Twenty-year-old Harry was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye condition that causes cells in the light-sensitive retina to progressively break down.

But instead of dwelling on the rare genetic disorder that could one day leave him blind, he decided to take action.

Over three months he will cycle 3000 kilometres around Canberra - a tough feat for a bloke who is slowly losing his eyesight.

But Mr Bates is determined to do it to raise money for research into the condition that affects one in 3000 Australians.

"That's why I decided to do 3000 kilometres," Mr Bates explained.

Mr Bates has retained 40 per cent of his field vision which means he can see well enough to ride in the daylight hours.

But while squeezing in 250 kilometres a week will be tricky, he has an offsider to motivate him to hit his target.

"Putting that in with working five or six days a week is going to be a bit tough but my older brother rides with me as well so we've done a couple loops of Lake Burley Griffin and go out to Tharwa to get some big rides in there," Mr Bates said.

During the day Mr Bates wears glasses with a blue light filter which helps his vision but at night he can hardly see anything at all.

He can trace his eyesight problems back to when he was a child, playing outside until the street lights came on.

"We knew something was wrong years ago because I used to go out in the street when the sun had gone down and I never really used to be able to see the ball but I didn't think anything of it until I got my licence and I slowly stopped driving at nighttime because I couldn't see," Mr Bates said.

"It's different in everybody that has it. Some people's sight goes really quickly, other people it takes a long time for it to get worse. It's been going pretty fast for me."

There is no cure for RP but your treatment options are better if you catch it early, Mr Bates said.

"There's only things to try and prevent it from getting worse so I want to get the word out there," he said.

You can support Harry Bate's '1 in 3000' ride by heading to: gofundme.com/1in3000