I don't think I could ever bike that far. Then, after thinking about it, I decided I would give it a try. Like, why not? And then, literally, two weeks before I had decided to head out. I thought, why am I riding this far and not doing it for a cause? And so that was the very first year I picked a charitable organization, and I decided to just tell everyone I'm doing this, and whatever money we raised, I would donate it. And then it just has become an annual tradition to the point now that, every spring, people will start asking me, like, where are you riding to this summer, and what organization are you donating to? And we are eight years into this already.
Q: Who was the first organization you rode for?
A: So I rode to West Lafayette, Ind., where Purdue University is. So I raised money for the LGBTQ centers at the University of Iowa and Purdue.
Q: How much money do you typically raise during your trips?
A: My fundraisers mostly range between $7,000-$10,000 each time. It just depends on the size and the dedication of the organization.
Q: How many states have you biked to?
A: So, in no particular order, I have biked to Ann Arbor, Mich.; Duluth, Minn.; Cincinnati, Ohio; the Mackinac Bridge in the northern peninsula of Michigan; and the very northern tip of Door County in Wisconsin. Collectively, that is roughly 5,000 miles of biking.
Q: For all those trips, have you ridden on behalf of an organization?
A: Yes. This year, I raised for the Agape Café in Iowa City, which provides breakfast for people who are homeless and or food insecure. Last year, I raised money for the free medical and dental clinic in Iowa City. I've raised money for Hillel, which is the Jewish student organization. I've raised money for the Native American Council here in Iowa City, the Afro-American Cultural Center at the University of Iowa, and then, as I said, the LGBTQ centers.
Q: How much money have you raised collectively for those organizations?
A: We're closing in on $60,000 at this point. The most recent trip to Duluth raised close to $9,000. For a charity like the Agape Café, it's a lot of money for the organization because, you know, their budget is meager.
Q: How do you choose the organizations you're biking for?
A: It's usually an organization that I'm aware of, and I know it is a really good organization and would benefit from an infusion of money. And it's often an organization I don't have a membership or belonging to other than Hillel, but, you know, I have colleagues who are members of the Native American Council. I'm not a member of that organization, but I've just decided that it's a really good organization doing really good work. This year, I got a little lobbied. I was going to raise money for another organization, but the person who's the Agape Café’s director approached me and asked, “Would you be willing to raise money for us?” And after chatting with them for some time, I decided to.
Q: This probably goes without asking, but I assume you're an avid cyclist?
A: Oh yeah. I have worked on university campuses for 33 years, and I've never once driven to work. I bike 12 months a year, so I bike in the winter, in the rain and in everything else. So it's really good exercise, and there's always parking by the door. And, you know, I don't have to pay for parking, which can be a big expense for a lot of folks.
Q: How does someone like yourself go about biking hundreds of miles across states?
A: I get asked that a lot. What I get asked is, “are you biking all by yourself?” And I always say, “Well, yeah, I bike all by myself.” And they're like, “is that safe?” And I'm like, “well, I'm biking in Wisconsin, I'm always 10 miles from a Casey's. How dangerous do you think it is?” Like, I'm not canoeing in the Amazon River. I'm just cycling to rural Wisconsin. But I bike all by myself. I don't have anybody following me, and each day, I just wake up and see which way the wind is blowing, and then that sort of helps me determine how far I think I'll get. It can change greatly if I encounter construction along the way, but if the wind blows at my back, I usually can do roughly 100-130 miles a day.
Q: When you stop to rest, do you go to a hotel or camp?
A: I don't mind cycling 130 miles and getting dirty along the way, as long as that day ends in a comfortable bed and a nice meal. So I usually stay at a hotel or a friend's house if I know someone in the area. I cover all my expenses. That's my donation. All individual contributions go to charity.
Q: Do you typically bike from sun up to sundown?
A: It's usually eight to 12 hours a day on the bike.
Q: Besides the health factors, what is so enjoyable about these long bike rides for you?
A: People started asking, like, if you're on the bicycle for that many hours, what do you think about? The expectations were that I would be working through problems or coming up with solutions to things, and the truth of the matter is I don't think about anything. I am just really in the moment, enjoying the space that I'm in and noticing the surroundings, which are usually pretty rural. It's kind of just this Zen trip, and I can get so into the moment that I won't notice I just cycled 30 miles.
Q: Do you listen to music or podcasts during your trip?
A: Nope. If I do anything, I'll sing. I'm mostly just trying to be in the moment and not be distracted by all the interferences of what's normally daily life. That's the pleasure of it for me, as I can basically go in any direction I want, just because I want to.
Q: How long was your recent trip to Duluth?
A: This most recent trip was around 520 miles in total, and it took me six days this year because the wind blew in my face for the entire time. It was one of the hardest trips I've had. I only ride one way, and then my partner usually comes to wherever I end up and picks me up, and then I get a ride home.
Q: I know it's probably still really early, but is there a plan for where you want to go next year?
A: I've not decided yet, and there'll be some time before I make that decision. Because this year was so brutal and such a difficult ride, I thought maybe next year, rather than picking a location, I would go with where the wind blew. I would wake up each morning and see which direction the wind was blowing, head in that direction, and then see where I end up.
