Having ridden from New York to LA as part of the Black Dog Ride across America, Gordon Evans now has quite a souvenir of the trip to show the children.

This was Mr Evans’ fourth adventure with Black Dog Ride, a Perth-based charitable organisation headed up by Steve Andrews, that raises awareness of depression and suicide, and raises funds for their prevention.

Since it began in 2009, Black Dog Ride has raised more than $2 million. 

The aim of the organisation’s first American cross-country adventure was to raise awareness and funds for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training scholarships for veterans and first-responders.

Black Dog Ride founder Steve Andrews said due to the nature of their work, US military veterans and first-responders (police, paramedics, firefighters) were at high risk of developing depression, anxiety and PTSD, and subsequently had a tragically high suicide rate. 

“Rolling out MHFA training among military veterans and first-responders will empower them with the tools to respond to a mental health crisis in an appropriate way, which fosters help-seeking behaviour, in turn reducing the likelihood of a suicide attempt,” Mr Andrews said. 

Although the ride didn’t raise the huge amount of money it had aimed for, it certainly succeeded in creating awareness and got people talking about mental health issues, Mr Evans said.

“Most people saw us ride in and wondered, ‘What are these Aussies up to?’, so it started people talking,” Mr Evans said.

“I think the most important aspect of it was raising awareness of mental health issues and the importance of talking things through when times are tough.

“Fortunately, I’ve never suffered from depression, but I do have friends who have, so I was more than happy to lend my support to this cause. If it helps someone, so much the better. 

“I was actually quite surprised to learn America is pretty much behind the eight-ball – or at least way behind Australia – in the area of mental health as a major topic of discussion.

“Here, it’s being talked about much more openly and it’s become a significant topic in political circles – but over there, they really need to start the discussion due to their extremely high suicide rate.”

More than 65 people on 40 Harley-Davidsons, rented to the riders at a discounted rate, took 21 days to ride from America’s east to west coasts.

Sadly, tragedy struck only a few days into their journey, when a West Australian husband and wife were involved in a fatal accident.

“As we were going into Gatlinburg, Tennessee, we were in two groups, with the second group half an hour behind us,” Mr Evans said.

“We were told two bush turkeys ran across the road, with one hitting Steve Thomas’s bike. He lost control and ran off the road, hitting a tree.

“His wife, Barbara, was killed instantly and Steve suffered extensive injuries. Barbara’s funeral was held in Bunbury, WA, on Monday, November 30.

“It upset everyone on the ride, particularly those who were already grieving a loved one, but we felt it best to continue the journey as planned.”

Mr Evans said riding on the wrong side of the road had been a real learning curve, and working out how to negotiate 10 lanes of traffic.

“I’d spent a fair bit of time exploring the west coast, but this was my first time over there on a motorbike,” he said. 

“We were very well supported along the way by service clubs in various communities, who would prepare morning tea for us for a small donation.

“It certainly was the opportunity of a lifetime to ride across America.”