The Hard Road team pull up after three days of gruelling cycling from Perth to Albany for Black Dog Institute

They would have been hard-pressed to pick a worse weekend weather-wise, but three days, more than 450km, and several near-disasters later, The Hard Road team pulled up at Mt Clarence after cycling from Perth on Monday.

It was brothers Jacob and Flynn Sauer’s second iteration of the Perth to Albany venture after they completed the gruelling journey on foot last year in a bid to raise money for the Black Dog Institute and awareness of those experiencing mental health struggles.

This year they elected to make the trip with road bikes and roped in their father Ronnie Sauer to join the fun.

“A couple times last year, I really wanted to tell them to stop because they were pushing themselves really hard, but I just watched them, and talked to them and sort of helped them out the best I could,” Ronnie said.

“That’s a little bit the mental health message too, and when they said they were doing it again, I said I’ll do it on a bike and I had to remember that idea.

“Being the older guy, a lot of my mates didn’t think I’d be able to make it but after we started, it sort of got out the message of the Black Dog Foundation that a lot of my friends didn’t know.

“So it was really good that so many more beautiful people, especially guys my age who don’t like talking about feelings and whatnot, got the message and it looks like we’ve sort of reached out and got a few people’s attention about all this.”

Setting off from Mandurah on August 7, the trio cycled through wind, rain and hail in the hope of reaching Albany by Monday — which, although shivering and soaked through — they did, where they were joined by a group of supporters for the final kilometres to Mt Clarence.

“We did a lot of planning and it seemed like nothing went to plan,” Jacob, who lives in Albany, said.

“The weather sort of had its own ideas to tear us apart, and we really had to form together as a team.

“We got separated as a group, and one time we went bush bashing pretty much on road bikes, then ending up getting together then got separated again the next day.

“The only way we got through it was together, and then the last day, everyone adding their little pieces in and getting us a little bit further.

“Like all these people joining in and just giving us morale and support the whole way.”

The Hard Road team have so far raised more than $4000 for the Black Dog Institution this year and will leave the donation portal open until the end of August.