Gavin was late, so his ride started with a mad dash over Cross Furzes to Michelcombe, where he finally caught us. Will then treated us to a demonstration of his acrobatic prowess in the park, with a professionally-executed back-flip across the damp grass. It was just a few minutes later that Philip then made the mistake of noticing an escaped chicken near the slide. Tao and Will's attempts to catch the errant bird provided entertainment on a par with the film Chicken Run, but when she took cover in a bramble hedge and the owners came along needing our assistance, there was no choice but to surround the bird on all sides and mount an assault through the hedge. After many scratches she was eventually retrieved from deep inside the hedge, and seemed quite pleased to be reunited with her keepers.

Surely that was enough excitement for one evening? Well, no actually. Will managed to take a corner too fast and grounded himself and the bike, breaking the mountings for the new front light that his brother had just bought him that afternoon. To make matters worse, it wasn't even dark yet so the light had never actually been used! Poor Tao!

Barbecue smells abounded from the camping areas of the Park. Our return route from Ashburton brought us past the scene of a car accident. The police were taking photographs and allowed us to pass, but it wasn't until later that we discovered that two Buckfastleigh lads had been seriously injured.

When a particularly nasty shower forced us to head for a bus shelter just half a mile from the start of the ride it seemed like the ride would be going nowhere today. It eased off after ten minutes so we tentatively proceeded towards South Brent, still expecting to be taking tea at the cafe and then skirting back to Buckfastleigh. On arrival, however, the cafe had shut down - probably something to do with the new owners' obvious focus on lunches - and the weather was looking quite bright.

After a series of decisions at various junctions we were soon near Loddiswell riding down a thrilling track descent between two hedgerows. Tao skidded, Gavin came off and everyone got stung at least once by the profusion of nettles that poked through the garlic. At the bottom we found ourselves in a different world: a wooded glade beside the tranquil river Avon. A pair of Canada geese and their gosling gently glided away from the bank as we approached. This was surely the world's most perfect lunch spot, the tall trees providing perfect shelter from the showers with their multiple overlapping leaf layers. There were fish of course, and plenty of intriguing paths to keep Joe entertained when he had completed his sausage roll.

Nearby was an ancient railway bridge, now almost invisible with its lichens and grassy outgrowths. This was the course of the South Brent to Kingsbridge railway many years ago, but now it made an excellent cycling route. It was gravel for the most part, but Joe found one muddy area and made the mistake of trying to ride through it. He didn't make it and ended up putting both feet in the thick mud, but his problems then got worse when he tried to walk forwards: his shoe stayed and his socked foot was unavoidably planted firmly in the mud! Poor Joe!

We eventually emerged from the wilderness near Topsham Bridge and proceeded with good speed through Moreleigh to Diptford, Rattery and home.

Venford Reservoir was our proposed target tonight, but the cheap chain that Oliver had purchased from the Cycle show in Birmingham threatened to derail our plans. First, a damaged link near Hawson Court had to be removed. Then the chain broke completely (in a different place) on the climb to the reservoir. The rest of us continued to the top while Oliver repaired it, but it broke yet again near the cattle grid! Poor Oliver. He didn't quite make it to the destination, but the rest of us did.

Keir put in a much improved performance this evening, managing to climb some of the steepest hills at a very respectable pace. Part of the problem seemed to be his small bike that could not be adjusted high enough. When he swapped bikes with Joe he went even faster, much to his personal satisfaction.

We took the fast route to Chudleigh and then the scenic Teign Valley road to Steps Bridge. Woodland tracks quickly brought us to a lunch spot by the river Teign from where Gavin had to return home by the same route in order to get back for a 3pm meeting.

The track continued through immense glades of bluebells that carpeted the whole woodland floor and then brought us quickly to a short section of tarmac. It wasn't long before we were back on the tracks again, following the river on the south bank for what seemed like miles of often rocky terrain - Tao really wished for his off-road tyres. Fingle Bridge was busy with tourists so we pressed on to the path that took us high up the side of the valley, where extensive woodlands could be seen for miles and Castle Drogo dominated the distant horizon. The twisty track descent over the next few miles was as much fun as it always was, but all good things have to end sometime.

Chagford offered hospitality in the form of the refurbished Old Forge Tea Rooms. The food was reasonable, but £2.25 for a very medium-sized hot chocolate was even more expensive than the Primrose at Lustleigh! The policy for all Dartmoor cafes seems to be to charge the highest price that the market will stand. The proprietor kept us entertained by watering his hanging baskets with a very small watering can, having to climb his steps three times for every pot!

