BrightValley
Marguerite Hollis
Founded the newsletter in 2019. Former regional planner with a weakness for disused railway corridors and good coffee in pub towns.
Independent · Australian · Reader-funded
A publication about how Australia moves under its own power.
BrightValley Link reports on connected mobility, sustainable transport and the cycling culture knitting our valleys to our cities — carefully, independently, and in plain Australian English.
Our mission & origin
Founded in 2019, on a simple idea about joins
We started as a fortnightly newsletter run from a kitchen table in regional Victoria, frustrated that the best riding in the country — the rail trails, the riverside paths, the quiet back-street routes — was scattered across a dozen council websites and no single voice told the whole story.
The name carries the thesis. Valleys are where so many Australian communities sit, and links are what turn a patchwork of paths into a network you can actually ride end to end. We exist to map those links, celebrate the culture around them, and press — gently but persistently — for the gaps to be closed.
Today we’re a small independent masthead, funded by readers and the occasional clearly-labelled partnership, with no advertising that compromises what we cover.
“We’re not here to sell you a bike or route you somewhere. We’re here to explain the country you can ride through.”
— The founding editors What we cover & why
Three threads, one network
Connected mobility
How bike paths, rail trails, protected lanes and end-of-trip facilities join into journeys people will genuinely make — and where the missing kilometre still forces everyone back into a car.
Sustainable transport
The slow shift away from the second car — replacing short urban trips with walking, riding and assisted riding, and what good planning and honest data can do to speed it up.
Cycling culture
The people, clubs, commuters and country towns that make Australian riding what it is — from morning bunch rides to the school run, told as the stories they are.
Editorial standards
What we will, and won’t, claim
Trust is the only thing a small publication really owns. These are the lines we hold so you always know what you’re reading.
- Our maps, diagrams and route names are educational and illustrative — never live navigation.
- For rules and conditions we point you to the relevant state or territory transport authority.
- We’re editorially independent; partnerships are disclosed and never shape coverage.
- When we get something wrong, we correct it openly and tell you what changed.
How to read a BrightValley piece
It captures the shape of a real route or trend, but distances, names and figures are examples to learn from — not a survey to navigate by.
Helmet laws, e-bike power limits and road rules are set by each state and territory. We always link to the authority that owns the answer.
Readers, mostly — plus partnerships that are labelled in plain sight. Nothing we’re paid for changes what we’re willing to say.
The line we ride
Five values, end to end
- Independence first
No owner, party or sponsor decides what we cover or how we cover it. - Plain over polished
We explain in clear Australian English, not jargon, and we show our reasoning. - Network thinking
A path only matters in relation to what it connects — we report the joins, not just the highlights. - Regional and urban alike
A country rail trail earns the same care as a CBD cycleway. - Honest about limits
We say plainly what we don’t know, and we point to the authority that does.
In short
If a sentence wouldn’t survive a sceptical reader at a country bike shop, it doesn’t make the cut. We’d rather publish less and be right.
See how we cover the rules0Publishing since
0Corridors profiled
0Cities & regions covered
0Fortnightly dispatches
Who we are
A small desk, spread across the country
Daniel Okafor
Reports on cycleway projects and the politics of a parking space. Commutes 14 km each way and counts every protected metre.
Sienna Whitlam
Writes the rider stories — the school runs, the second car sold, the bunch that became a friendship. Cargo e-bike evangelist.
Tomas Rinaldi
Keeps the route profiles honest and the elevation data sane. Believes a flat 60 km and a hilly 30 km deserve very different write-ups.
Pip Anderson
Files from the rail trails and the towns that hang off them, on the case that car-free riding is a regional story too.
Joanne Kelleher
The last reader before publish, and the one who answers your correction emails. Holds the line on plain language.
Ride along with us
Found a gap, a story or an error?
We’re a small desk and reader tip-offs make a real difference. Suggest a route, share your commute, or flag something we’ve got wrong.