This was one of our most adventurous rides, and the weather couldn't have been better. From Ivybridge we took the picturesque lane through Harford, the hedgerows lined with a multitude of brightly coloured flowers and the moorland streams and rivers wending their way through mature woodlands. Shortly after 12.30 we left the tarmac for moorland tracks, destined to spend more than three hours on the open moor.

Luke loved splashing though the many puddles that adorned the stony track as it wound its way along the Erme valley. By lunchtime we reached the hut itself, isolated from civilisation in the heart of the South moor. Much to everyone's surprise, the frozen cheesecake that Michael and Gavin had purchased an hour earlier at Ivybridge had fully defrosted in the near summer heat, making their lunch on the banks of the Erme even more enjoyable.

The next stage of the journey involved picking our way across the Erme by finding a series of suitably-spaced stones. Only Gavin failed the task, getting his feet wet by slipping on the very first stone. A steep ascent soon brought us to the Redlake Tramway, and progress was then swift along the stony track to Petre's Cross. From here we could see Plymouth in the distance to the south west, Teignmouth to the north east and almost all the coast between them - a truly spectacular view.

The final leg of the journey, along the Abbot's Way towards the Avon Dam and Buckfastleigh was most notable for the number of times that Luke fell off his bike. His final fall involved a summersault over the handlebars as he attempted a jump on the final descent. He won't try such an ambitious stunt again!

Our second junior ride started with the riverside track through Hembury Woods - slightly uphill and a little muddy in places, but generally a lot of fun. Some of the youngsters were relieved to see the tarmac again, but that soon changed when they saw the hill they had to climb! The tail-enders had more problems to endure when a farm dog started to chase after them.

The play park in the quiet village of Holne made an excellent rest spot: some played with the Aerobies while others made an assault course in the stream and ended up on the muddy side of wet. When Michael finally persuaded everyone to get back on their bikes we set off for a much easier return route that was nearly all downhill. This was the farthest that many of our young riders had ever cycled, and the glorious sunset and superb views of Dartmoor made them all determined to come again next week.

The ride was rounded off with the rare sight of a wild dear crossing the road as we descended through Hembury woods.

All of us wanted a faster ride this evening. After reaching Spitchwick in a record-breaking 28 minutes we continued on up the steep hill through the woods to Buckland in the Moor. The rumours we had heard about the Roundhouse Cafe being closed were not quite true: it was up for sale, but it still appeared to be trading.

With only two present on the ride (owing to A-level exam revision) and the forecast of rain for the afternoon, Tao and Eliot took the car to Starcross and enjoyed the best of the Exeter Ship canal track.

A heavy downpour at the start almost persuaded us to turn back, but after climbing Green Lane the rain didn't seem so bad and everyone was keen to press on. Soon we were at Broadhempston Play Park enjoying the slides and Frisbees, but as usual nobody wanted to leave and it was 7.25 when we finally got away.

We proceeded to the quiet village of Landscove using some quiet back lanes, and then Tommy entertained everyone by falling off his BMX bike - not once, but twice! Fortunately he wasn't hurt, but when Daniel's brakes forced him to push down the final descent we were destined for a rather late return.

Phillip wanted lots of tracks, but the general view was that most would be too wet and muddy after the recent downpour. The compromise took us past Caddaford to Staverton, along the riverside track to the village, then through Landscove and home via two tracks to Baddaford Farm. It was these last two that proved every bit as bad as predicted, but most of the group seemed to enjoy them.

Today's ride was cancelled

Calum was feeling a little under the weather today after his 10th birthday celebrations, but he put on a brave face as we tackled the steep ascent through Hembury Woods. Rachel wondered when the hills would ever end, but soon we turned right and joined the long track descent through the woods that leads to the Park. On the way down, Calum managed to come off, and that in turn made Ben lose control so that he too came off! There was no serious damage however, and everyone enjoyed the final section down to the road with its narrow leafy boundaries and sharp turns.

The park itself was quite busy with tourists, so we quickly rode through to the lower Hembury track where narrow paths, concealed mine entrances, fallen tree trunks and superb river views entertained us all the way back to Buckfastleigh.

This was a truly perfect summer's evening, so we set off up the hill past Nurston farm to the rough track that leads up to the open moor of Skerraton Down. Part-way along the track, Gavin decided to look over the hedge and was amazed to discover a secret golf course way up there on the moor. Well, it couldn't have been that secret because there were at least 20 golfers roaming around. After close inspection we decided it was a private course owned and set up by the nearby farmer.

The moor was warm and still tonight - a real treat after a busy day. There was time to play with the Frisbees, chat, and examine an extraordinary sea of bluebells in a steep-sided valley leading to a woodland. An exhilarating descent across the moor brought us eventually to Cross Furzes and the long hill down to Wallaford Road.

There was a general consensus that a tearoom should be on this afternoon's itinerary. With this in mind we arranged a circuitous route along Colston Road to Staverton, where we found many more people than usual walking the riverside path alongside the steam railway. Mother Hubbard's tearooms at Landscove were equally busy, but we had already planned to eat outside in the Olde English garden so we weren't at all put out. The owner's dogs provided the main entertainment - next to Julian's numerous text messages!