KEWAUNEE COUNTY – A Kewaunee family will be among the 1,000-plus cyclists riding in the Scenic Shore Bike Tour this weekend, and they’d welcome your support.

Mary, Paul, Holly and Danielle Berkovitz will be doing the full route Saturday and Sunday, which begins in Mequon and ends in Sturgeon Bay.

Also known as the Scenic Shore 150, this “Ride for a Cure” event raises more than $2 million annually and draws up to 1,500 riders for a weekend of inspiration, community and hope in honor of those who’ve been impacted by one of the more than 100 types of blood cancers.

The best part, Mary said, comes Sunday, when the group rides through Kewaunee County.

“One of the rest stops is at the top of the hill just north of Kewaunee Fabrications,” Berkovitz said. “It’s a great place to cheer the riders on, and help them up the hill with encouragement, cheers and lots of cowbells. We welcome people to make signs. It makes a huge impact, especially when we’re tired, hot and sweaty. Those cheers and thank-yous mean so much.”

Saturday’s ride starts at Concordia University in Mequon. After a light breakfast and an inspiring opening ceremony, the treks begin. There are riding options of 25, 75 or 150 miles. For those who choose to go the distance, the day ends at Red Arrow Park in Manitowoc.

There, participants enjoy dinner, refreshments and music along the lakeshore.

Sunday’s ride starts in Manitowoc and ends at John Miles Park in Sturgeon Bay, a distance of about 75 miles. Rest stops along the way include the Two Creeks Park and the old clock shop at the top of the hill across from the Coho Motel in Kewaunee (usually after 10 a.m.), then a lunch break in Algoma at Heritage Park next to the city marina.

After arriving in Sturgeon Bay, the riders’ hard work will be celebrated with a tailgate party, complete with a band, food and beverages. Deluxe coach buses return riders to their starting location.

Why they do it

Paul and Mary’s youngest daughter Holly got involved with riding the Scenic Shore 150 in 2018 after one of her college friends, Amanda, asked her to ride. Amanda’s husband, Jake, had been doing this for a few years; he had formed a team in honor of his brother Matthew, a cancer survivor.

The name chosen was “Two Hours Unplugged” because when Matthew was going through his treatments, they had two hours each day where he wasn’t hooked up to tubes and his siblings were able to visit him in the hospital.

“Holly rode that first year, and Paul and I went to cheer the team on as they rode through Kewaunee,” Mary said. “This year will be her seventh time doing the entire route. Being cyclists ourselves, Paul signed up the following year, and has been riding every summer since. Eventually I joined the team and rode three times, last year being the first doing the full route.”

The summer of 2025 was a special ride for Mary and Paul, as their oldest daughter Danielle flew home from California to ride. She was celebrating 23 years of being cancer-free.

“As a sophomore in high school, just after turning 16, Danielle was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” Mary said.

She went through six months of chemotherapy, followed by radiation treatments. Then the routine scans and tests for a few years after.

“Her pediatric oncologist said to her after one of her pulmonary functions tests, ‘Well, you won’t be running any marathons!’ Last year, before riding in her first Scenic Shore, she quipped, ‘He never told me I wouldn’t bike 150 miles!’”

The ride on Sunday was hot, and the last 20 miles or so after lunch in Algoma took the riders up the Lakeshore on County S and County U.

“It was not ‘cooler near the lake,’ and we were wearing down,” Berkovitz said.
But they talked each other through it, and completed the journey.

“Watching Danielle get off her bike and break down in tears, realizing what she had just accomplished, was super emotional not only for her but for our whole family,” Berkovitz said. “She knew what her ride and fundraising meant for all those fighting blood cancers, on a very personal level. It was a moment as her mom I will never forget.”

Two wheels, one goal

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has had a name change. Now known as Blood Cancer United, the nonprofit’s mission is to find a cure and improve the quality of life of all patients dealing with one of the more than 100 types of blood cancers.

Since its start in 1993, the Scenic Shore Bike Tour has been driven by purpose, community, and passion. The event had a humble beginning, a grassroots ride with about 300 participants raising $30,000. It has now grown into one of the Midwest’s premier charity cycling events.

Berkovitz is thankful for all who have supported the family’s effort to raise funds. It’s not too late to donate. Here’s a link to their personal pages.

• Mary: pages.lls.org/events/team/2026ss150/MBerkovitz

• Paul: pages.lls.org/events/team/2026ss150/PBerkovitz

• Danielle: pages.lls.org/events/team/2026ss150/DBerkovitz

• Holly: pages.lls.org/events/team/2026ss150/HBerkovitz

There’s an app called LLS Cycle that can be used to track the riders’ progress, but you need bib numbers. If interested in following one of the local riders, reach out to Mary.

For more information, check out the Scenic Shore Bike Tour page at https://pages.lls.org/events/team/2026ss150.