The wind was still very much in evidence on Thursday morning - it had been blowing all night and had actually helped us all sleep soundly! After a good breakfast we proceeded with good speed to Delabole, passing close to the enormous turbines of the nearby wind farm. We had planned to look at the slate quarry, still worked today, but we didn't see any signs for it so decided to press on.

We stopped briefly for pasties and cakes at St Kew Highway, then sped on to Wadebridge for lunch. We were planning to ride the Camel Trail to Padstow, but since we had plenty of time we rode the section to Bodmin and back first, stopping at the garden cafe on the way back. There were several cyclists out today despite the rather unfriendly weather conditions. Back at Wadebridge the three cycle hire shops were doing brisk trade, with around ten cyclists a minute coming off the path from Padstow. We stopped occasionally to admire the views and wildlife of the river Camel, then arrived in the bustling fishing village of Padstow by around 4pm. Sadly the pasty shop that Michael remembered so well had sold nearly all its stock for the day, but we found a few left that took our fancy.

The highlight of our time in Padstow was a 15-minute speedboat trip that cost £4 each. We had never travelled so fast on water before. We got drenched as the boat turned into the wind, but it all just helped make the trip even more memorable! A waterfront cafe helped warm us up before we set off once again for the short journey to the hostel.

Our route took us past Harlyn sands. Even though the weather was still cool and cloudy we decided to enjoy the beach anyway: Joe and Josh ran across the soft sands and straight into the water, fully clothed, before Michael could say a word! It was just as well we were just minutes away from the hostel!

Treyarnon Bay hostel, situated beside its own unique bay, is quite large compared to the others we used on this tour, and it is distinctive in offering its meals service to non-residents as well as hostellers. We didn't have time to order hostel food, but Joe would have liked to do so. Our dorm was comfortable and quiet, so after a good meal and some expensive time on the hostel's internet service we settled down for another good night's sleep.

(Previous recorded mileage was 40 miles)

The weather forecast last night had led us to believe that today would be brighter than yesterday, and with decreasing winds we were so confident about the day that we decided to return to Padstow to sample the full range of pasties. The first drops of rain began to fall as we walked along Constantine beach, and by the time we reached Padstow the rain was constant. There were certainly plenty of pasties, but we did feel rather cheated of the promised good weather!

The light rain continued all the way to Bedruthan Steps, where thick mist ensured that nothing at all was visible of the sea or steps! Josh was in need of a morale boost so we settled into the cafe for hot drinks and good food. There seemed little point in going to the steps, but at least the rain had stopped by the time we had finished looking in the gift shop. We continued through Mawgan Porth to the enormous Watergate Bay, where Josh watched the surfers enviously and decided he'd like to take up surfing one day. Arriving in Newquay we went straight to Newquay Zoo, our main attraction of the day, and spent a couple of hours examining its many inhabitants. It's not as large as Paignton Zoo, but it has a different range of animals and kept us very well entertained. Joe fell in love with a bunch of around 20 otters, Josh was impressed by the roaring lion and we all thought the white peacock at the centre of the maze put on a very impressive display for us!

At 5pm it was definitely time to be moving on. We rode to the tiny village of Cubert and then took the back lanes into Perranporth. The hostel is located high on a cliff overlooking one of the largest beaches in Cornwall, so the views were very impressive. For our last night we were a little more adventurous with our meals, working together to produce three jacket potatoes with tuna, cheese and beans - only possible because of the introduction of microwave ovens to hostels! When Josh had finally finished chatting with the surfer-dude who ran the hostel the tide had moved out so we set off for an after-dark exploration of the beach.

Our final day dawned with some promising sunshine. Joe, who had won the award for slowest packer at the first two hostels, was actually outside first today, but since he then spent twenty minutes effecting bike repairs Josh disputed his claim for first place. Josh had been the clear winner at Tintagel, and Michael was first at Treyarnon, so eventually Josh conceded that Joe should be awarded first place today.

