PORC

I went out on Saturday morning for a blast. Kind of warming up to big efforts again and various pain zones are getting under control. Quads and calves seem to behave. But, well, you know those kind of days when you can’t really be bothered? It’s outdoors and, well, warmish in recent comparison but I’m not really kicking or digging it. Same old trails. Blah blah … so I get home quick and give the bike a good clean. This works as a diversion tactic but then, what am I going to do now? Plenty of work to get on with, but there always is. I could pick up a book or switch on the telly. It is the weekend after all. The possibilities are endless.
Without really making a conscious decision, I’m in the car and have Penshurst plugged into the satnav. Penshurst Off Road Cycling is proper old school (back in the day etc etc). I only know of it via a friend whose guidebook I’m poking my nose into. Gary stopped during a recent chat and reminisced about PORC. The subconscious always has reference points.

So I arrive at the kind of car park and venue that is synonymous with any Scottish or Welsh trail centre – stacks of this and that, purposeful looking machines and huge piles of wood. Only this is in the Kent countryside, stunning in its setting, but not mountainous. Getting out the car, there is clearly something I've forgotten. A bike. Hrm. Wandering about, the retarded progress is immediately obvious. A grand building with chestnut trunks thrusting through its floors. Not supporting but defiant. A well-packed main trail running through and under a bridge that is blocked at one end with a tree trunk. There are launch ramps and tabletops, berms and a wonderful looking bowl, full of fall lines. Now I’m really narked at myself for not bringing a bike.
The ubiquitous green portacabin has a guy chatting through its window, so I hang awkwardly for a while, feigning interest in the chestnut building before heading back over. ‘Eh, do you do tea?’. It seems like a good opening gambit. Mike Westphal is holding a kettle, ‘it would appear so!’. I start asking when the chestnut building will be finished and introduce the guidebook that I’ve brought with me. Minutes later, I’m in the portacabin and enthralled by Mike and his business partner Paul’s stories of determination in the face of adversity and 100% commitment. Some classic tales of derring do (that are clearly true) ensue and my heart opens in a moment. So many similarities to another such slightly anarchic, yet passionate and professional member of the outdoor industry, Raasay Outdoor Centre.
After more stories, wonderfully up-beat chat and sharing contact details; it is clearly the right time to leave so I get up to shake hands. An excited father, who I saw earlier photographing his son, pops his head in the window. ‘Can you tell me a bit more about mountain biking?’. Mike and Paul are both on their feet, out the portacabin and showing what PORC land has to offer while talking about bikes, technology, safety ... If you knew nothing of PORC don’t google Mike Westphal + PORC, just go and visit and buy a cup of tea. Oh, and take a bike.