I first met the Flow team on a little escapade to Lake Mountain, having recently moved to the Victorian High Country, and since moving my life to Bright, Victoria I have fallen head first into the riding scene.
I do seem to regularly fall victim to the “let’s see how much we can pack into a day!” trap. And have a history of developing a mild obsession with most adventure sports I’ve had the chance to give a go.
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Learning to surf as a wee tucker and getting barrel rolled for the good part of a year, I figured the learning curve for mountain biking surely couldn’t be any more brutal than that? With the backdrop of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, I managed to work out that the learning curve can be pretty steep, and the landing is a little different on the trails than a broken wave.
You get pretty good at sandstone dodging learning to ride a mountain bike in Sydney, and I have learnt the hard way short shorts will leave you with scars!
Bright, hey?
My introduction to Bright was like many others. A few whispers from other friends in the mountain bike scene asking, “How have you not made it down there yet?” Peer pressure ultimately led to a trip in the van down to the mountain biking mecca to see what the fuss was all about.
After getting into a couple of chats at the pub, I lined up a ride with one of the local girls in town for the first day of the trip — a 5:30am pitch black start to pedal up Mystic, really got me thinking:
“Imagine getting a lap of the Bike Park in before work!?”
This turned out to be the gateway. Twelve months to the dot, I ended up making Bright home.
The biggest draw card, aside from the lifestyle, was how many women were absolutely sending it on the mountain bike. Something that was definitely more of a rare breed from my experience in the Sydney scene.
The locals guide
Now, there are ongoing conversations about what truly constitutes being a Bright local. Is it when you have lived there for 10 years? Or when you know every trail name off the top of your head?
To me, the measure of a true local is more in the “get after it” mentality, out in the mountains, and chasing type 2 — and sometimes type 3 fun — seems to be the common ground amongst Bright locals. Roady, gravel, trail running, paragliding, mountain biking, downhill skiing…you must be a local!
I’ve met every breed of rider in this place (who knew cyclocross was a thing?), and it is not uncommon to own four bikes, two sets of skis and a kayak.
Four bikes in the shed does not seem like a crazy concept living in Bright, however when the one bike park offers a pretty good mix of downhill, enduro, cross country and gravel riding — before you even think about hitting the tarmac or the areas nearby.
The Mystic trail network accommodates a wide range of riding styles and skill levels, from the cruisey river pedal to fire road sufferfest and major gravity enthusiasts.
I only got into mountain biking properly in my mid-twenties, and am very aware of the mix of riding styles, skill levels and fun factor, particularly out on a group ride. Except in Bright, where everyone out there is going pretty hard,
It is difficult to find a trail network that offers such technical, steep tech trails in Australia. Maybe only rivalling Maydena on the variety of scary that really gets the adrenalin pumping. It is a network that feels like it has totally shifted my riding style and comfort at speed.
I can spend a day trying to keep up with some of the speed demon ladies down Boogaloo but can also enjoy a cruisey pedal with friends and family on Tombstone Link or Shred Kelly for those just looking for a taste of the high heart rate spike.
While the local hill is my absolute favourite, there is always Beechworth, Big Hill, Falls Creek or Buller just a wee drive away for a different flavour.
Rides with the Lad(ie)s
Taking a friend (and photographer extraordinaire) Sam Purdie in the wing, we went out for a classic cruisey afternoon loop. I confess rides with the girlfriends are usually as high chat as they pedal, but it is always high on the cardio.
There is a different energy when you go out for a pedal with the girls. It is always super supportive, with a healthy amount of friendly competition.
In part, that high energy is amplified in finding women who are excited to progress and push each other.
I have spent a lot of time going out for rides with friends who want to give mountain biking a try. I love doing that and watching them progress. But it is unique in such a male-dominated sport to find other women who aren’t just getting into it but really pushing it. Training for enduros, testing their confidence on jumps and style, and haven’t put a cap on where they think they can go.
That camaraderie of women in the sport in Bright is encouraged with a Wednesday night Women’s ride amongst many other group chats for shuttles, pre-work shreds, or weekend sufferfests.
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The hot lap of choice for the afternoon was a Mystic classic. Hero and Shred Kelly, is a line up that offers the ability to cruise or, if you are feeling sendy, really pushing for speed too.
Another crowd favourite is Boogaloo or if you have it in you, a sunrise lap of World Cup is a regular rotation for the girl’s rides, oh and that pesky corner on Elevation (if you know, you know!)
A girls ride also would not be complete without pedals through town for pizza, beers, cocktails, mocktails, cider and some delish broccolini at the local – Hometown — major points for twinkly lights and tune selection in particular.
Weapon of Choice
I have also gone on a bit of a journey a lot of folks grapple with in their first few years of riding. The infamous bike upgrade, *jazz hands* that started a little something like:
“I wonder what this would feel like with just a little more squish?”
After a good twelve months of getting stuck into riding with the girls and bottoming out the 140 mm trail bike down World Cup before work, the internet browser was regularly open to the latest bike review.
Stealing a few friends’ bikes for test runs and a few drives on some Flow rigs, I started looking for something a little more burley. Dabbles with different brands and componentry over the years but always in the 120-140 mm range. The unicorn I was looking for was – carbon, with RockShox suspension, 160mm at least. I wanted an enduro bike that still lets me keep up with my XC mates or a day of longer riding.
A whole day of 35km on the Indigo Epic on the fondly named “Kermit”, or what’s colloquially known as the Merida One-Sixty 10k seemed to be the pick after all of my test driving. Light, nimble, poppy and still inspiring confidence on rutted out, root-laden steep Mystic descents. Feeling like Flight Attendant was a bit more tech than I was after (I’m still learning to charge my AXS derailleur regularly), landing on a Merida One-Sixty 8000 was a great next step to keep progressing, whilst not compromising too much on loving a pedal up too.
I have loved getting to know Baz. His blueberry colour is one to write home about, and I’ve found setting up his suspension on the stiffer side makes for buttery feel on technical descents, whilst responsive on jumps. The only component that got dragged over from my old bike was the TRP brakes, because well, that is another criteria for being a Bright local. Must run TRPs.
This bike and this place and getting to spend it progressing with such an awesome bunch of girls has really changed the riding scene for me. More inclusive and even more progressive.
I might just have to buy myself a gravel bike next, just to fill out the shed!
Words: Emma Chadwick / @wandering__about
Photos: Sam Purdie / @sgpurdie