The team of 11 trail builders also known as SIDZ Trail Crew keep BikePark Wales running year-round - even in the aftermath of Storm Darragh
With the weather being the way it has over the past few weeks, it’s hard not to think about how it’s impacting our trail network. From fallen trees in Dalby Forest to downed power lines in northern Wales, it feels like not many places have managed to avoid damage this time around.
One of Wales’s biggest bike parks, BikePark Wales, suffered extreme damage from Storm Darragh – and only a few weeks after the park saw massive flooding. But BPW is a little bit different to most. An 11-man team called SIDZ Trailcrew keep the trails running throughout the year, and recently saw them going from a red weather warning and zero trails open, to 32 and counting back up and running in three days.
A drone shot shows just how much damage there was to a small area of the hill at BPW
“There wasn’t a single one rideable to begin with”
Founded by Billy Thackray, the BPW Trail team known as SIDZ Trail Crew works year-round on developing and maintaining the trails. It’s a big job, with over 40 trails to keep on top of – a number that is expanding every year. The team even announced a new lease with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and plans for even more trail building earlier this year.
But over the past few weeks the focus hasn’t been on building new stuff – it’s had to be fixing and repairing the current lines. Late November saw record rainfall overnight and many of the park’s trails became pop-up kayaking courses. The team were out on the hill getting things drained as quickly as they could, and managed to salvage a few days of riding for customers that week.
Just weeks after Storm Bert caused immense flooding, Storm Darragh brought trees down thanks to the high winds
Then came Storm Darragh. With wind gusts of over 70mph, and a red weather warning for that area of Wales, it was never going to be a case of clearing a few branches and calling it a day. In fact, the team is still picking up the pieces now, with a few trails still closed as they required larger machinery to clear the debris. But, what was particularly astounding was how the team went from having no trails open to 32 in just three days.
This praise was echoed by Trails and Estate Manager Jonny, who said: “The Welsh weather has definitely been throwing us some hard hits the last few weeks. The support from across the business at BPW was immense though, we had people from every department heading up with us to help clear trails as there wasn’t a single one rideable to begin with.
“It’s weeks like those where we have to come in and try not to take it personally, that all our hard work is wiped out by storm damage. It’s tough on the trail crew to come into work and see that, and then knowing all the hard work ahead and pressure on us to get the trails back up and running again as soon as possible.”
The SIDZ team put in some hard graft to get the bike park back up to scratch in a few days
“Couldn’t be prouder of the trail crew the last few weeks”
SIDZ Trail Crew isn’t just a group of lads with some dreams and some spades, though. They’re a highly skilled bunch of people with one common passion – building the best trails they can. And when you work together in, shall we say…varying…conditions on a Welsh hillside, it’s important to have that common goal and motivation – particularly when the weather throws curveballs and destroys what you’ve been working towards.
“The lads here are a tight knit crew and at times like this, that is so important,” continued Jonny. “To have trust and fun with the guys you’re working with, feeling that teamwork of pulling together and coming out the other side.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the trail crew the last few weeks. They’ve all shown their best side in a tough time and because of that we are able to get trails back to where they need to be for the park to keep running. We reopened on the Thursday after Storm Darragh with 32 trails open, and days after that we’re up to 37 with more reopening as we go, considering the damage those numbers are absolutely incredible.”
The team has gained such notoriety that BPW has even launched a new series on YouTube called ‘Trail Diaries’. And if trail building and BPW is your sort of thing, then make sure you give the first episode a watch.
All smiles despite the work needed to get things back up and running
What’s next?
So what now for the infamous trail crew? Well, they’re still hard at work repairing the worst of the damage from Storm Darragh. But beyond that, they managed to open the new Quarry Skills area in October, and have plans to essentially double the park’s size and trail network. So expect big things to come from BPW and the SIDZ lads, for they are built with unmatched determination to develop some of the best trails in the UK.