I started out having afib episodes about once a week for a few hours at a time. Within a couple months, I was having them about every three days and they would last 6-24 hours. In retrospect, I'm sure I had some afib episodes before Bike Florida, but I just didn't recognize them as such.
Afib can be caused by many factors, e.g., too much alcohol, drug reactions, inadequate diet, which can cause a single episode. Generally, if you have several episodes, without a clear reason for them occurring, then you are likely to have more, increasing in frequency and duration as you age (but, not as quickly as mine progressed).
The decision as to when to have maze surgery or an ablation to cure afib depends on several medical factors that have to be evaluated. In the end, I would say you are ready for a cure when your quality of life is decreased enough that you don't want to live with afib any longer. There is up to a 1 or 2% risk that something may go wrong during the procedures to eliminate the afib. The consequences can range from minor annoyances to serious medical problems(e.g., a stroke or severe pulmonary stenosis). At the best centers that treat afib, the risks are less than 1%. Living with afib and taking drugs to control it also has risks. Only you can decide which risk to take. I chose the risk of being cured.