The totals are in, and Nice Ride users raised more than $4,500 for charity on Saturday.
The Minneapolis Foundation challenged cyclists to hop on a Nice Ride bicycle as part of it's Tour De Nice campaign and the bike sharing program logged 4,505 rides. The foundation donated $1 for each ride taken between 12:01 a.m. and midnight to a "Winner's Pot," which was divided among the top three riders who participated in a contest to visit as many stations as possible in a two-hour period.
Riders from 11 charities took part in the challenge in which they points for each Nice Ride station they visited along with bonus points for tweeting a photo of themselves during the challenge.
First place
Nonprofit: Metro Meals on Wheels
Rider: Grant Boelter
Donation: $2,252.50 (50 percent of winner's pot)
Second place
Nonprofit: NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Rider: Emily Wade
Donation: $1,351.50 (30 percent of winner's pot)
Third place
Nonprofit: Think Small
Rider: Marie Huey
Donation: $901 (20 percent of winner's pot)
"Thanks to the generosity of so many people during yesterday's #TourDeNice, The Minneapolis Foundation was able to support the important work that these nonprofits are doing to address critical needs in our community," said R.T. Rybak, the foundation's president and CEO. "The tragedies we have seen these last few days remind us how much work we have to do in our community, and #TourDeNice reminds us how many people in Minneapolis are taking big and small actions to make people's lives better."
