When Mark Lloyd hops on his bike and starts pedaling towards Goulburn, it will be the beginning of a personal crusade to raise awareness about a silent, debilitating illness.
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Mark, alongside friend Matt, will be riding from Sydney to Melbourne in March to raise funds and awareness for Alpha-1, a charity that supports families suffering from Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
Alpha-1 is a genetic condition that affects the lungs and liver but despite one in nine Australians having at least one affected gene, awareness is minimal.
It's something Mark wants to change, especially with his late father suffering from the condition.
"My dad suffered from it really badly for about 10 years before he passed away. I saw the impact it can have."
"It's quite a debilitating condition. It's an enzyme deficiency in the body and it breaks down your lung and liver capacity.
"People that have it can be affected quite differently. You might go through your whole life and not feel it or you might have 30 percent lung capacity for the rest of your life."
Mark's route will take him two weeks and cover 1200km and will be stopping in Goulburn for some much-need rest.
Whilst an avid cyclist, the former London resident was deeply aware of the challenge ahead as he aims to raise $10,000.
"Its something I've had in the works for a while, I've been wanting to do something specifically for Alpha-1 charity and give back to them," he said.
"Initially we had some crazy routes in mind but settled on Sydney to Melbourne, it's still ambitious but achievable. We've been training for it since August.
"We are going to go through a lot of town around Goulburn and I think we will stay overnight either camping or in a motel We are going into a bit of an unknown so we'll see what happens!"
Mark will be leaving Sydney on March 12. You can donate or learn more about his cause here.
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