Perry recently accepted a $5K cheque for Scrapheap from Martin Wyllie at Pilot Air Compressors.

Reposted from blacktownsun.com.au

A GLENWOOD motorcyclist will ride 1000 kilometres to the NSW, South Australian and Queensland borders to raise money for Down Syndrome NSW.
Dr Bruce Campbell will also be catching up with years of missed motorcycle adventure.

“This is a result of more than 40 years day-to-day use of a motorcycle as my main means of transport,” he said.

“I had originally planned to travel to Tenterfield via the back roads, then follow the McIntyre, Barwon and Darling Rivers down to their confluence with Murray River in autumn.

“As Camerons Corner is only about 600 kilometres from the Darling River, I thought it would make a good side trip from my main adventure.”

The 64-year-old Sydney University of Technology lecturer has taken long service leave. Perry Gilsenan started the ride to support his daughter and raised more than $20,000 last year, despite losing both legs in two separate accidents.

Registrations, sponsorships and donations to Dr Campbell can be made at scrapheapadventureride.com.au.

Get ‘On Your Bike’ for Down Syndrome

An inpiring Aussie dad is inviting motorcycle enthusiests join him on the trip of a lifetime…

For a man who has had a tougher ride than most, Perry Gilsenan is living proof that almost anything is possible when you set your mind to it.

Despite losing both of his legs in a tragic train accident at age 12 (and suffering horrific injuries in a subsequent car accident), this extraordinary Aussie dad has now clocked up more than half a million kilometers around Australia, raising thousands of dollars for a cause close to his heart: Down syndrome.

Now 8 years old, Perry’s eldest daughter Grace (pictured) was born with Down syndrome; a chromosomal condition that affects one in every 800 babies.

But fortunately for Grace, her doting dad knows that having a disability does not restrict one’s ability to live life to the fullest.

Says Perry of his little girl,

She’s the light of my life, and I don’t want Grace to have a life with limitations. While I don’t have legs, there are so many things I can achieve. The only thing that limits me is my mind, my heart and my imagination. That’s why I love my motorcycle so much: there are no limits.

No limits indeed. And what could be better than ripping up the glorious Australian countryside with a few good friends for a great cause?

Now in its second year, The Scrapheap Adventure Ride (conceived by Perry himself) is shaping up to be the best yet. Far and wide, punters have heard the call and are busily restoring their scrapheap’ motorbikes for the big Easter event, where participants from all over Australia will converge upon Cameron Corner (the iconic intersection of the New South Wales- Queensland border and New South Wales-South Australia border) to raise much needed funds and awareness for Down syndrome.

Perry extends a warm invitation to one and all. And of course, Grace will be there at the very end, cheering everyone on.

Scrapheap Adventure Ride 2011 Media Release

Perry Gilsenan rode half a million kilometres around Australia on a motorcycle with no legs.

Perry talks of his life and the Scrapheap Adventure Ride on Kerri-anne.

Imagine riding 500,000 kilometers on a motorcycle. Now imagine doing it without legs.

It sounds like a pretty tortuous task, but it’s one that Perry Gilsenan has already accomplished.

Perry, who lost both his legs in a tragic train accident at age 12, has an 8-year-old daughter of his own who has Down syndrome.

Now he’s raising money for the cause by riding around Australia on his hog.

He spoke to Carol Duncan about his journey so far, and what’s still to come.

Taken from ABC Newcastle