When our three Paignton lads had joined us we set off for Scorriton and the moor, the conversation revolving around Mark Williams' assurances that there were numerous television sets located in the woods near the hostel, all of them working! Some people humoured him, others questioned his balance of mind, but Simon had a puncture and so the subject was temporarily forgotten.

Dartmoor really does look its best at this time of year, clean and fresh in the autumn sunshine. The temperature was plummeting as we crossed the Laughter Tor area from Dunnabridge, but the laughter really rose when the woods revealed no televisions! It was Mark who had the last laugh, however, during our excellent supper (huge helpings of soup served with croutons), when the warden told us of the weird 'Willo the Wisp' art exhibition which had resided in the nearby woods during the summer! He also told us what he thought of it! (Going back to the supper, the warden even washed up for us, but the self-catering Hopper clan seemed content with their rice mountains.)

Evening entertainment included the over-pumping of Philip's inner tube, a number of nameless members cowering behind a glass partition in unashamed fear of the impending explosion. When the end finally came it had more to do with Gary and the candle extinguisher than the now weary pump!

Only Michael and Gary got as far as the pick-up and so the remainder of the ride was abandoned - a fortunate decision in view of the terrible weather which later assaulted the area.

Our new lads from Paignton had a job finding Crofters in the dark, but were still able to join in with some of the games despite their 8pm arrival. Activities included Trivial Pursuit, computer drawing, computer games, synthesiser and video.

Noel impressed us all by cycling from Bovey to meet us at Buckfastleigh this morning, and Warren, who had recently broken one of his fingers, was today sufficiently recovered to meet us at the Totnes pick-up, full of the joys of autumn. Noel had brake problems on the hill out of Totnes, giving us all a rare chance to enjoy the views of Totnes, then his bell fell off on the way down Bow hill!

We had almost forgotten the beauty of the lower reaches of the Dart. Today there was time to admire it as we walked up Corky (collecting chestnuts along the way) and cycled along the delightful lanes to Dittisham. There was a little confusion at Bozomzeal as we tried to find the correct route through the fields. A cleverly-disguised gateway eventually revealed itself, and lunch was enjoyed on the sunny banks of a steep meadow near Hole Copse amid BMX-style cycling antics.

The final section of the track was a bit muddy, and not at all to Noel's liking as he was riding a new bike which he was testing 'on approval'. When we emerged at Old Mill Creek he decided to wash his wheels off, but sadly got stuck in the creek and succeeded only in washing his feet!

Once we had struggled up the hill against an almost unbelievably large crowd of walkers that had suddenly appeared from nowhere, we discovered plenty of action in Dartmouth. There was some sort of boat race or regatta taking place on the quay, commentary about which was being provided over a public address system. To our amusement the commentator seemed to know as little about the event as we did, referring to the winning boats as 'the green thing' and 'the galleon' right up to the winning post! We quickly despaired and retired to a nearby cafe.

The ferry crossing, far from being our last hurdle, heralded the start of a new set of disasters for our happy gang. Luke stopped at the bottom of the hill to fix a slow puncture that had turned somewhat faster during the crossing. Jeremy stopped half-way up with another puncture and the rest of us waited at the top for half an hour for them to catch up. Luke had sadly had a second puncture on the way up, and now everyone was well frozen.

We managed to make good speed though Marldon, Red Post and Staverton despite the darkness and lowering fog, but when Andrew punctured near Riverford at 6pm we decided that it was time to send people homewards. We finally reached Buckfastleigh by 6.30.

We regret to inform readers that two of our younger members declined to ride the Torbryan track towards Denbury, even though one of them had a mountain bike! The track, incidentally, did not turn out to be as muddy as might have been expected.

The groups rejoined alongside Denbury's huge rubbish pile, presumably the accumulation of many weeks' collections in aid of the Bonfire Night appeal. It even had a couple of guys for a few minutes before we set off once more for our puncture-riddled return.

There was good support from Paignton once again for our special look into the world of cycle wheels.

Our most popular hostel weekend began with a certain amount of amusement. Brett had been entrusted to obtain the box of fireworks from Torquay and was waiting at Totnes with said fireworks stowed away in his rucksack when the eleven arrived from Buckfastleigh. There was then a three-pronged hunt through the town's fruit shops in search of some pumpkins for the 'Pumpkin Carving Competition'. Sadly there were none available and so a couple of medium-sized swedes were obtain instead.

The ride to Maypool was punctuated with a number of mechanical problems, providing some some degree of variety on this rather grey afternoon. Dodo's saddle persistently refused to remain attached to the bike, and his handlebars seemed similarly discontented with life awheel. Then there was Jason's slow puncture and Warren's chain .. so it was well dark when we finally arrived at the hostel!

Last year's display, organised by the wardens, was undoubtedly excellent, but sadly it made a big loss for the hostel. This year they were under strict instructions to take no risks, so we were asked to buy our own fireworks. A £20 box could not hope to compete with last year's £100 box, but the evening was entertaining and no-one had to pay more than 50p.

The evening was nicely rounded off with hot dogs, drinks and the famous pumpkin competition, this year attracting two teams. The warden (who was our judge this year) felt that one swede had better artistic quality whilst the other looked more professional, and so declared joint winners.

The self-caterers soon learned the benefits of claiming their milk on arrival at the hostel as they waited patiently outside reception until 8.30am. At Maypool the shop doesn't open until hostel breakfasts have been served and completed!
During the prolonged preparations for departure there was some consternation at Mark's efforts to pump his tyre to the state pressure with the assistance of his new pressure gauge. We had travelled not more than a few hundred metres when a loud explosion shattered the tranquillity of the Galmpton lanes!

A few souls left us at Paignton as we set off along the sea front route to Brett's house, where refreshments were enjoyed. We then proceeded to the Newton Abbot pick-up, arriving one hour late and just a few moments before the two Johns had given us up for lost.

In line with our new policy of finding some 'new' lanes on every ride, we rode through Humber to Ideford after enjoying a somewhat brief lunch part-way up the golf course road from Kingsteignton. The autumn leaves were looking at their very best today, particularly around Ugbrooke House where numerous pheasants also adorned the picture-book scenery.

Brookside tearooms provided a very comfortable resting place at Bovey Tracey, but when apple pies had been consumed it was time to hit the road once again. It was a leaf-strewn road, and led to the inevitable leaf fights before the drizzle set in and thoughts turned quickly homewards.