Bright - Hero trail

sbm

Likes Bikes
Watching that video in the first post reminded me a little of riding at Whistler. Steep. Groomed. Fast.

Perhaps folk just aren't used to something so technically difficult being so accessible here in Australia yet? Or maybe the marketing is targeting the wrong crowd?

Over 4 days of riding the Whizz with thousands of riders I didn't see or hear of a single bad fall, or hear one ambo (perhaps the local quacks are well equipped) ... except my wife who ate dirt and shed blood on B-Line. But she rode next day no probs.

Can't wait to get up to Bright soon.
I was curious how much carnage there actually is in Whistler, found this and this

898 injuries bad enough to go to the hospital/clinic during the season they looked at. Out of 120,000 rider days.

Of those ~900 injuries,

- Majority (almost 400) were upper extremity fractures (collarbone arm etc)
- 12% were potentially life threatening and transfered to emergency at a bigger hospital
- 11% were traumatic brain injuries
- 5% were verterbrae fractures
- one C7 fracture resulting in quadriplegia

Or in song form: On the first summer of riding, my bike park brought to me: 400 broken collarbones, 100 bad concussions, 40 broken backs, 7 helivacs, and 1 paralyyyyyzed for liiiiiiife....
 

Beej1

Senior Member
I was curious how much carnage there actually is in Whistler, found this and this

snip
Great find. I'd be interested to know the numbers these days - whether it's higher or lower than the approximate 7 in 1000 that report indicates. When I think of the jumps/drops in the boneyard zone (and indeed, the whole park), and the stuff I was seeing riders do, that number seems low to me.

I certainly didn't see families with kids on K-Mart shitters at the top of the Whistler chairs wondering if it'd be safe to head down.
 

Miguel75

Likes Dirt
Looking at finally getting to ride hero on Thursday but shuttles may not happen so what is the best route to ride/push up to the start of the trail?
I really enjoyed going up Four Deers - Deer Stalker - Caros - Up DJ's and then follow the traverse to the road and up that (paralleling Hero) for a few hundred meters to the start...

DJ's is really, really fun; smooth switchbacks and berms the whole way up the hill...
 
Looking at finally getting to ride hero on Thursday but shuttles may not happen so what is the best route to ride/push up to the start of the trail?
It's a bit of a climb! if you stop in at the local bike shops in bright for a gold coin you came pick up a map.
You can climb - 'green corp' on to 'grevids way' on to 'up dj' this will bring you to Hazeldine road. From here turn right and look out for the 'hero up trail loop8' on the left this will take you to the top! Or you could just push up the main fire road.

It's long but a fun climb, if you're into that.
 
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dunndog

Eats Squid
Watching that video in the first post reminded me a little of riding at Whistler. Steep. Groomed. Fast.

Perhaps folk just aren't used to something so technically difficult being so accessible here in Australia yet? Or maybe the marketing is targeting the wrong crowd?

Over 4 days of riding the Whizz with thousands of riders I didn't see or hear of a single bad fall, or hear one ambo (perhaps the local quacks are well equipped) ... except my wife who ate dirt and shed blood on B-Line. But she rode next day no probs.

Can't wait to get up to Bright soon.
Funny, it's a bit of a paradox.. at a glance I reckon people think hero can be ridden in a way that makes it far less technically difficult than the other tracks in the park. Or so it would appear.. I think Mum and Dad Average just hear about sculpted smooth berms and think it'd be fun to roll down with the kids. They're not there specifically to ride, like most in whistler, they're there to get a bright brewery sticker for the Kia carnival and float to Porepunkah on inflatables with the kids.. might as well take the family Cyclops k mart bundle bikes up to the all new MTB trails for some family fun!
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
Everyone esp nuclear powered is right , the jumps are more technical than they look, especially at speed timing is critical. In Australia being a nanny state we arent use to this sort of track and probably it is attracting some riders who arent very skilled.
This happened at Beechworth about 10-15 years ago and after a few bad crashes it was dumbed down.
I dont know how but there needs to be a filtering process.
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
I just booked in for some shuttles at Bright on the 19th of March, and probably should have checked this, but will there be any issues with Hero being open then?

I haven't heard much since early on, has the carnage continued?

If it is closed what are the other am-ish descent options? Still plenty to ride?
 

Switch

huskier headed gent
I just booked in for some shuttles at Bright on the 19th of March, and probably should have checked this, but will there be any issues with Hero being open then?

