Tuesday morning dawned early for us, in line with our plans for a prompt departure. We shared our breakfast with the Swiss children who showed obvious pleasure when we complemented them on their overnight quietness. Fortunately one of them was half English and was able to act as translator. We had to answer a torrent of questions before they set off one way for their daily walk and we set off towards Andermatt for our 66-mile journey along the Rhine.

Shopping at Andermatt Coop was followed by an early morning climb to Oberalp pass (2044m) in brilliant sunshine. What followed was probably 15 miles of uninterrupted downhill all the way to Disentis - another fabulous experience.

The source of the Rhine was nearby, and now we were following the Anterior Rhine for the rest of the day. Our cycle route detoured from the main road to include some quiet tracks and forests on the other side of the river. Soon we were riding on level riverside tracks for miles as we made excellent progress through to Ilanz. From here the river continued through the treacherous Rinaulta canyon - often names the Grand Canyon of Switzerland - so our route took us on a long and gradual climb to the south, through many peaceful villages. The descent on the other side was long and took us over a precarious bridge (that Tao could easily rock!), along a dangerous cycle path with panoramic views of the canyon and shear drops to the left, and past yet more vineyards.

After a little more up and down riding past the confluence of the anterior and posterior Rhines, we arrived at our planned destination for the night: Felsberg. There were no youth hostels in the area, so Michael had been forced to find other accommodation for the night. There were several hotels costing roughly twice the price of a hostel, but when he found a b&b for around the cost of the cheapest hostel, he had booked it straight away by email. We had an address to go by, and after searching every street in the town we eventually found the place – a farm on the edge of the village. The first people we met didn't speak any English but directed us with hand signals to take our bikes into the barn. When they then opened another door and showed us into a small stable we began to get a little worried. There was some lovely clean straw laid out in the concrete animal bays and some greasy-looking blankets piled up on a shelf opposite. Several flies buzzed angrily on the inside of the tiny wire mesh windows, and all of us started itching ever so slightly. At this moment the husband appeared, and he managed a little English. Michael laughed with him, saying we had thought for one moment that they expected us to sleep on the straw. He laughed back, and said that was exactly what they expected us to do. Michael laughed a little more and asked if we would have to go milk the cow for breakfast next morning as well: he laughed back and said that breakfast wasn't included in the price. Michael asked how we were supposed to get any sleep on straw: he showed us how to mould the straw into a pillow and lay the blanket over the top. He said we were supposed to have sleeping bags, but we could probably manage without as it was quite warm. Michael asked if there was a kitchen we could use: he told us there was no kitchen and they didn't do meals.

This was all too much for Oliver, who was tired, hungry and used to life's luxuries. He refused point blank to sleep on straw. In fact, he almost refused to even try making a bed on the straw. Tao, although not quite so vocal, was of a similar mind, so there was nothing for it but start the search for new accommodation at 7.30pm. The farmer said he would quite understand if we chose not to stay there, so we set off to try the local hotel and restaurant.

As one might have expected, they had no vacancies, so Michael referred to the list of cycle-friendly accommodation in the cycling guide and picked a cheapish but modern-looking hotel in the nearby town of Chur and contacted them with Oliver's mobile phone. They had vacancies, so off we set once again, hoping to arrive before darkness fell.

The hotel was shaped like a pyramid and situated on a traffic island in an out of town shopping area. The bottom floor of the building was principally dedicated to a McDonald’s restaurant. In fact the rooms turned out to be very comfortable, and whilst the McDonalds meal was less than adequate in many ways we spent an enjoyable night luxuriating in soft sheets and hot showers.

(Previous recorded mileage was 66 miles)

Chur is the oldest city of the northern Alps, its history going back 5000 years. We didn't really perceive its ancient past as we sat in the attractive modern courtyard of the Migros shopping centre eating our breakfast from the disposable bowls we had just purchased. This was our way of saving money, and it turned out to be a very pleasant start to the day. The downside was that it was past 11am when we finally set off.

We followed the Rhine downstream through Zizers and Landquart and on through the vineyards of Malans, Jenins and Maienfeld to Fläsch. Here our route took us on a path right beside the now large river, the water being a glacial grey colour. We took the opportunity to test the water temperature, and would have been very happy to spend a few hours just lying there in the morning sunshine.

