Father & Son Bicycle for ICHF: Read the update
Wednesday December 31, 2008 02:59:12 PM
Mattias Tepner's congenital heart defect was successfully repaired in 1997. Mattias and his his Dad will raise money for ICHF through their 2008 Cycle for Hearts (www.cycleforhearts.com) event. To contribute to this campaign, go to Make a Financial Donation on the ICHF website. In the comments section of the donation page, enter "Tepner Cycle for Hearts donation". Track progress toward their $2,500 goal:
Goal: $2,500 Cell = $500
Follow the preparation and progress of the Cycle for Hearts. We post their story updates by periodically (newest entry first) so you can follow the action.
January 8, 2007
In mid-December Mattias and his Dad finished their first "big" cycle of 20 miles with hills. That's about half of what they'll have to do this summer each day. Right after New Years, the pair took to the road again with the "Texas Flyers", a local biking club in Fort Worth, Texas. Eric and Mathias kept up with the club members finishing the 23 mile route. They've now got a total of 123 miles on their bike, Endurance.
Eric notified ICHF that Cycle for Hearts has acquired a small sponsorship to defray expenses for the trip from the food company, Cliff Bar. The bars are great fuel before a workout, made of organic products that actually don't taste like card board.
November 25, 2007
The bicycle built for two arrived in early November and the Tepner team of Eric and Mattias has cycled over 75 miles. They train daily to build their endurance to ride 35-45 miles a day needed to complete the 500 miles in three weeks next summer. They will be entering races this spring. Each month they set a goal for their distance cycling.
Mattias named the bike "Endurance". Eric reminded Mattias that the original Endurance was a ship that was swallowed by the ice in the Antarctic. Mattias, never skipping a beat, reminded his Dad that they are not traveling on ice this summer! Touche!
October 20, 2007 - How it all got started
Mattias Tepner was born with a congenital heart defect which was successfully repaired in 1997. His Dad, Eric, learned that this "routine" surgery in the U.S. was rare, expensive and unattainable in many other countries. Eric was determined to find a way to give back -- to help children who suffer from the same condition, but don't have access or the financial resources to make it happen. Through research on the Internet, he and Mattias found the International Childrens Heart Foundation. It was a perfect charity for their fund raising efforts.
Eric and Mattias have been planning the trip for three years. They've created "The Cycle for Hearts" fund raiser -- their goal is to raise $2,500 for ICHF by cycling down the coast of California during the summer of 2008. They've picked a well known bike trail of about 500 miles in length. They expect to cover about 35 to 45 miles per day. Their goal is to raise $2,500 by the summer and have raised almost $900 already.
Mom and daughter are the "trip managers" and will provide logistics support during the three week trip. They'll be driving the van which carries supplies and food. They'll also be doing the cooking along the trail!
The Tepners live in the Ft. Worth, Texas area. When asked why they chose hilly California for the trip, Eric laughed when he explained, "Texas summers are just too hot for cycling. Even though the hills will be challenging, we'll be able to survive the trip."
