Riders get ready to start. Photo by Cole Heinrich.

North Shore Bank employees hopped on their bikes for the United Performing Arts Fund’s Ride for the Arts in Milwaukee on June 4.

Cole on his bike.

“I almost quit TWICE,” reported associate loan originator Cole Heinrich, the only employee to tackle the event’s 70-mile route. “There was a stretch of Port Washington Road that had no shade — with all the heat radiating from the black road, even the pros passing me were saying, ‘It’s hot.’ I think I ran out of water before one of the oasis stops and ate about 20 bananas total.” This was Cole’s second year doing the ride.

Other employees who rode include:

• Mike Kellman, SVP, Consumer Credit Sales, accompanied by his family — Christy, Drew, and Alex
• Taylor Pokrop, universal banker at Pewaukee, accompanied by her fiancé, Devin
• Molly Schissler, SVP, Human Resources & Compliance
• Kinnon Schreiber, senior systems analyst, accompanied by his girlfriend, Edna

Molly did the 45-mile route; the others did 25 miles. Mailroom assistant Colleen Moore volunteered at the starting line for the ride.

Left: Riders on Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge. Photo by Molly Schissler. Right: Molly at the end of her 45-mile ride.

UPAF helps raise funds for 15 member groups, so that they have more time to focus on producing their work. The Ride for the Arts is billed as the country’s largest one-day recreational bike ride to support the performing arts.