Now was the time to leave Route 2 and the Rhine to re-join the Lakes Route (9) from the northern end of the country. The going remained easy and quiet as we rode through Flums to Walenstadt, and remained easy all the way along the length of the enormous Walen Lake. Near the end of the lake the road and cycle path went through two adjacent tunnels in the mountain, the cycle path having periodic unglazed windows to the lake on the right and the highway on the left. It really was an unusual experience.

The cycle signs let us down at the Bilten roundabout, and we inadvertently ended up following the wrong cycle route for a mile or so. We quickly backtracked, however, and were soon following the Linth canal to Schmerikon, where a quick refreshment stop prepared us for the final sprint to Rapperswill.

It took us twenty minutes to find the hostel, which as usual was not signposted at all from our direction. It really was a very good hostel, located in a meadow setting to the south of the town. There was no kitchen, so the food we had brought with us was useless, but the warden here showed us an information sheet we had not previously seen which told us which hostels had kitchens! As luck would have it, neither of the final two hostels had kitchens either. We had arrived too late for the hostel meal, so after settling into our rooms we rode the short distance to the nearby Sports restaurant, situated adjacent to some very impressive sports facilities that included a large number of professional indoor and outdoor tennis courts.

This was an Italian-speaking area, and nobody at the restaurant seemed to speak any English at all. The menu looked interesting, but we really didn't have a clue what food was available. Eventually we established that the chef spoke a little English, and with his help we were served what turned out to be the most delicious, succulent steaks we had ever tasted in our lives. Luke was happy since the rest of us had bought him his meal as an 18th birthday treat. Everyone wanted to order more steaks, but time was pressing so we had to get back to the hostel and plan an early enough start next morning to guarantee a hostel meal at Lucerne the next evening.

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 68 miles)

Just two more cycling days to do, and at last we had organised ourselves to get away early. Leaving the hostel we quickly re-joined route 9 and found ourselves riding across the dividing road between two huge lakes: Ober and Lucerne. Even at this time of the morning the heat was intense as we set about climbing the hill on the south side of Lake Lucern, to the classic clanging of the Pfäffikon church bell. Half an hour was wasted with a wrong turn, but we were soon on the correct short-cut cycle route through Schindellegi to Biberbrugg - a main road, but it shortened our route by several miles.

The next few miles took us past the last big area of preserved high-swamp in Switzerland. Peat was removed in the past but the area is now conserved for the animals and plants that thrive there. Once we reached the village of Rothenthurm, height 923m, the rest of the day was pretty much downhill or flat, so we sat back and enjoyed the ride. The first descent brought us to Sattel, at the head of Lake Ägeri, and a seat by the side of the lake seemed an ideal spot for lunch. The cowbells echoing quietly across the lake helped make our stop particularly pleasant. It was here that we discovered the fastest Mallard ducks in the world, making mad dashes across the water to be sure of getting our bread scraps first! Cowbells echoed quietly across the lake.

Just 4½ miles of level riding brought us to the other end of the lake and the small town of Unterägeri. Swiss road-builders showed us how to do a professional job on sealing the join between two sections of tarmac whilst some of us bought more food from the local delicatessen, then there was more downhill for miles to the lakeside town of Zug. This was a new lake - Zuger - at a lower level than the last but just as enormous. We quickly found our way to the lakeside where there was a small market selling and demonstrating local crafts - the blacksmith making an axe kept us all enthralled for half an hour!

Riding along the lake front with its avenues of trees we noticed an ice cream hut in the shade: we were all thirsty with the sun beating down on us, so we decided we could definitely afford a ten-minute stop in this beautiful setting. The church bells of Zug rang out in the distance, making us feel as though we were in some kind of heaven - we really could have stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, just lying on the grass in the shade of those trees with the sun reflecting off the lake in front of us.

