Campaigns & Events  /  Kids Helping Kids

Tepners' Cycle for Hearts: July 2008 update

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".  The father and son team has raised $2,600 toward their $2,500 goal.  Way to go Eric and Mattias!   

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. 

August 7,2008

"Well this summer has certainly been an adventure as Mattias and I made our way by tandem bike from San Fran. to the US-Mexico border. We peddaled our way through beaches, strawberry fields, coastal hills, military bases, and quaint little towns. You can check out our web-site Blog for day to day updates while we were on the road www.cycleforhearts.com. Of course we had lots of fun, but our original reason for doing the ride was to raise money and awareness for The International Children's Heart Foundation (babyheart.org). Our goal was $2500.00 and we were able to raise (so far) about $2600.00!! Thanks so much to all of you who donated, kept up with our Blog, said a prayer for us, etc." 

July 1, 2008

“Today was a short ride, but certainly spandex-worthy! (I’m actually getting so used to padded spandex shorts that I may start wearing them on a regular basis - Fort Worth, watch out!!) The first part of the ride put us on busy Hwy 101. I was weary at first, but they actually have marked bike lanes on the freeway!! There’s a two lane for vehicles, then a 3-4 foot bike lane, then a 15 foot shoulder. We opted to stay on the shoulder. We only had to do this for 4.5 miles, and then it was side roads along the beach. At one point we looked over and saw dolphins swimming along. Mattias thought they were sharks, but their movements in and out of the water proved that they were dolphins - pretty cool! We then met Laura, Zoe, and Laura’s cousin Randy Mitchell in Ventura for lunch on the beach. Randy told us that Ventura is known for their thrift shops. Some of you may think we’re nuts, but even the kids enjoyed shopping around in the second-hand shops. We found a few inexpensive treasures (the only thing inexpensive here in Cali.!) On the way back to the hotel we found gas for $4.43, so we just had to fill up!! how much is it in Texas? 

 By the way, we found out today that we have now raised $1,955!!!!  Thank you so much to all of you for your support!  We are getting closer and closer to our goal of $2,500 we hope to raise!” 

“We leave behind a bit of ourselves wherever we have been.” - Edmond Haraucourt

June 7, 2008

Mattias and his Dad went out today for their last training ride with the Texas Flyers bike club. "It was a hot and windy 32 miles," said Eric.  Their expectation is that California will be at least as difficult as today because of the hills.  They feel prepared and are ready to leave for California on Friday. 

April 23, 2008
The Fort Worth Star Telegram and the Keller Citizen both interviewed the bicycling father and son team. The Star Telegram came to Mattias’ school to cover the school kick-off for a penny fund raising drive for ICHF. the reporters took pictures and asked Mattias and his Dad the “who, what, where and why” questions needed for the article.

The fund raiser was a success, brining in $120 drive and another $75 through our Jamba Juice connection. cycleforhearts ha now raised $1100!

We also recommend that cyclists check out a website we found http://www.crazyguyonabike.com. It’s a site where bicycle tourists can create on-line journals. To expand our reach for ICHF, we’ve decided to keep a journal "One boy, one dad, on bike, 500 for a good cause" there as well at our own blog at www.cycleforhearts.com. Once our trip starts in June, we'll be making entries in both daily.

February 18, 2008
Eric and Mittias have a logo for their website now.

Despite the winter chill in Texas, Mittias and his Dad continue to ride on Saturdays with a group called the Texas Flyers.  Last Saturday they decided to double their miles and participate in a morning (20-25 miles) and afternoon ride with the group. For the second ride, the group decided to go even further. Ken, the leader of the group wanted to ride to the town of Ponder, eat some blackberry cobbler, and then head back. Enthusiastically, Mattias said, “I’d love some blackberry cobbler!” So off they went. They put 71 miles on the odometer!! Dad's knees were shot, but the blackberry cobbler was well worth the trip! Mattias agrees!

Eric and Mittas will be heading to Bastrop, Texas in a couple weeks for a 50 mile ride to help benefit the local women’s shelter. They are also planning to participate in other fund-raising rides throughout the spring to help prepare us for the big one in the summer. Wish them luck!!!!

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."