Nice Ride MN, the force behind those natty green-and-blue bikes that are racked all over Minneapolis, just clocked up their 50,000th trip. The bike-loaning system has been running since June 10, and with an annual $60 subscription, users can take as many 30 minute rides on the Nice Ride bikes as they want.
With over 5000 bike journeys a week, the Nice Ride system is clearly beating buying a bike for a lot of folks. If you are commuting between two places close by Nice Ride stations, or making lots of short trips around Minneapolis, it's a winner.
Another bike loaning program recently launched, is the Sibley Bike Depot's Community Partners Bike Library. The Sibley Bike Depot is a community non-profit bike shop who train aspiring bike mechanics, provide bikes in exchange for volunteer time, and support cycling in the Twin Cities in general. Their bike library has over 200 bikes which are loaned out, together with locks, lights, helmets and other essential equipment, to low-income indivuals for six months. The library provides support for particpants to buy their own bike at the end of the loan.
Sibley Bike Depot is holding a used bike drive at St. Paul's Mississippi Market on Saturday August 28, where they will accept your old bike for the program. The bike drive is from 8-10am at the Mississippi Market's Selby and Dale location. Bikes often need work and new parts to make roadworthy again, and an optional donation of $10 with the bike will help Sibley's mechanics get the bike going reliably.
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