The path took us around the northern end of Lake Zuger, past the village of Cham and several fields of sunflowers and thence to the final riverside path to Lucerne which seemed to go on for miles. We arrived at the Lucerne lake front by just after 5.30 and, after viewing the information map of the town, realised we shouldn't have come so far down. On the other hand we had hoped to do a little souvenir shopping in the town, and since there would be no time next morning we made use of the opportunity now while we were there. A torrential thunderstorm blasted the streets for the few minutes we were in the shop, but minutes later it had departed, leaving us pleasant evening sunshine for our final ride through the intriguing cobbled streets.

Lucerne hostel was another modern building with a huge reception lobby, a spacious first floor restaurant, card-operated dormitory locks and motion-activated lighting. There must have been a fault in our washroom, however, as the lights went off while we were in the shower and wouldn't switch back on again no matter how much we moved! Tao was even caught in the lavatory - opening the door and waving his hand about didn't make a scrap of difference. The restaurant meal offered excellent value and then, for once on the tour, we actually had a little time to just sit around and chat before we went to bed. What a luxury!

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 56 miles, which includes the wrong turn)

Friday, our final day of cycling, saw us leaving by 9am to retrace our steps along route 9 to Emmen and then join Route 3 for the long but level journey back to Aarau. This was agricultural countryside, and our route consisted of numerous lake-side and river-side cycle paths. We wanted to be sure of arrival at Basel by 6.30 so we just kept on cycling for mile after mile, all the way along the north-eastern side of Lake Sempacher. As we rode through the delightful village of Sursee with its cobbled streets, patisseries and street cafes we were very tempted to stop for refreshments. For some reason we just kept on riding - I think we all felt we had missed out on something a little special.

For many more miles we followed the riverside path with no sign of shops in any direction. When the small village of Schöftland rose up before us we all took the plunge in the hope of finding a supermarket for yoghurt drinks. There was a supermarket, but the local bakery seemed a much better idea when we saw the range of cakes and fancies on offer. Our favourite was a solid banana-shaped cake that turned out to be made from a banana soaked in some delicious juices, coated with special jams and finished with an all-over chocolate layer - expensive, but delicious.

Pressing on again we managed to reach Aarau by lunchtime. The route took us right into the shopping area of the town, attractively pedestrianised and laid out with hundreds of bicycle stands, a childrens' play area and a small park. Having purchased our food there was no argument whatsoever about settling down in the shade of a tree and watching the locals cycle and walk about their business.

Now came the final climb of the tour as we rode the quiet tracks and roads to Rohr, where the presence of a local water trough once again provided welcome relief from the sweltering heat. The 963m pass was a welcome site when it honed into view, and the lengthy descent on the other side offered a cooling breeze that revived us all. One more refill from the mountain spring at Rotherfluh gave us all the refreshment we needed for the final haul through the rail-side towns of Sissach and Liestal, bringing us finally to Basel youth hostel by 6.30. This had been our longest day of cycling, and we could all feel it.

When we came down for our meal we were told that the dining room was being used for a function, so we had to wait in the common room for a member of staff to serve us there. The common room consisted of two tables, each of which could take perhaps 5 people, but one was piled high with books and luggage and the other was in use by other hostellers who were eating a meal. We stood around for a while until a coloured gentleman came in who spoke virtually no English whatsoever. We tried to explain that one of us was vegetarian, but we might have made more progress by conversing with the table. He went away to fetch the food, still leaving us standing: we were tired and hungry, and this didn't feel like it was worth £5! After a while we cleared the other table ourselves and sat down, and then, sure enough, the meals emerged. They looked rather unappetising, but they tasted good and were not undersized.

For some of us the day's cycling was not yet over. Our bike bags were still at Mariastein-Rotberg hostel, and they had to be collected. Tao and Oliver volunteered to fetch them, passing up the option of using the free tram service, whilst Gavin, Michael and Luke worked out and practiced the journey to the station that would have to be made next morning in record time. It was gone 11pm when we finally got to bed.

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 71 miles)

Rising at 6.30am was not the best way to start our final day, but it had to be done. Our train left at 8.04 but we had to be at the station by 7.40 to load our bikes. The journey would take 10 minutes, so we just had time to grab a little of the hostel breakfast before we had to leave. Unfortunately, one of our five sets of dormitory keys had been mislaid the previous night, and no matter how much we told Tao that he was responsible, he couldn't find them. There was nothing else to do except pay the £25 fine and hope we would find the keys when we got back to England.