We explored some of the local shops and had a daylight walk on the enlarging beach before setting off along the coast path from Perranporth to St Agnes. The path provided plenty of challenges and offered spectacular coastal views. There was plenty of evidence of the extensive tin mining that once flourished in the area, including a horizontal disused mineshaft and the now derelict engine houses and vertical shafts near Cligga Head. The conical wire covers over the shaft heads are apparently designed to keep humans out but allow bats in! Our five-mile adventure took most of the morning and culminated with excellent views of Perranporth airfield, used by the RAF during the war but now used only for gliding and private aviation. Several planes took off and landed while we were there, many dropping parachutists nearby.

On arrival at St Agnes we ran into an RNLI motorbike scramble near the coast, which kept Josh interested for some time. Cloud had now blotted out the morning sunshine so we began to feel distinctly chilly as we ate lunch outside the little stores in the village. Our plan had been to enjoy the beaches along the coast towards St Ives, but by the time we reached Portreath, light rain was beginning to fall. We made use of the nearby cafe to buy Knickerbocker glories and other items, but the rain showed no sign of easing. Our enthusiasm for beaches began to wane, so we headed straight for Camborne station where we boarded the 1514 service to Liskeard.

This was Josh's first real train journey, and Joe had been looking forward to it all day. The hour-long journey gave us chance to relax, enjoy the view and get thoroughly warmed up before disembarking at Liskeard and loading the bikes back into the car. We decided to use the remaining time to enjoy an end-of-tour visit to Pizza Hut at Derriford. We hadn't had the best of weather, but it had nevertheless been an enjoyable adventure of some 117 miles over 4 days.

(Previous recorded mileage was 16 miles, which excluded the excursion to the beach at Perranporth))

Today we were joining the Devon DA's 75th anniversary get-together at Starcross. Since the event wasn't going to finish until 4pm we used car assistance as far as Gappah, then rode up to the new Haldon Forest Park at Buller's Hill to explore some of the new cycle tracks that have been laid out there. We were amazed at how much had changed since we last visited the site - there are now food and toilet facilities, and literally hundreds of cyclists milling around! We tried the red track, designed for more experienced cyclists, and found it challenging but very enjoyable. Tao couldn't resist trying the descent of a steep wooden ramp in the nearby black run - equalling the success of the fearless youngsters who had been riding it all day, but not quite matching their 2 seconds of airtime!

We headed back to the road and then proceeded with all speed to Starcross, where the British Legion village hall had been set up especially for our event. More than 120 cyclists from the various sections of the Devon DA arrived by 2.45, and after a short speech from our president Ken Strong we devoured the sandwiches, cream scones and birthday cake that had been generously organised by Mike Bowden of Exeter section. There was just time for a group photo before we said our goodbyes and headed back along the coast path from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish.

Joe kept us entertained yet again by forgetting to remove his left foot from his SPD pedals before stopping - he fell embarrassingly to the ground on three separate occasions, even knocking Tao to the ground on the final occasion! After negotiating the final climb from Ashcombe we enjoyed the final descent to Gappah, just managing to get home by 6pm.

Jack wanted another long ride but Dennis and Josh weren't so sure today, so we compromised by riding through Buckfast and Holne to Venford reservoir and then taking the bridleway down through Combestone. We paused for refreshments at the first stream crossing, then found that the path became rather muddy in places after the recent rain. The descent across the sheep-filled fields was great fun as always, but then we hit a major problem. Many of the stepping stones across the river Dart were submerged by the swollen river!

It was a long way back to the road with a lot of climbing, and we were all looking forward to the Badgers Holt cafe. After much thought we decided to remove our shoes and socks and take the plunge so to speak! Michael made several trips to carry all the bikes, but Jack, being a cadet, thought he could carry his own. Unfortunately one of the submerged stones was a little greener and more slippery than he had thought, and when everyone looked around to see what had caused the squeal they saw Jack submerged up to his waist! Michael took his bike for him so that he could pick his way across to the far bank and change into some drier clothes.

The cafe at Badgers Holt provided us with two large plates of very tasty chips and some drinks. We weren't too impressed that they tried to charge 25p to refill Dennis' water bottle - they maintained that they don't have mains water there, so they cannot provide water free as the law demands!

The next challenge was Dartmeet hill, but all the lads coped well, riding most of the way at a good pace. To conclude a fun and adventurous ride we rode Doctor Blackall's drive, pausing at Beltor Corner to admire the spectacular views from the vantage point of a huge slab of granite.