I haven't heard much since early on, has the carnage continued?

If it is closed what are the other am-ish descent options? Still plenty to ride?
If blue dirt are running shuttles chances are Hero will be open. Tons of other trails in the area as well including more technical single track to keep you entertained. Plus the world cup DH to help wear out your brake pads.
 

Ezkaton

Eats Squid
I just booked in for some shuttles at Bright on the 19th of March, and probably should have checked this, but will there be any issues with Hero being open then?

I haven't heard much since early on, has the carnage continued?

If it is closed what are the other am-ish descent options? Still plenty to ride?
Should be fine. Give the Alpine Cycling Club page on Facebook a like, they're the local club for the area and have been posting updates regarding Hero's closure(s).
Currently it's only being closed in the week due to road widening works, but open again for shuttles on the weekend(s).
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
It seems I may be making a brief trip to Bright in autumn...I'm a little more gravity oriented and not much for pedalling, am I going to be wasting my time? Are the shuttles easy enough to be involved with etc?

We're planning on doing the National Round at Beauty in Feb and thinking of tacking on a small Bright detour to that trip.
How would you rate/compare the riding (Bright in general as well as this trail) compared to some of our local trails? I'm assuming my NS would be the capable for all that's on offer...hopefully. Full face or skid lid?

What, no shitty flute soundtrack to cover up how much he wind you were sucking?

At about 5:40 was the another pranged rider, getting the "how many fingers" routine?

#knuckleswasadrunkenchunt
Is this the sound track you're talking about?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KolfEhV-KiA
 

Ezkaton

Eats Squid
It seems I may be making a brief trip to Bright in autumn...I'm a little more gravity oriented and not much for pedalling, am I going to be wasting my time? Are the shuttles easy enough to be involved with etc?
If they're running them there through Autumn and Winter, getting onboard with shuttles is as simple as placing a booking with Blue Dirt ( http://bluedirt.com.au/ ).
There's a rough n'rowdy double black DH trail there called 'World Cup' that leads into Hero, which heads to the bottom of the hill. Last time I was there, they had a dedicated Hero shuttle and two summit shuttles you could take your pick from throughout the day.

There's enough fun on Hero alone I reckon, and there's only a couple bits where you need to pedal a little... but with enough runs, finding momentum and gaining confidence to hold your speed will reduce said pedalling.
 
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cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
How would you rate/compare the riding (Bright in general as well as this trail) compared to some of our local trails? I'm assuming my NS would be the capable for all that's on offer...hopefully. Full face or skid lid?
Unfortunately Bright was closed due to trail maintenance and work on the shuttle road so we didn't get to ride Hero and went to Falls Creek instead. From what I remember of the trails we road in 2014 the NS would be fine for the downs but if you can't get a shuttle would be rubbish for climbing. Similar climb to the Sawmill track at Cooranbong but way more options for descending. Skid lid would be okay but take a fullface down with you if you can, the tracks are raw, off camber and littered with tree roots and sniper rocks that get really insane if you cop a rainy day.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Thanks for the replies chaps. Would it be worth considering the big pig instead? Or is that going to be a bit of overkill, and subsequently a kill joy?

If they're running them there through Autumn and Winter, getting onboard with shuttles is as simple as placing a booking with Blue Dirt ( http://bluedirt.com.au/ ).
There's a rough n'rowdy double black DH trail there called 'World Cup' that leads into Hero, which heads to the bottom of the hill. Last time I was there, they had a dedicated Hero shuttle and two summit shuttles you could take your pick from throughout the day.

There's enough fun on Hero alone I reckon, and there's only a couple bits where you need to pedal a little... but with enough runs, finding momentum and gaining confidence to hold your speed will reduce said pedalling.
I've got mad flow...I'll go chainless.

Unfortunately Bright was closed due to trail maintenance and work on the shuttle road so we didn't get to ride Hero and went to Falls Creek instead. From what I remember of the trails we road in 2014 the NS would be fine for the downs but if you can't get a shuttle would be rubbish for climbing. Similar climb to the Sawmill track at Cooranbong but way more options for descending. Skid lid would be okay but take a fullface down with you if you can, the tracks are raw, off camber and littered with tree roots and sniper rocks that get really insane if you cop a rainy day.
The fuck? Surely people don't actually ride up Sawmill or the associated fire roads?
 
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