Bright’s Mystic Park is set to debut a new gravity flow mountain bike trail in time for summer, strengthening Bright’s status as one of the country’s top mountain bike destinations.
“We’ll aim to build a trail that will complement the existing Hero trail but also add to the riders’ experience by constructing a very dynamic trail in terms of line choices and features,” said Garry Patterson from trail building specialists TrailScapes.
TrailScapes, which has been awarded the tender to build the trail as park of Alpine Shire Council’s Alpine Events Park Project, has worked on more than 170 mountain bike projects since 1992, including Lysterfield, Fox Creek and Manly Dam.
It will be the first trail for Patterson and his crew in Bright, complementing the existing repertoire of works by trail builders from the local Alpine Cycling Club as well as Dirt Art and Bright Trails.
“TrailScapes is hyped to be given the opportunity to bring our unique style to the famous Mystic Mountain Bike Park. We’re uniting our best crew for this project to ensure highest build quality and the construction of the ultimate gravity flow trail.”
“We also can’t wait to be back in our favourite riding destination,” said Patterson, who is also a former national mountain bike champion and founding member of Mountain Bike Australia.
Construction is slated for spring 2018, with an opening date to be announced prior to summer.
The new trail will be the third gravity trail to be added to Mystic Park in as many years, following Hero, which opened in December 2016, and Down DJ, in September 2017.
Yet to be named, the trail will be about 2.5km long, rated Blue Square (Intermediate), and provide a link from Hero down to Pioneer Park.
“This flow trail will not only be a buzz to ride, but it completes a missing link in Mystic by allowing gravity riders to come off both Hero and Down DJ and continue to flow all the way to our shuttle area near Dougherty’s Bridge,” said Alia Parker, executive officer of Alpine Community Plantation, a not-for-profit that acts as land manager for Mystic Park.
“Until now, gravity riders – who are the biggest users of our weekend shuttle services to the top – had to ride down the road on Mystic Lane to access the service, which wasn’t an ideal experience for either riders or local residents, so we’re stoked to be getting a great new trail that flows straight to the bottom,” she said.
The trail alignment, which was developed by the Alpine Cycling Club, is designed to connect Mystic to the events park development in Pioneer Park via the existing Dougherty’s Bridge underpass, and will allow for the mountain bike park to move its trail head to Rotary Pines next to Dougherty’s Bridge.
The relocation of the trail head away from the residential area on Mystic Lane and next to the events park precinct is a positive development for the bike park because the new space will better cater to the continued growth of the park.
The development of flow trails in Mystic in recent years has made Bright one of the most diverse mountain bike destinations in the country, with trails suitable to a wide variety of mountain bike disciplines, including cross country, freestyle, flow, and downhill. And while Mystic has become well known for its adrenaline fuelled lines – such as the notorious Mystic DH trail which featured in this year’s MTBA National Downhill Championships – its range of beginner and intermediate trails make it an increasingly popular spot for riders of all abilities.
IMAGE: Gravity riders on Hero, which opened in 2016.
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