But, there’s nothing quite like a huge convoy of motorcyclists to bring it to light.

Riding from Melbourne to Cairns, tradies with Laser Plumbing and Electrical are raising money and awareness for depression.

Organiser Mark Hailes said it took them three days to arrive at Armidale, and will take another five to reach Cairns.

“Beyond Blue is something we’ve been supporting for four years now,” Mr Hailes said.

“I know what it can be like, I went through it with my own father.

“When he got older his health deteriorated, I’d go to pick him up to take him somewhere with me and the slightest things would give him a panic attack.”

Mr Hailes isn’t alone, three million Australians are affected by depression and anxiety.

On average eight people commit suicide each day, and six of those are male.

“It’s something we want to address, and raise a bit of money along the way,” Mr Hailes said.

“Depression is something men struggle to talk about, but we do need to talk about it because getting it out there is the only way it can get better.

“This sort of thing brings it to a head, we get amongst the boys, we’re all friends for years, and we talk about these things.”

V8 Supercar driver Steve Richards joined the riders for a pit stop in Armidale.

“A lot of these people have seen someone in their own business go through depression,” Mr Richards said.

“I think what happens is that we tend to internalise our problems and keep them to ourselves because we’re of the belief that we don’t need help from our partners or family or friends.

“We take on all that stress and this is about saying, hey guys, we’ve got to talk about this.”

The riders, including Armidale resident Neville Stannard who travelled down to Melbourne to take part in the race, have raised more than $90,000 so far.

For crisis assistance call the Beyond Blue 24 hour hotline on 1300 22 4636.