Eighty Seven Outdoors Porc Race – 26.08.12
Porc is a weird one. Whenever there is a race there it’s a good one, but it’s always so hard to get excited about racing there.
This time was different however, it was the first race we as BTR Fabrications have officially sponsored and put a stash of prizes up for, it was also the first time we were gonna get to ride our fancy new Renthal gear, and it was the first time we were gonna see Aaron riding the Ripper prototype. I had been excited for days!!
We set off on Saturday afternoon for a spot of pre-race camp fire drinking. Apon arrival we caught up with Ant Brown who had already got the tent set up and was onto putting his bike together for a practice run. Ant is one of our friends from Uni, and the first one of our mates to to take the plunge and buy a Belter.
Belter looks sick in white I’d say
We decided to take a slow ride down the track to check it out, and generally have a piss about. This proved fateful for Ant as he sent himself over the bars, hurting his knee and putting him out of the race. This meant it was time to start drinking, and boy what a mistake that was. Ant had brought along some proper west country cider and this bottle of something called moonshine, which was to be the death of me! I drank far too much which left me with one of the worst hangovers I have ever had! Throwing up until there is nothing left in your stomach is not the best race preparation let me tell you! I managed to pull myself together after a couple hours more sleep and get some practice runs in.
It was too good to see Aaron tearing down the track on his new 24in wheel Ripper frame, he seems to have gotten used to it in no time, even doing the huge step down hip before the end of practice, pretty damn impressive for a 10 year old!
Because Ant couldn’t race he lent his Belter to Aaron’s dad, Paul, so he could make his mind up whether to buy one or not. It didn’t take him long, one practice run to be exact, he made his desision to buy one!
Racing was soon under way on this super fast Porc track and I set myself a time of 44s. 4s back on the fastest time of the day but enough for second place in the hardtail category. Prize giving went without a hitch and once it was finished I got to facilitate my first ever scramble! 4 BTR Fabrications t-shirts and 5 bike cleaning rags went into the crowd and it was great to see people fighting over our kit!
A huge thank you and congratulations has to go out to Marco and Harriet, the new porc race organisers. This was their first attempt and putting together a race and I have to say, they smashed it! And it can only get better as they start to settle into the groove. A few things I noticed as being exceptional are: Marshals posted the whole way down the track with a fluorescent jackets on so you know who they are. You might think his is standard but it’s the first time Ive seen it at Porc. A properly qualified medic with all the gear. A bike mechanic in the form of Jors from Whisper Bikes in case you put your rear mech through your wheel. And Marco did an exceptional job with the prize giving, making sure it was fair for everyone when it came to picking prizes, shouting out all the race and rider sponsors and thanking everyone that helped out. And finally the catering. OMG I have never ever eaten a burger that tasted as good as that in my whole life, and it was cooked over flames to absolute perfection! If you are looking for some catering for an event or you just want some amazing food, get in touch with Appetite for Adventure!