For the cyclist that likes a challenge...

Wide open roads, no traffic lights, little traffic and great mountain scenery....

If you're a serious recreational or racing cyclists that wants to get more out of your cycling then the Bright Boot Camp is for you!

Taking part in one of Australian's most scenic Alpine areas, the Bright Boot Camp will give you the chance to climb Mt Buffalo, Mt Hotham, Tawonga Gap and Falls Creek during four days of intense cycling heaven. 

There are strictly a limited number of spaces available. Early booking is essential to ensure you secure your place.

Book Your Place Now to Avoid Disappointment!

Next Camps are:

Melbourne Cup Weekend 2008
(evening check in on the 31 Oct then ride till the 4 Nov 2008)

then Feb 2009
(evening check in on the 6 Feb then ride till the 10 Feb 2009)

Want to Ride in the Bright Boot Camp for free and Win a Free iPOD* Shuffle!?

All you have to do is compete the following survey and you'll be in the draw to win a free place on the camp and a iPod Shuffle!

Your feedback will help us make the Bright Boot Camp the best cycling camp!

You can still enter if you have already enrolled into the Bright Boot Camp. If you win the draw you will have your enrolment fees credited back to you!

*Note: Cycling-Inform does not promote or recommend the use of portable audio devices and mobile phones while riding on open roads. The use of such devices can hinder your ability to ride and can lead to accidents which also could possibly be fatal.

Click here to enter into the draw to win a free place on the camp

The Bright Boot Camp is structured around either the serious recreational rider or club racing rider who is looking for a challenging four days of riding.

The Camp is focused on helping improve your fitness and general wellbeing as a cyclist. In the evenings we provide informative lectures on improving cycling performance.

We regularly have riders going up a racing grade after the camp. We also have riders use the camp as training for their mid year European cycling trip or for the Tour of Bright.

Is there a difference between the Nov and Feb camps?
The Melbourne Cup weekend Camp does have a focus towards final preparation for the Tour of Bright race which is run in the area four weekends later. However, we ensure that this doesn't deviate from the serious recreational rider's enjoyment of the camp. It’s also a cooler time of the year than the Feb camp. The Feb camp is still as tough and usually the weather is a little hotter. Also the lectures change from camp to camp.

Who attends the camp?
Riders that attend the Camp are keen races or serious recreational cyclists that may have ridden rides like "Around the bay in a day", "The Alpine Classic" or the "Great Victorian bike ride" and are looking for the next big event. This is not to say that people that haven't ridden these events can't come to the camp. We get a good cross section of abilities and cater for them accordingly. Riders or groups of riders can also attend the camp and provide their own accommodation if they choose. We have people from all-around Australia and New Zealand attend the camp. 

How hard is it?
This is four big days of riding through some of the largest accessible climbs to cyclists in Australia. You do need to have a good cycling base before coming to this camp. For some, the weekend is filled with just four things; riding, attending the seminars, eating and sleeping. Also, don't expect coffee stops or long lunch breaks mid ride as there aren't any.

Do you have on road support?
Yes, we provide intimate on road assistance to all riders in the form of support vehicles and support riders that perform "domestique" duties.

Take Action!
There are strictly a limited number of spaces available. Early booking is essential to ensure you secure your place. Please register your interest so that you can keep up with the latest news and updates leading up to our camp weekends. More >

Look forward to seeing you there!

Regards, David Heatley.

November 2007 Bright Boot Camp
a Camp to Remember!

42 riders attended the November Bright Boot Camp.  The popularity of the camp is growing every year as too is the quality of rider that we get. For this camp each day had its own unique challenge with the weather playing a major influence over the first two days. I was inspired by the riders that turned up on the Sunday morning to face what was a big wet day in the saddle. I woke thinking that there would only be a hand full or riders turn up and was delighted to be proven wrong with around twenty committing to the ride.

