By JESSE GRAHAM
A GROUP of cyclists made their way into Healesville today, finishing off the second-last leg of a 1200-kilometre ride from Canberra to Melbourne.
Twenty nine riders stopped on Friday 13 November in Healesville’s Queens Park for a lunch break after a gruelling ride from Marysville to Warburton and across the valley.
The visit to the valley is one of the final stops in the riders’ journey after setting out from Canberra on Saturday 7 November, as part of national charity Paceline’s annual ride.
The ride aims to raise money for the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, and raise awareness of atrial fibrillation and other kinds of heart arrhythmias.
Professional mountain bike rider Paul van der Ploeg took part in the ride, and said the group was hit by a hailstorm in Marysville on the Thursday.
“It’s been pretty wild,” he said.
“Every day has been a different challenge, whether it be hot or hailstorms, or really windy, so it’s got a bit of everything.
“From Marysville, we climbed a pretty brutal ascent towards Lake Mountain … and the whole road was covered in leaf litter from the furious storm we got hit by yesterday.”
Mr van der Ploeg said the group would make their way to Yarra Glen for a rest stop, before Saturday’s 80-kilometre ride through the Dandenong Ranges, into Beaumaris, and then into Melbourne to finish.
He said the event had gained the attention of locals and the media, particularly with the distance of the ride.
“I’m a professional rider, and to do these sort of kilometres in a week is unheard of,” he said.
“We’re doing a pretty enormous ride, it turns a lot of heads and gets through to a lot of people.”
Paceline president, Steve Quinn, was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation at the age of 35 – now 47, he led the ride into Healesville.
Mr Quinn said those who have undiagnosed heart arrhythmias may experience mild palpitations, and urged anyone worried to speak up and ask a doctor.
“You feel the palpitations – initially, it comes and goes, and the frequency increases,” he said.
“Ultimately, you’ll go into heart failure.”
He said the condition, when untreated, can lead to reluctance to going out and seeing friends.
“I went from not wanting to go out, not wanting to see friends – all I could do was get to work – so your circle sort-of diminishes,” he said.
“And there are a lot of people out there whose circles are diminishing, and we can’t have that.
“If they’ve got a palpitation, they should tell their doctor.”
Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe met the group in the park, and said the cause of heart conditions was close to home.
“Having family members who have suffered with various heart problems, I know how scary they can be,” she said.
“The mistake often made is to assume cardiac arrhythmia is an affliction of the older person.
“This is not the case – people in their mid-thirties can just as easily be struck down.”
Ms Fyffe said she “commended” the group for their efforts in the ride.
