Get your heart racing on a wild fundraising bike ride
IMAGINE one night you're just sitting on the couch and your heart begins to speed up.
You can feel it going in to overload, you have no idea what's going on and your energy just drops.
This is a reality for about 2% of the population who suffer from heart arrhythmias.
A group of 31 cyclists from up and down the east coast are banding together later this month for a charity ride from Coolangatta to Sydney.
The fundraising event is run by Paceline and founder and president Steve Quinn knows exactly how the above scenario feels.
"I was diagnosed with heart arrhythmias seven years ago," he said.
"I found out I had it in my top left and my top right heart chambers."
He said he started Paceline to raise awareness and raise funds after "going through the whole thing."
Today he is 99.9% cured after numerous operations that sent electric currents into his heart.
The charity splits the funds they raise between two research houses, the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney and the Baker IDI in Melbourne.
"The Victor Chang institute looks at the genetic implications," he said.
"They want to know what actually turns it on."
Mr Quinn said some people have heart arrhythmias from their lifestyle, others like him, had something trigger it off.
The ride will take about just over a week with the cyclists mastering a massive 150km of riding each day.
"We want to make people feel like they've got an arrhythmia," he said.
"It gives them a little bit of appreciation."
Three people who suffer from heart arrhythmias will ride and the remaining 28 are just keen to help out.
Paceline ambassador Australian 2006 national road race cycling champion William Walker will also be riding, he also suffers a cardiac arrhythmia known as tachycardia.
To donate head to paceline.com.au and if you see the team riding through make sure to flag them down and say good day.
"We will stop for pretty much anything," Mr Quinn said.
Currently Paceline have raised more than $200,000 towards the cause.
