Bright, already one of the most exciting mountain bike towns in Australia, is about to add another feather to its cap. Today it was announced that Tassie-based trail building legends, Dirt Art, will be soon starting work on a massive, new descending Hero Trail on the slopes of Mount Mystic.
“We’re aiming to bring a level of trail building to Bright that has never been seen in Australia before,” said Dirt Art’s Simon French, “this is going to be Bright’s pinnacle trail.”
“Think Whistler’s A-Line and Crank It Up, brought to slopes of Mystic. Bright is a banging town, and we’re going to make the most of the elevation and incredible terrain there,” said French.
Want to learn more about riding in Bright? Watch the video below, and check out more coverage here to see why this is one of the best mountain bike towns going.
The whole trail will be shuttle-able, or can be linked into the existing Bright network for those who want to pedal up. The new Hero Trail trail will bring a totally different flavour to Bright, which is better known for its rooty, steep singletrack, opening up the trails to riders who are after a different kind of experience.
January 2017 is the expected completion, but we’re hoping to make our way to Bright later this year to get in some early laps on the new trail, so stay tuned for video from the Hero Trail soon.
On a broader note, things are getting seismically awesome in this part of the world; Bright, Buller, Falls Creek, Beechworth, Mt Beauty (and the new trails of Wangaratta) all lie within a couple of hours drive, so this region is heaving with high-quality trails. Take a look at our Dirty Dozen videos an idea of what’s out there in the Victorian High Country.
See below for the offical press release from the Alpine Community Plantation.
Alpine Community Plantation is thrilled to announce Dirt Art as the successful contractor for the design and construction of Mystic MTB Parks most exciting trail project to date – the Hero Trail as part of the Alpine Events Park project.
Dirt Art were successful against a strong field of contractors from across Australia. They are a world leader in mountain bike trail design, consultancy and construction and bring with them a wealth of experience in delivering high quality innovative trail and a commitment to working with the local community.
Alpine Community Plantation Manager, Georgina Curtis said, “We’re very excited to be working with Dirt Art to deliver this project. We know it will result in Bright and North East Victoria’s newest must ride trail and will help build greater opportunities for tourism and event activity in our region”.
Dirt Art will hit the ground running and will be in Bright in early August to deliver consultation sessions with our project partners Alpine Cycling Club and HVP Plantations. These sessions will inform the design of the trail, including: where the trail will start, what sort of features will be included and how best to use the landscape to ensure the trail is sustainable.
Dirt Art Managing Director, Simon French adds, “Having had a long history working within the Bright region, and understanding the immense potential offered by the site, we were beyond excited to be awarded the Mystic Hero Trail Project. We plan to deliver something totally unique to Australian mountain biking, a flow trail on a scale never seen before in Australia”.
The delivery of the Hero Trail is stage one of the Alpine Events Park project and the beginning of an exciting period for the Alpine Shire. Construction of the trail is expected to be completed by January 2017, ready for the summer tourist and event season.
The Alpine Events Park is funded by the Alpine Shire Council and the Australian Government as part of the National Stronger Regions Fund. When completed the Alpine Events Park will bring economic benefit to the region through the attraction of large-scale event activity and additional visitors to the region each year.