The story of the new inevitably starts with the ending of the old. In 2021 Storm Arwen hammered much of the UK, with high winds flattening forests in Scotland and northern England. Despite being tucked away in a narrow valley in Yorkshire, Havok Bike Park didn’t escape a pummelling. Overnight, the park’s downhill tracks were buried under windblown trees.
Previously, the team had been happy to deal with any minor incidence of wind damage themselves, but the scale of the chaos caused by Arwen called for professional assistance. When the forest’s managers came to assess what would be needed to clear the tracks they decided that it was too dangerous to even attempt to move the trees. The park had to close.
The trail builders who’d created Havok were, effectively, without a home but still keen to keep the spirit of Havok alive. They tried putting their
