Following a leisurely lunchtime start and a pleasant ride through the lanes, the brave campers set about preparing their meals in the private field at Knowle Farm, Aveton Gifford. Most of the group, who were busily opening cans of baked beans, stared in amazement at Kevin as he removed several raw potatoes from his pannier and set about peeling them! When he later produced a pizza and began to heat it over an upturned steam-heated frying pan everyone felt totally outclassed.

Rain stopped play after supper, so the remainder of the evening was spent playing card games in the farmhouse.

The campers set of reasonably early but only managed to get as far as Modbury before the rain came in. A quick telephone call revealed that the day run was indeed on the road, so they continued along the Plym Valley cycle path as planned. Cycling in torrential rain didn’t turn out to be as bad as everyone had imagined, so the delightful scenery did not pass unnoticed.

Meanwhile the day riders (John, Philip, Richard H and Richard B) were experiencing heavy showers rather than continuous rain. The first of these started as they pulled out of Avonwick, heading towards Ugborough. After passing through Ivybridge they enjoyed the fairly level run to Cornwood before the long climb to the clay pits, the driving rain making the spoil heaps and the gaunt village of Wotter seem even more desolate than usual. Having dropped to Shaugh Bridge they searched in vain for a dry spot to await the arrival of the campers, who turned up about half an hour later.

Following lunch we decided to abandon our original plan to return via Princetown and a cream tea, opting instead for the long slog back up to Shaugh Prior. At the summit we were cheered by the appearance of a patch of blue sky; our joy was short-lived however as another deluge started on our departure from Ivybridge and continued for the rest of the homeward journey.