Group Shot on Day 4

Melbourne Cup 2007 – Bright Boot Camp

Day 1 – Mt Buffalo
What started off to be quite a nice day in Porepunkah quickly deteriated into torrential rain as we neared the summit of Mt Buffalo. The riders assembled at camp base and rolled out in 1 group until the control gate at the base of the climb. Then each rider at there own pace proceeded to climb the 1000m accent to Mt Buffalo Chalet. Once at the top most riders took the opportunity to put on warmer clothing for the careful decent. Even so, there were a few riders that got quite cold on the way down and started feeling the effects of the weather. All made it safely to the bottom and back to the warmth of their accommodation.

KOM
Group 1 – Andy Van Slobbe HM to George Ward that was in front out on his own for all but the last of the climb. Andy was getting lonely so stepped on the pedals to catch George for company.
Group 2 – Daniel Massey
Group 3 – Lisa Rosan

Jace Drain was first on at the evening Seminars and delivered a scientific lecture on nutrition prompting many questions from the audience. Outside it was raining which continued into the night…

Day 2 – Tawonga Gap Loop
We woke at around 3am to the sound of thunder and bright flashes of lightening, then intense rain. We delayed the start of day 2 until 9am to give the weather a chance to warm up and the rain to clean. It didn’t. A smaller group of around twenty riders braved the worst weather during a Melbourne Cup weekend on record for many years. Others decided a quiet day exploring the surrounding towns by car seemed like a better option. The courageous riders took off in the rain in a tidy bunch towards Ovens, just after the corner there was a natural break which split the groups up a bit, however by the end of the day the groups generally re-formed. The weather again was a feature of the day however there were times the rain cleared and it was a little dryer but still cold.  Those that decided to ride, came back rather wet but enjoyed the very challenging ride.

KOM
Group 1 – Andy Van Slobbe
Group 2 – Killer (aka Lloyd Killmore)
Group 3 – un-claimed

Brendon Rowbotham then gave us some insight to what is involved in preparing for the Melbourne to Warrnambool and a whole lot of great time on planning and organising our lives and family and around a busy race schedule. Adam then came on and drilled down into detail from Jace’s talk and provide some really good “how to’s” for nutrition. 

Day 3 – Mt Hotham
We woke to a day of sunshine and blue skies! With a top of 5 degrees predicted for the summit of Hotham we had nearly all of the riders decided to ride. Some decided that the after the previous days effort Harrietville was far enough. The rest tackled Mt Hotham. As we climbed up the valley we could see snow on the Mountain. Word was spread through the groups that if we encountered ice we were to turn back. As the three groups steadily climbed I got a call from Olof to say that his lead group have hit some bad weather just before the top where it got quite exposed. He was in the process of turning his group around for the decent. The other groups followed, climbing to the limit of the weather then descending.

On the way home from Harrietville there was a strong tail wind and all the riders returned in bunches after rolling turns home a quick pace. I taught the riders in group 3 how to roll turns which ius a skill they will take away from the camp and help them in there bunch riding.

KOM
Group 1 – George Ward
Group 2 – Paul Tweddell
Group 3 – Carey Goodall & Tony Bennett (draw)

I gave a lecture on all the key elements required to be a successful cyclist. Covering many important issues I discussed essential strategies that I use for training, racing and planning for events.  

As far as we got up Mt Hotham
(notice the snow on the pole in the background)

Another Shot from the top of Hotham

Day 4 – Falls Creek
The last ride of the camp saw all the riders arrive for the start. Again the weather was on our side with the sun out, blue skies and sun screen being passed about. The day had 3 options for the ride, top of the Tawonga gap, to Mt Beauty and all the way to Fall Creek. People choose depending on the state of their legs and the time they had to leave to travel back home. I took group 3 up to the top of Falls greeting many of the riders descending as we climbed the last few KM of the climb. Falls was cool but sunny. After a small break we descended down and regrouped at Mt Beauty. Russell was there to meet us and I got a lift to the top of Tawonga to catch up with Olof, and for the first time rode with his group back home to Porepunkah. The descent was fast and the trip home was faster. Russell swept the rear with in van making sure that the final few riders were back safely. 

Feedback from the Camp!

