More than two years later, the shooter has still not been caught and police yesterday announced a $500,000 reward for anyone with information on the attempted murder.

Mr Tennant, who was 74 at the time, did not think anything was unusual as he rode along the Murray to Mountain Rail Trail and saw the man get out of the car, then from just two metres away, fire two shots into his head and one into his chest.

"When he started shooting I thought it was all over. When I started losing consciousness ... I felt I was dead," he said.

"I do remember saying to him 'why are you doing this to me?' and I started to lose consciousness and crashed to the ground."

There is nothing Mr Tennant has to say to the man who nearly killed him, he just wants justice.

"He doesn't deserve freedom. People who do these things don't deserve to be free so I want him caught," he said.

"He obviously had no regard for my life, he wanted to kill me. You don't fire three bullets at people unless you're going to kill them."

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said police still did not know why the man was there and why he shot Mr Tennant.

"It's a real baffling case for us," he said.

"It is extremely frustrating that we have been unable to identify a motive."

He called on both people from the North East and tourists to the region to think back carefully.

"I'm confident that the person who has committed this offence has told at least one other person and we want to appeal to that person when they hear this today to come forward and share that information," Detective Thomas said.

"We know over time relationships do change. At that particular time when this shooting took place persons may have been in relationships and those relationships may very well have altered and changed now.

"We're hoping that this $500,000 reward will be sufficient motivation for anyone to come forward."

Mr Tennant has been left with hearing and sight problems after his recovery, but with a focus on being positive he still goes cycling everyday and said he loves it.

MORE POLICE NEWS:

Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here