A Locals High Country: Bright

Words: Chris Panozzo                                                                         Photos: Tim Bardsley-Smith

If only Australians celebrated mountain biking like they do surfing. I remember every news bulletin growing up would finish with the latest results from the World-Tour, here in the middle of the Aussie Alps I was painted a nightly picture of what Australian sport was if you weren’t that into footy, and that it was surfing. Sweet, surfing it was then, except for one problem, I was at least a five hour drive from my local break.

Now every kid in Australia has access to more mountain bike highlights on their phone than there are minutes in the day. Kids are telling their parents they want to go mountain biking, or maybe parents are telling their kids it’s time to go mountain biking, either way the next question is, how do I get to the Victorian High Country, and who do I know that can tell me where to ride?

Check out parts TWO and THREE below

Part 2 – Falls Creek

Part 3 – Mt Beauty

Let me be your local guide! Just to be clear I have only just reached local status. To qualify as a local in the High Country you need to have lived here for at least 30 years and it’s the same for a town. So while I’m a local of the High Country, I’m only a resident of Bright and that’s why this mag is worth its weight in gold. Residents are happy to point you in the right direction, but don’t expect to get a detailed map of where to go and what to do from locals. It’s not like old surf culture where you might drop in on a local followed by a punch to the back of the head, everyone’s very friendly here, they just aren’t your personal tour guide.

Want proof? Team Mount Beauty, the 20+ year old mountain bike club that looks after Big Hill MTB Park have released a classic advertising slogan, it reads in bold letters “GET LOST” then in small lettering “at Big Hill MTB Park”.  For anyone who hasn’t ridden in Mount Beauty, or for Dads who love a good joke explanation, it’s nearly impossible to go for a ride in Mount Beauty without getting lost, unless you’re a local. So here is your local (and residents) guide to the three big locations, Bright, Falls Creek and Mount Beauty.

Hot Tip: Download the Trail Forks app, you can look at exactly where to go pre-ride and during the ride in each location as you will be given all the track names you need to know in each section!

A Bright Trail Ride

Where to begin:
All local rides start at Cycle Path, the genuinely friendly local bike shop opposite the supermarket in the heart of the town. All 6am road bunches leave from here and so does the all-important Wednesday arvo MTB group ride at 6pm – no matter the weather. This winter there were times I would be walking to the gym in the rain and dark as at least 8 guys headed out for the ride!

What to expect:
Locals don’t ride the Hero trail that often. Some stay well clear of it. Bright had previously been known for its steep, technical singletrack, and that’s what the locals still prefer. Machine built trails are fast becoming what Bright is also known for, and the current mix offers a little bit for everyone. Be careful riding Hero trail, it may seem easy to ride, even to roll over all the jumps, but the strike for visits to the hospital is very high.

A Shuttle Fee

The corporation leasing the land for harvesting has come up with a fee for the public to use the shuttle road. Approximately $138 a day isn’t cheap, and nor is it fair. There has been a substantial amount of uproar amongst the community, which I imagine will continue into the foreseeable future, however if you’re riding up, which this article is about to suggest, you so far are free to continue to use the park as per normal.

A Local’s Loop

Track Names
RiverTrail > Up and at Em > Tree Huggers > Gorilla Warfare > Up DJ > Hades > Mystic Launch Loop – “Mystic Launch Pad” – Elevation > Down DJ > Shred Kellys Last Stand

New(ish) to town, Kathryn McInerny has picked her favourite trails for you to try out. Full disclosure here, Kath is my girlfriend, she is also a two-time cross-country champion, overall marathon stage race winner and all round XC bandit, so when we go for a ride a ride, it involves a good mix of climbing and descending. This is her pick of trails.

Once you’ve made it to the trailhead, take the river trail which winds itself along the outskirts of the park. Head up the short section of fire road into Up and at Em. It’s a brief but punchy climb that switches back on itself, which helps you gain height quickly. I can ride it with ease on my enduro bike while Katho generally rides off into the distance on her XC bike.

Next choice is to head down via Tree Huggers. A short but twisting section of single track covered in tree roots that weaves its way across the face of the mountain and places you at the bottom of Shred Kelly, a different, machine-built jumps trails that comes across from the other side of the hill. Then head across to Gorilla Warfare which will take you up to the base of Up DJ, keep on climbing this machine built, easy to climb trail, which will drop you at the beginning of Down DJ which we will come back to later in the ride, but for now roll down to Hades, which will climb for another 2kms.

This track will pop you out at the Start of the Hero Trail, keep heading out on the fire road which is the mystic launch loop that brings you to the iconic social media shot of the valley, and the top, which is the Mystic Launch Pad.

There aren’t that many options down from here, but Katho has chosen the least extreme out of the three, which to be fair, doesn’t do justice to how rowdy this track is. The Elevation Trail has evolved since it was first put in, now it’s a mix of broken up ruts, tree roots and rocks. So, if you’re coming down this trail and feel like it’s getting a bit too rowdy for your liking, just remember that a local chick on a XC race bike uses this as her regular.

Once you’ve made it to half way, this is where you can switch it up and head just up a fraction to Down DJ, this is a fast and flowy machine built “flow” track, one were you can really hang it out if you are feeling up to it. It lets you carry speed without having to work for it, and it pops you out right into Shred Kelly, which keeps up the fast and flowy feel, mixing in the odd jump here or there, finishing with a well built set of jumps that will put a smile on your dial if you’re willing to hit them.

Local Profile: Kathryn McInerny

Nick name: Katho
Lives: Bright
Started riding: Kelowna, British Columbia, 6 years ago

Favourite tracks in Bright?
Elevation linked with Down DJ – it’s a fun mix of steep technical tracks followed by down DJ which is fun berms and little jumps and is so much fun to try and ride fast. Outside of the park there are some great fire road rides, my favourite at the moment is Mt Porepunkah loop, it’s a long climb but the views are worth it. 

 
Random facts: I once worked on a farm for 3 years, had a pet sheep named chops, I’ve hand delivered several calves and I named one of them Nino

Mountain Bike Credentials:
·       2 x XCC -Short Course National Champion
·       First woman to ever finish the Monaro Cloud Ride
·       Won the Monaro Cloud ride outright, beating the Men.
·       Multiple Victorian State XCO Champ
·       Cape to Cape Champion
·       Port to Port Champion