Stephen’s view from the back of the pack

Q: Who ate all the porridge?

A: Alex!

Porridgepot Hill was the venue for Gorrick’s latest mountain bike race. A sinuous, flowing singletrack course on firm ground with a cool and sunny spring day made for fast and furious racing. But who is fastest: Alex or Alex?

Post-race I was chilling on my car’s tailgate with Margot when the two smiling Alexs (Alexes? Alexs’?) arrived to show their trophies. This time, Alex had beaten Alex, whereas at the last Gorrick at Warren Heath Alex had edged it ahead of Alex (are you keeping up?).

Alex T

The start of the Open race was delayed to allow two crashed riders to be scraped off the track and bundled into the ambulance. The delay prompted Alex to enquire of the organiser if there was sufficient time to grab a quick cup of tea. Whereupon at the re-start, after the ambulance had trundled past the start melee with its broken contents, John the organiser checked to see if Alex had returned form his cuppa so that he could get the race under way.

Race preparation is key, we are told. Alex was explaining to Alex and my wife that he had been working a late shift the previous night (we think he’d been out on the piss, but whatever) and brought some porridge to eat before the race. This is obviously the food of champions and far superior to slimy energy gels, because as I said earlier, Alex had beaten Alex this time.

Alex D

Moral of the story for us wannabees: no more excuses that a race course is too hill or muddy, that the gears don’t work or the brakes are sticky, or that the tyre are the wrong type or too old (eek…mine are 6 years old). You just need a bowl of Alex’s porridge* to get a great result at a Gorrick. Porridge power works at Porridgepot hill!

NB Good results by South Downs riders, topped by a superb second place by Steve Calland in the Masters.

On a separate note, many years ago Gorrick organised a day/night race at this venue in the days before super LED lights. One race in the afternoon, and another one at night with combined results to count. Strangely, I was faster in the dark than the daylight.

*being mountain bikers we need more specific details, of course. Was it Tesco’s finest, Sainsbury’s organic or Shimano jumbo oat flakes?

(with apologies to Alex D and Alex T)


Stephen Turner