Today's ride was abandoned owing to the bad weather.

We were soon speeding through the lanes via Westerland to the Blagdon road and thence over the Totnes road and on towards Stoke Gabriel. Ken had broken the habits of a lifetime and actually prepared a route! This was meant to run parallel with the main Stoke Gabriel road through a track - despite Gary's protestations that it might get his bike dirty! In the event we shot past the Long Lane turnoff (was Gary leading at that point?) and stayed on the roads.

After Galmpton we had a delightful LEVEL ride along Buscombe Lane and then on down into Brixham. From there we took the coast road to Berry Head where a few enthusiasts cycled right down to the bottom of the cliffs whilst most of us shivered in the high winds.

As Mike and Tom Giles and Luke had a fairly long return journey to Totnes we soon set off again taking the back route out of Brixham via North Boundary Road and Buscombe Road to Windy Corner. There we bid our farewells - not the most adventurous ride ever but a very pleasant excursion for us all.

A delightful, well-attended ride which took us up to the Avon Dam and over the moor to Cross Furzes. As usual, the new riders performed well.

Paignton members have now sealed the fate of Paignton socials, which will be reduced from 33% to 15% next season! We all agreed that Dave Humphreys should be a stand-up mime entertainer after seeing his fishing impression!

We took the usual route through Totnes, up Parliament Hill and into Galmpton. Arriving at the hostel we met Ken's enormous family and five members of Plymouth Section. The wardens kindly allowed us to play our usual noisy and energetic game of Crazy Post, and we showed our appreciation by contenting ourselves with board and table games for the remainder of the evening.

Today's route took us through Totnes, Harbertonford, Moreleigh, Slapton (a change of plan, because we didn't make it there last week), Strete, and Tuckenhay. Dave Humphreys' made a startling revelation during the morning session: "My one ambition in life is to get Budgie's bike dirty!" It's just as well Budgie wasn't there today!

We witnessed a car crash on the Slapton Road. A car stopped around a corner, and a following car didn't. There were some unpleasant words exchanged between the male drivers while the respective females remained seated, looking slightly embarassed!

This was the warmest March weekend for more than 20 years - we were even warmer than the Mediteranean! It was somewhat annoying, therefore, that all the popular cafes should be closed - there was a bloke painting the outside of the Torcross cafe, apparently oblivious to the lost trade! Some of us made do with treacle puddings from the local Inn and later regretted eating them!

Eliot and Alan performed very well indeed, especially during the morning session when they were to be seen powering up the steep hills, sometimes ahead of the older members. We made such good time that we were able to do a short CATS session at Moreleigh and still get to Slapton in time for lunch (1.15). On the return route Eliot, who was slowing down, got special treatment from Michael, receieving 8 pieces of chocolate when the others only got one each - they watched incredulously ! It had the desired effect - he went so fast along the next stretch that he came off on a gravelly corner! Fortunately he was unhurt.

Dave Humphreys returned via the Dartmouth ferry, taking his chances with the coastal road, and Martin Luke was fortunate enough to catch a train at Totnes within ten minutes of his arrival!

This has to be the best social we have ever organised. We hired a section of the recently-constructed Buckfast Community Centre and made full use of the pool table, table tennis table and kitchen facilities. Several board games were set up while others played with Philip's radio-controlled car. We sadly made a loss on this occasion, but we think members would be happy to pay 60p to attend this special venue when it is repeated next season.

This was not an easy decision for Michael. Martin Rushworth lay face-down on the ground, his limbs splayed out awkwardly. For the fifth time Michael had asked him to try to move his right leg, but he was still unable to do so. The symptoms all seemed to suggest the possibility of a broken or fractured femur, and yet how could this possibly have happened? Martin had been riding with the club along the forest track in Houndtor Wood, about 800m from Becky Falls, and had fallen from his bike. The track had been wide, relatively smooth and only gently sloping where he had fallen. He must have been riding a little too fast, hit a root or small stone and lost control. It seemed unlikely that he could have sustained serious injuries, and yet his inability to move was inescapable.

Access would be difficult to say the least, but expert opinion would have to be sought before Martin could be moved. Paul Hamlyn-White stayed with Martin while Michael rode on towards the Becky Falls cafe. The winter storms had, however, left their mark on the woodlands: the path was obstructed by a series of fallen trees, and the wooden bridge had been boarded off. When Michael eventually reached the cafe, he discovered that it was closed for the winter.

The proprietor, who was busy redecorating his lounge, had to get a bubble out of a piece of wallpaper before he would escort Michael to the telephone. He turned out to be quite helpful, and the ambulance was soon on its way: the other members of the group were rounded up whilst it travelled from Newton Abbot.

Michael had explained the situation quite carefully to the emergency operator, including the access problems. When the ambulance finally arrived, the situation was explained again.

"Do you think the helicopter would be able to get through?" said the ambulanceman.

"I'm not sure," replied Michael, amazed that he would even have considered such an option at this early stage. "I'm not even sure he's badly injured. I think the best course of action is for you to have a look at him first."

"Well, I only asked because the chopper is in the area," replied the ambulanceman. And with that, the police helicopter flew over the nearby trees with a sudden rush of noise and hovered overhead!

The other youngsters in the group suddenly realised that the afternoon had quickly turned into a real drama. The pilot landed the helicopter in a nearby field, spoke to one of the ambulancemen and then took off again to locate Martin and attempt to land nearby. Meanwhile the two ambulancemen and Michael lugged several items of equipment back along the tortuous route through the woods, climbing over the bridge and crawling under numerous fallen trees.

When they finally reached Martin the police were already there, having landed a few metres to the north in an open field. The ambulance crew confirmed the diagnosis as a "suspected fracture" and proceeded accordingly. Martin was carried back to the helicopter on a stretcher and airlifted to Torbay hospital casualty unit.

Suddenly everything was quiet again. Back at the cafe, two parents had arrived to take the younger riders home. The rest set off for an energetic return to Buckfastleigh via Haytor, arriving just after 6.30pm.

This was an unexpected end to an interesting ride - which got off to a late start because Marcus and a few others forgot to put their clocks forward.

During our customary stop at the Primrose cafe we met fellow cyclists Alasdair Robertson and friend, who agreed to meet us at the Cleave for lunch. This they did, and our members spent some time admiring his £1179 Roberts mountain bike - and getting each other wet in the river. Ï

The track through the Cleave was rough, but older mountain bikers derived considerable pleasure from the initial descent. Younger riders needed some assistance with the climb after lunch towards Manaton. Once they had reached the top, there was plenty of downhill riding through the woods ... but you already know the rest of the story.

And what of Martin? X-ray examination of his leg confirmed that he had only a bad bruise. He went home that evening, and was back at school after three days. It is comforting to know, however, that no expense is spared by the authority when our health is considered to be at risk!