And so it was that we said farewell to the country that had been our host for nearly two weeks. We were sad to leave in many ways, feeling that we would miss the mountains and cycle paths, the lakes and the sunshine. Our SNCF train to Paris was luxurious by comparison with our outward train: spacious, air-conditioned, comfortable and quiet - so quiet in fact that we all spent much of the journey asleep in our seats. The train was on time of course, so we had plenty of time to ride through Paris to Gare du Nord, dismantle our bikes, pack them in the bike bags and buy baguettes and pastries for the Eurostar train.

In stark contrast to our journey from England, everybody and everything was checked for the return journey. Our bike bags and luggage were scanned - the monitors clearly showed the frame and wheels inside. We had to show passports, and we had to answer questions from immigration. When all that was done there was only just time to heave our luggage onto the train before it was time to leave. I can't think why, but we managed to get some more sleep on the Eurostar! And this time, since we had absolutely no intention of going through the pain of carrying the bike bags across London again, we reassembled the bikes as soon as we got off the train.

The final part of our journey wasn't totally smooth, as Waterloo underground station wouldn't allow us to board trains there with bikes because "the station is so deep". We had experienced no such problems when coming out of the underground two weeks earlier, but now we were told to ride across the Thames to Westminster underground station and board the circle line there! We began to wish we hadn't reassembled the bikes after all! The traffic was horrendous, but at least we got to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament as a bonus for our trip.

So that was almost the end of our adventure. The consensus on the final train journey to Newton Abbot was that the tour had been the best we had ever organised. Where would we be going next year? Lots of ideas were circulating, but you'll just have to wait and see what we decide. Rest assured, it will be good!

The first of our two Christmas Special rides attracted four new youngsters for a fun ride to Staverton. The river was so high today after overnight rain that we were unable to cross to the Island, so we contented ourselves with taking some video shots of the Santa Special steam train and playing with the Aerobies in the park. As promised, Michael produced several Christmas chocolates for all present.

Suitably refuelled, the journey home via Abham and Caddaford was relaxed and enjoyable. Free computer games were offered during the afternoon, and first details of the new Junior Training Programme (to start in January) were announced - see elsewhere on the web site for more information.

Perfect weather left us plenty of options today, but with another two new youngsters joining the ride we decided to take the relatively flat route along Colston Road to Staverton. We arrived just as the steam train was ready to leave the station for Totnes, and the gang just couldn't resist racing the train along the riverside path while the many tourists waved happily at us.

After much stone-skimming (and stone splashing) we set off once more, this time for Landscove. Mother Hubbard's Cafe was very tempting, but we were keen to reach an exciting downhill track so we pressed on up the final climbs. When we finally arrived, the track was being used as part of the Rainbow Ride route - a charity ride for horse enthusiasts - but they were in no hurry, so we overtook them and set off to enjoy the rough descent across the fields and through the woodland. Everyone enjoyed the ride so much that they wanted to do it again next week! A short but steep climb from Lower Combe brought us to Higher Beara farm, from where Green Lane brought us swiftly back to Buckfastleigh and an afternoon of computer games. Congratulations to Jake on achieving his Stage 1 certificate today.

It was 7.30 on Friday 4 July 2003, the first day of South Dartmoor's adventurous tour to a new area of Norway. This year we were travelling by plane from Stansted, so it was critical that everyone met at Exeter St Davids in time to catch the 0812 train to London. Tao, however, was still at his home in Kingsteignton. And he was getting very worried.

His stepdad had agreed to drive him to Exeter St Davids as he didn’t want to pay a huge bill for parking his car there for two weeks. Everything was ready to go, but his stepdad, who seemed unaware of the urgency, had left a few minutes earlier to perform his usual morning routine of taking the dog for a walk – using the car! The seconds ticked by and still he didn’t return. Tao couldn’t even pack his bike and luggage into the car to speed things up when he got back. His mind worked through all the options: should he drive his own car and hope he could find somewhere cheap to park?