Tim Farley – Melbourne
Just a quick note to again say thanks for the great weekend of riding!  Erin and I had a great time in Bright, despite the wetter than wet first 2 days.  In that respect it really was a Boot Camp ;)  The final 2 days definitely made up for the initial bad weather, with Hotham definitely being the highlight of camp. Being a heavier rider, hills are not a strong point for me, so getting through the 4 days has left me with a huge sense of achievement.  I will be riding in the Tour of Bright in December along with some others riding in Fujitsu colours, so am sure I will have benefited enormously from the training rides and nutrition tips provided by your camp. Thanks again to you both and also to the rest of the support crew, and hopefully we will see you guys out on the road, or perhaps even at the track.

Carey Goodall - Adelaide
Just a short note to sincerely thank you both for organizing what was for me a rewarding and memorable experience. The terrain was inspiring, and was always going to be a challenge for a relative newcomer to cycling like myself. Nevertheless, having survived the harder rides I will now approach the next few months of recreational events with some new found confidence and a desire to keep improving. Given the general standard of riders I saw at the camp I obviously have heaps of room left! The seminars were excellent and enlightening, albeit perhaps a tad too long when you are feeling a bit hungry. I am particularly grateful for your generosity which you showed in sharing your knowledge about various aspects of riding while we were on the road to and from Falls. That was the sort of guidance you can’t get by just reading a book or watching a dvd. The support crew were also great when things got cold and wet, so please thank them for their efforts on my behalf. If the camp is on again next year I would seriously consider coming again to see if I can at least progress to the B team! Many thanks once again and well done.

Neil Kinder – Melbourne
Many thanks. The camp was great. Some big improvements to my technique , performance and cycling confidence were made. The highlight was definitely Mt Hotham. Your planning , organisation and execution of the event was outstanding.

Ashley Pettit – Melbourne
Just a quick note to say I had a great time at the camp on the weekend, despite the rain on the first two day. I'm just kicking myself I didn't push myself on the last day, I could have made it back from Mt Beauty and even attempted falls, but I psyched myself out of it. But I had a top weekend, it really gave me an indication of where I'm at and what training I need to more of . . . climbs and more climbs. But this year for me is really about weight loss. Looking forward to January now to see what improvements I can make. Hopefully I can improve my time up Buffalo.

Judith Cahill - Melbourne
Just a note on my thoughts on Bright Boot camp attended in November this year.

Arrival – It was great to meet a couple of riders at the registration and everything was well organized and the same can be said for the information we received prior to the commencement of the camp.

Day One – Buffalo, having both climbed this before, we were familiar with the climb and it was certainly a good day for the ascent, good support at the top. The evening seminar was Jace Drain and he was interesting and provided a good coverage of nutrition. 

Day Two – We piked the ride, but Brendan Rowbotham was excellent and we both gained a lot from this talk. Unfortunately we didn’t stay for the next lecture as we wanted to get home and rest. (It had been a tough day sightseeing in Beechworth!)

Day Three – Hotham. I was absolutely paranoid about this climb and support rider Pete helped a lot in the initial stages of the ascent, and I would appreciate you passing my thanks onto him as I had been fretting about the climb a lot over the preceding days. Again having support vehicles with warm clothing was invaluable as was just having people in cars on the way up, providing some encouragement. We missed the lecture as we had a great spa at our accommodation and rewarded ourselves after the climb by getting into the spa.

Day Four – Tawonga and Falls – Love this day although it was tough on tired legs. We were both happy to get to the end.

Overall we are both glad we enrolled and completed the four days (well three days of riding), I would love to do it again next year. I enjoyed the challenge of day after day of riding hills and it was certainly tought, but we never felt rushed or felt like we were holding anyone up which was important for me as I hate feeling like I am making people wait. The lectures we attended.

Highlights for me were:-

1. -         Riding Mt Hotham
2. -         The Talk by Brendan Rowbotham
3. -         The support we received on the way
4. -         The excellent organisation – even receiving SMS messages on any changes in the rides.

Both of you should be congratulated on your organisation of the four days and keeping everyone informed on any changes.

Thanks again for a fun!!! weekend of riding.

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