Esperance man Daniel Fitzgerald has racked up about 180 kilometres a day on his bicycle since setting off on a journey that has arisen from deep grief.
Mr Fitzgerald, 37, is nearing the end of his 3,100 kilometre ride from his WA home town to Omeo, in Victoria, where he was born.
He arrived in Victoria's north-east on Wednesday.
He said the ride came about when his close friend Jamie Symons lost his mate Whelan Connley to suicide.
"Jamie and Hannah, [who] are my main support crew, they actually flew me over form WA to Omeo for his funeral," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"In doing that, watching the ripple effect of suicide, made me realise that I had some issues that I had to deal with."
He said he had lost a mate in a car crash when he was 19.
"I sorted myself out after that and we planted the seed for Wheelin to the Mountains and that was about three years ago."
'We lose too many people to this illness'
Mr Fitzgerald's fundraising efforts had reached nearly $28,000 for the Black Dog Institute by Thursday afternoon.
Mr Symons said he was immensely proud of Mr Fitzgerald's journey — which had opened up important discussions with people they met across the country.
He said the ride was a bit of a conversation starter.
"Then they come back to you and they start talking about their own issues, or they've got family members that have these issues," Mr Symons said.
"Most people are willing and open to talk about their story because that's what Daniel's done."
Mr Fitzgerald said it had been amazing to see people open up about mental health and suicide during their journey.
He said while raising funds for the Black Dog Institute had been an important achievement, the key motivation for the ride was to provide more awareness about suicide across the country.
"We lose too many people to this illness and I just want anyone that's listening or knows of someone that might be going through some tough times to just reach out and talk to family friends," he said.
"There's so many people that will listen and this is what this trip is all about."
