Tonight's social was cancelled.

Miserable weather for the second of our Christmas specials turned out to be good news for James and Tommy when they were introduced to their first games of badminton at Ivybridge leisure centre. By the end of the hour they were able to serve and return, and were eagerly looking forward to the next wet cycle ride!

There was a good turnout for the long-awaited Star Trek film, Nemesis - the tenth and most action-packed of the series. The film did not disappoint in any way.

Warm gloves and woolly hats were essential items of clothing on this freezing January morning, the first of the New Year. There was plenty of frost-adorned scenery to admire along the river Avon from Avonwick to Diptford, but the most treacherous riding conditions were reserved for the second half of the ride. Approaching a notorious corner on a back lane near Blue Post we encountered a huge sheet of ice stretching from one hedge to the other. Near the bottom was a Volvo that had lost all grip and turned 90 degrees to completely block the lane. A tractor soon solved the problem for the driver, but ours continued as we negotiated a river of ice that stretched all the way down the hill from Pennywell Farm to Dean Prior. It certainly was an eventful ride!

The rough track along the stream through Hembury Woods more than qualified for James and Tommy's Stage 1 Off-road award, and even provided free entertainment in the form of large sheets of ice and frozen mud. The light sprinkling of snow grew heavier as we climbed to Holne, and the prospect of a grand snowball fight in the park proved irresistible. All that running around got us more out of breath than the climb!

When James had finished his lesson about the low friction between icy roads and bicycle tyres we continued past Gallant Le Bower in brilliant sunshine to the top of Hembury. There was more fun for James on the track descent past the fort as he decided to ride into a tree - clearly he wanted to have as much action as he could get today! The final lap back to Buckfastleigh rounded off a thoroughly enjoyable mid-winter ride.

We could only book a single court this evening, at Ivybridge, but we had a lot of fun as usual. Somehow Michael lost his racquet on the way back - let's hope it turns up soon.

The lower Hembury track provided more entertainment this week for three new youngsters, all keen to progress their off-road scores on the training programme. The overnight rain had left a fair amount of mud around, but that didn't bother Matthew as he splashed his way through puddles and streams.

We had hoped to stop briefly at Holne play park, but today it was actually being used by some local children. We proceeded along the ridge to Hembury Fort and got a little Frisbee practice in before the first shower persuaded us to move on. The final descent of the Slalom track through Hembury offered plenty of action to conclude a fun ride.

This exceptional film, which explores the fine line between robots and humans, provide an evening of top quality entertainment for everyone, made all the more enjoyable by Michael's new widescreen television.

Three new youngsters helped make this the largest attendance of the year so far. We wanted to include a cafe in the ride today, to help everyone towards completion of their Stage 1 certificate, so we headed off along Colston road. The cycle track from Dartington to Totnes along the riverside was a new and highly enjoyable experience for many of the youngsters, taking us past the weir and a number of swans, and through the wood where trees have sprouted right in the middle of the path.

The Terrace Cafe decided to put us on tables outside, where the general verdict on the food and drink quality was highly favourable. The journey home was to be via Littlehempston, but problems began at the top of the steep stony track: the local farmer had been busy, leaving all the hedge trimmings across the path. Of course the youngsters didn't notice, so when we reached the bridge at the bottom we had no fewer than 6 punctures to repair! The main victims were Ben and James. A seventh, caused by Angus riding over a drawing pin, seemed to stay up as long as we didn't remove the pin! And of course there was also Jamie's derailleur to reassemble.

An hour later we finally set off for a very late return home. Everyone did remarkably well, especially in view of the fact that it was nearly 3pm when we got home. Michael's supply of chocolate rations kept everyone going, so in the end there were a lot of points added to the Training Programme score sheet, which probably made it all worthwhile.