Just when he thought he would have to drive himself, his stepdad returned. Everything was thrown into the car as quickly as possible and they set off at 7.42, leaving just 30 minutes to get to the station. Somehow, however, his stepdad still didn’t seem to grasp the urgency of the situation, driving at an unhurried pace and seemingly unconcerned that every traffic light seemed to be turning red for them. Tao’s patience was running out and panic was beginning to set in – he genuinely believed he might miss the train, and consequently the entire holiday!

They pulled up at the station at around 8.08. Tao dragged everything out of the boot as quickly as he could, slung the panniers quickly on the rack and then ran through the station, up the stairs, over the bridge and down to the platform with his heavy bike. He arrived at 8.10, mere seconds before the train pulled into the station. He’d never been in such a panic, and he spent the first hour of the train journey recovering, cringing at how close that had been. As for why Oliver was fixing a puncture at the station before he'd ridden anywhere at all, that remains a mystery.

All the trains were on time and we reached Liverpool Street station with enough time in hand to dismantle the bikes on the station concourse and pack them into the bike bags that we had brought with us. With a huge effort we dragged everything onto the Stansted Express for the final journey to the airport, arriving well over an hour before the scheduled departure time.

On our two previous tours to Norway we travelled by ferry from Newcastle, but with the advent of Ryanair we could now fly to Norway in just 2 hours for a ticket price that was a fraction of the ferry fare. Perhaps the government should tax flights to more accurately reflect the damage to the environment, but for this tour it made no sense to even consider the ferry. The necessity for bike bags was a distinct downside to the arrangement, but all in all the experience was highly enjoyable - and we got an extra two days in Norway as a result.

Michael was perhaps a little apprehensive about his first ever flight, but as the cloud in London gave way to bright sunshine over the North Sea he settled down to enjoy the ride along with the rest of the group. The mountains of Norway came into view remarkably quickly and it wasn't long before we were touching down on the relatively short runway at Haugesund - we all felt sure the plane would overshoot the end of the runway, but the brakes cut in just in time!

We reassembled our bikes outside the quiet airport in brilliant sunshine. Gavin, as usual, took ages and needed everyone else to lend a hand. We only had a few miles to cover to the self-catering flat we had booked for the night, and the first part of the journey involved following the North Sea cycle route that passed close to the airport. We quickly found the route and followed it northwards across the island of Karmøy, stopping at a local store to buy our first Norwegian food. Continuing onwards along the well-signed network of paths and rural roads we soon reached the 60m high bridge across the Karmsund sound at Norheim. We'd noticed the breeze when we arrived, but as we climbed the bridge it got so strong that we had to dismount our bikes and almost cling to the railing for safety! We were all relieved when we finally reached the shelter of the mainland.

A little more navigation took us through the village of Vormedal to Røyksund guest house, where our welcome was as warm as we could possibly have hoped. We each received a handshake from the kind lady and were shown to our ground floor apartment with amazing views across the Karmsund sound. This was the cheapest accommodation of the tour at around £9 per person, so we didn't complain about two of us sleeping on settees with no duvets. Nevertheless it was very private and comfortable. As we settled down for our first night in Norway we were startled by the effect of our northern latitude: there was no real night until well after midnight, and even then it was quite light compared with the UK.

It was so warm that we didn't really need duvets anyway!

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 13 miles, taken from a speedo that was reading slightly too high)

On Saturday morning we really knew we were in Norway. Sunshine flooded into our lounge as we ate a hearty breakfast against a backdrop of Norwegian children's television and tranquil sea views. We had to retrace our steps to the big bridge where the wind made the crossing just as treacherous. It was during the descent that Michael realised he had left his expensive grapes and Norwegian goats cheese in the fridge at the guest house. There was no way he was going back for it now, so he hoped the owner might find it in time to enjoy it.

