Bright Brewery’s inaugural, ‘green’ gravel bike event 5Zero raised $1000 for Alpine Community Plantation to help resurface Bright’s iconic Hero MTB Trail.

Following the success of Bright Brewery’s inaugural, environmentally-friendly 5Zero gravel bike event in September, the Brewery is proud to announce a donation of $1000 to Alpine Community Plantation (ACP) to make much-needed repairs to Mystic Park’s Hero Trail.

5Zero, which took place on September 8 on the trails around Bright and surrounds, is a new concept in cycling events with a focus on fun, tough, social riding while simultaneously targeting zero environmental impact and raising money.

5Zero aims for a clean footprint and to create zero waste, so riders are not given paper course maps or signs and have to rely solely on GPS and their own navigation skills; beer and coffee is served only in reusable cups; all feed zone treats are unpackaged; and course marshals ride e-bikes rather than driving, where possible. Plus, all participants’ travel and accommodation is offset through a carbon-offset program via the QANTAS Future Planet Program.

ACP is the community-led, not-for-profit body that allows recreational activities, such as mountain biking and events such as Spartan, to take place within the HVP pine plantations of the Alpine Shire. ACP needs regular funding for trail and road maintenance (primarily in Bright’s Mystic Park), signage, repairs and new infrastructure, administering events, communications between user groups and HVP, and for the regulatory compliance needs of maintaining a not-for-profit.

ACP Executive Officer Alia Parker welcomed the donation, and said the 5Zero funds would go directly towards surface repairs of Mystic Park’s iconic Hero Trail.

“Hero has recorded about 50,000 individual rides since it opened in December 2016 and has been extremely successful in attracting tourists to the region. However, Hero’s popularity has resulted in erosion on its upper sections and tourists have started to notice. This erosion requires costly machine repairs to resurface sections of the trail in order to restore Hero’s famous flow,” Parker said.

“As a not-for-profit, community-run land manager that works closely with volunteers from the Alpine Cycling Club to build and maintain the trails, receiving support from Bright’s business community is a lifeline for us to run the park and manage the thousands of tourists now coming to visit it. So when a business like Bright Brewery sees value in what we’re doing and steps up to help, we cannot thank them enough. The extra money will allow us to repair a couple more jumps than expected, which is fantastic news for everyone heading into a busy summer season.”

Parker said HVP Plantations, which owns the land on which Mystic Park is built, had donated the soil for the resurfacing works.

5Zero was born from the desire of the Bright Brewery team to support the local community in way that reflected the Brewery’s values and showcased the best of Bright.

Brewery Operations Manager Rupert Shaw said 5Zero ticked all those boxes.

“Everything we do at the Brewery is driven by our core values of being Sustainable, Authentic, and Active,” Shaw said. “The event combined many of the elements that make for a great experience when visiting Bright – epic cycling, craft beer, gourmet local food, live music and family fun.”

Bright Brewery Project Coordinator and Event Organiser Marthijs Heuperman said ACP’s work was vital in facilitating the enjoyment that both locals and visitors to Bright.

“We all ride for different reasons. The fantastic gravel and mountain bike trails in this beautiful location makes for an awesome experience, which we want more people to enjoy,” Heuperman said, “Alpine Community Plantation do a lot to make this possible for the many locals and visitors to Bright, but they can always do with more help.”

Around 60 riders took part in the event, with organisers hoping to attract an even larger group of riders next year.

More information: www.5zero.com.au / www.alpinecommunityplantation.com.au / www.brightbrewery.com.au