UPDATE:Robin Williams auctioned bicycles brought in more than $600,000, with the highest-bid item, a custom-designed bike by artist Futura 2000, going for $40,000.
Eighty-seven of Robin Williams rare, prized bicycles are expected to bring $200,000 in a massive online auction at Paddle 8. Sales from the bikes which include a unicycle, a childs Schwinn cruiser and a handmade Responsorium by acclaimed builder Dario Pegoretti will benefit the Challenged Athletes Foundation and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, two of the late actors favorite charities.
As Mashable reports, the bicycles were donated by Williams children Zak, Zelda and Cody. We hope these bikes will bring their new owners as much joy as riding them, and helping these causes, always brought him, they said in a statement.
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Williams was an obsessive cyclist, often seen riding throughout the Bay Area. Watching my dad get on a bike was like watching a penguin spread its wings and take flight, Zelda Williams reflected at the Noble Awards gala in 2015, according to the Paddle 8 site. Hed take off at inhuman speed, a smile on his face, and never look back.
Though bright, skin-tight spandex still remains one of the more embarrassing outfits to regularly witness your Dad wearing growing up, the sport of biking and the people Dad helped through his love of it, will always hold a special place in the hearts of our family, the family said in an statement. Causes like the Reeve Foundation, championed by his longtime friends Chris and Dana Reeve, and the Challenged Athletes Foundation, in whose triathlons he often biked, were both deeply important to him and were honored to be able to continue to support them both in Dads name.
In a video essay, Conan OBrien recalls how, during kind of a low moment in [his] life, Williams lifted his spirits by gifting him with a unique bicycle. He tried to make it Irish by having it painted all sorts of embarrassing green colors, he says. It was a brilliant and generous and funny gesture from an amazing guy.
The ongoing Paddle 8 auction closes Tuesday, October 25th at 1 p.m. ET.