With the sun coming out we sped home past Hound Tor with a tailwind that made us all feel on top of the world. Oliver, who had failed to get up in time for the start of the ride, came down to meet us to finalise our plans for the summer tour. Now it seems we are going to Norway on 4 July, so Michael had better get the bookings sorted out in double quick time.

This was a perfect summer's evening, and several youngsters had come out with swimming gear in the hope of a ride to the Avon Dam. They were not disappointed! The long climb past Nurston was tough payment for our new riders, but the rewards came with a fun half hour dipping into the deep rocky pools of the River Avon and enjoying slippery green rock-slides. Some went in fully clothed, but tonight it was so warm that it really didn't matter.

With the threat of dusk pressing ever nearer we pushed on to the reservoir itself. Here we discovered an oasis of beauty bathed in a magical peace, a feint summer haze blurring the distant hills. It really was a perfect moment, and we all savoured it in our own individual ways. The final pleasures of this adventurous ride came after we had picked our way along the edge of the reservoir and climbed the final hill along the Abbot's Way. The downhill ride across the moor was action-packed in the fast-disappearing light, leaving happy memories to enrich our midnight dreams.

Fortunately we didn't pay too much attention to the poor weather forecast and set out on a car-assisted journey to Morwellham Quay in West Devon. We left the car at the Coypool car park in Plympton and took the excellent Plym Valley cycleway towards Clearbrook. At the half way point we were surprised to see that tarmac had been laid for around a mile of the path - certainly very smooth, but it somehow seemed out of place in this peaceful wooded valley.

We explored many new country lanes through Denham Bridge and arrived at our destination at around 1.15. The Pasty Restaurant looked an inviting place for lunch, but the serving hatch was closed and two tourists told us that the proprietor had just gone. We nipped round the front and caught him trying to escape. Under interrogation he admitted that he was closing up and that he did know the time was 1.20. On further questioning about the logic of closing a pasty restaurant at lunchtime he argued that he had been open since 10am and hardly anybody had bothered to buy anything! We didn't see this as particularly surprising, so just asked him if he wanted to serve us. Grudgingly he returned to his shop and dig out a few pasties for us and another tourist who had happened along. He charged £2.25 for each pasty, and before we had chance to discover that they were 50% pastry, he was gone. We spent the next 20 minutes explaining to five separate groups of hungry tourists why the proprietor would soon be out of business.

We had seen several people wandering around dressed in period costume, but we hadn't been wondering whether they got paid for it for more than a few minutes when we noticed what looked like a little girl from Victorian England running past with a slightly ungainly gait. The pair of jeans visible through the rear of the skirt revealed that this was a little boy who had been enjoying the site's dressing up room. Needless to say, Tao couldn't be stopped from trying on everything, from bowler hats to a delightful dress and shawl number!

Eventually we decided that we'd better be heading for home. Because of the nature of the terrain we retraced most of our outward route to bring us, for the first time ever, riding <i>down</i> the Plym Valley cycleway. We really do recommend it!

Keir, whose own bike was way too small for him, tried Michael's spare bike this week, but a few more swaps were required on the ride before he and Jamie found just the right bikes. Hembury Woods was an ideal destination in such uncertain weather conditions. After what seemed like miles of tracks through glades and woodland, and some riverside fun involving a rope swing, we finally emerged at Buckfast to find increasingly heavy rain for the final mile.

Warm sunshine accompanied our ride from Bickington to Hayor as Louis and Will demonstrated that they possess every bit of their brother's cycling prowess. A very dark cloud gathered on the final climb to the rock, unleashing an unseasonal hailstorm just as we reached the summit. The refreshments van provided useful shelter from the bitter wind in addition to numerous cups of soup and hot chocolate, but when the sun returned we decided to return home so that the youngsters could defrost and learn the importance of bringing wet-weather clothing on future cycle rides!

A hot and sunny day had given way to an overcast evening with the threat of thunder showers, but we were determined to visit a moorland river again. We climbed Wallaford Road as quickly as Keir's little legs would carry him (which was actually quicker than usual for him!), bringing us eventually to the track past Hayford Hall to Lud Gate. The subsequent descent across open moorland was interrupted only by the observation of a dead sheep, which seemed to fascinate the younger riders.

There was time for Joe and Keir to get their feet wet in the river, but a few heavy raindrops prompted us to head homewards without further delay. In fact it turned largely dry again, and our return past Hawson Court was augmented with the fabulous smells of damp grassland wafting over the hedgerows.

With all the other fast riders otherwise occupied Michael (who hates solo riding) made the best he could of the superb weather with a short ride to Gidleigh Bridge. All Sunday rides will be half-day morning rides from next week, to encourage our many younger riders.