Nigel rides an arm powered recumbent cycle that has been modified to support his spinal-cord injury.

A regular participant in WA’s largest cycling event, Nigel will utilise this year’s greater Full Hike distance as a part of his training for the 2012 Paralympics in London, where he is considered to be a medal chance.  

Nigel said he was very much looking forward to the event and the new 70km ride which now finishes in the City of Perth.

“The Kwinana freeway is quite flat which makes the ride quicker to complete than the previous course,” Mr Barley said.

In 2001 Nigel underwent extensive rehab after breaking his back in a workplace accident.

Mr Barley said he slowly began to adjust to the significant change in his lifestyle but sat around for one year and thought about what he wanted to do.

“I got a hand bike because I wanted to loose the weight I had put on over the course of that year and it went from there,” he said.

After breaking the record in 2004, Nigel still holds the current Guinness World Record for hand cycling non stop for 24 hours, completing 462km during this time.

Throughout his competitive cycling career Nigel has participated in the New York Marathon, represented Australia in the UCI Para-Cycling World Championships and in 2011 won three major awards including Cycling WA’s Sports Star of the Year.