We were following the North Sea cycle route southwards for the next few days guided by a 1:100 000 map book with English descriptions. Our 33 mile route across the long island of Karmøy was quiet, interesting and well-signed on the whole, taking us along interesting cycle paths and unspoilt scenery. There were only two suitable ferries from the southern tip of the island, leaving Skudeneshavn at either 1350 or 1820, and a good few miles to do at the other end of the ferry, so we had to make good speed in order to catch the lunchtime departure. This meant we had to bypass Kopervik, although we did detour briefly to visit Ferkingstad harbour. As it turned out we would have done better to spend the extra time at Skudeneshavn which was alive and bustling with a busy market and live Norwegian music in the square. We ended up with 20 seconds to take it all in before we had to scoot off to the ferry terminal, arriving with just a minute to spare. Was the whole of the tour going to be characterised by such fine timing?

The crossing to the mainland at Mekjarvik took an hour and 20 minutes, calling briefly at the island of Kvitsøy on the way. Tao has never been excited about ferries but he found this one pleasantly stable and enjoyable. From Mekjarvik the cycle route took us along rough tracks and paths along the coast. On the coastland near Kvernevik we investigated a huge sculpture of a chain link that was big enough to climb, a memorial to the oil platform Alexander Kielland which capsized in 1980 drowning 123 people.

As we entered Stavanger our route took us past enormous lakes complete with wild birds, making it hard to believe we were in one of Norway's large settlements. The youth hostel was situated near one of the lakes in a quiet woodland setting. We had a dormitory to ourselves, and after visiting the nearby shop and cooking a good meal we rode down to the quayside to see the finish of the World Beach Volleyball championship finals. The entire length of one side of the quay had been converted to accommodate a large stadium and numerous smaller beach volleyball courts complete with sand. There were cheer leaders in the main stadium and the whole area was bustling with life. It really was a fun atmosphere that we were loath to leave.

(Previous recorded mileages was 49 miles, and previous recorded climb was 422m)

After a rather leisurely start we detoured back to the centre of Stavanger to look again at Stavanger cathedral. Nearby was the delightful main lake, Breiavatnet, complete with fountain and wild birds.

The North Sea cycle route continued southwards for 15 miles along the edge of the Gands fjord, passing through quiet residential areas and frequently crossing the railway line that it followed. By late morning we had arrived at Sandnes and were enjoying lunch in the sun on the upmarket wooden-planked harbour area. Nearby was the concert hall and library, designed in tasteful modern style. Sandnes has been promoting itself as Norway's cycling town since 1990 so we were not surprised to see cycle routes marked everywhere and bicycles available for hire complete with keys. But today was Sunday, and not even the tourist information office was open.

Forced to leave the North Sea cycle route we turned inland with nothing more to guide us than a 1:335000 Cappelens map. It was not easy to find route 13 that avoided the motorway, but once we were on the right road the traffic gradually became lighter. We were crossing a land mass from one fjord to another, and halfway across we found the most perfect bathing beach by the side of Lake Lutsi, washed with sunshine and immersed in tranquillity. There were several Norwegian families there making the most of their short summer season so we pressed on to a quieter spot overlooking another lake, Eikelivatnet, for our refreshment stop. Even here we were not totally alone, discovering a father and son enjoying some idyllic fishing beyond a high bank.

Continuing to Lauvik we arrived just in time to catch the earlier ferry across the beautiful Høgs fjord, bringing us to Oanes by late afternoon. We were in no particular hurry to start the big climb so we bought ice creams and looked in the Lysefjord centre, Norway's one and only fjord centre. The restaurant looked very inviting and the art gallery was fascinating, but we really needed to get on with the climb.

We were now climbing the side of the Lysefjord, probably one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway. After a short climb we reached the recently completed Lysefjord suspension bridge, a masterpiece of Norwegian design providing a span of 446m and a lengthy tunnel through solid rock on the far side. After an enjoyable descent to Idsefjord we started on the final, hard climb of the day, to Preikestolen youth hostel. Michael ran out of energy in the excessive heat so we stopped for refreshments at the camp site half way up, making our final arrival at the hostel somewhat later than we had planned.

And we really should have arrived earlier. This was a magnificent building with a grass-covered roof set in idyllic surroundings overlooking a mountain lake. There was even a cafe on the ground floor. After a good shower and meal we explored the path down to the lake, but every paradise has its flaws and here the midges were so aggressive that we were forced to run for the hostel after just five minutes on the lakeside.

(Previous recorded mileage was 43 miles)