Poor Gary! As he prepared his bike for the ride he discovered that his derailleur spring was broken. He was forced to abandon the ride while the rest of us explored a new set of interesting lanes from Harberton to Rattery, arriving back at Crofters in time for a well-earned lunch and dry-out.

Our first ever social outside Buckfastleigh took place at Philip's house in Paignton and attracted a record turnout for the current season. Results of the quiz seem to indicate that whilst a few members have some catching up to do, most have reasonably good knowledge of the way they should behave on the road. It just remains for them to put it into practice.

The DA AGM rarely generates much excitement amongst our youngsters, and this year was no exception. Budgie's desire to cycle meant that two members, who would have been pleased to ride via Lustleigh in the car, stayed home, and so our attendance was down to just four.

We made good use of the morning by exploring a new route through Dunsford and Cheriton Bishop, passing some refreshingly different scenery along the way. Return was somewhat later, darker and wetter than anticipated and so a cafe at Moretonhampstead provided excellent date cakes for our delight.

The abysmal weather forecast did not deter a few brave souls from venturing out to the Totnes pick-up, despite the rather ominous sky. We managed to explore another new lane, this time between Moreleigh and Blackawton, before the heavens opened. A conveniently-situated evergreen near picturesque Millcombe provided shelter during lunch. With the Forces Cross cafe being only a few miles distant there seemed to be only one direction to be considered. The chosen route through Dallacombe, however, did not turn out to be as 'yellow' as the map had indicated, the central portion being overgrown with grass and the side being deeply pitted with holes and overhung with untrimmed headges.

When our host at the cafe had entertained us in her usual flamboyant manner, we departed for the usual return through Corky, Tuckenhay and Totnes, the youngsters amusing themselves along the way by decorating the rear portions of their bikes with huge plant stalks. No doubt passers-by thought that they were all equipped with the latest in radio communications technology.

Games of Monopoly definitely took second place to Richard's two chinchillas, who couldn't keep still for more than a second!

The Copper Kettle cafe at South Brent always provides a warm welcome, so we decided to sample some of their drinks and cakes before diverting homeward via Avonwick and Rattery. Toby, who at eight years old is one of our youngest members, seemed to sail up the hills on his 'new' bike.

Our 'new lanes on every ride' policy continued on today's ride when we tried the steep hill past Bovey hospital on our route past Hennock reservoirs. There were complaints of course, notably from Mark and Gary, but the views made it all worth the effort. A short excursion along a footpath brought us to a pleasant lunch spot on the banks of the Trenchford reservoir.

Blackingstone Rock was the next stop. The stiff wind threatened to blow Mark off the top of the rock, but proved useful in propelling armfulls of dead leaves towards their human targets. When the entertainments were concluded, a 'new' tearoom at Moretonhampstead provided us not only with excellent refreshments in pleasant surroundings but also a vast art gallery which Gary found particularly interesting.

The return was via North Bovey and Jay's Grave, the ford at the former providing the usual watery fun.

Seeing the slides of the year's tours and rides brought back happy memories for some and encouraged everyone to look forward to their summer's activities.

Our venue for Christmas Lunch rides has always been the Ship Inn at Starcross, until this year that is. Today we were going somewhere different - the very special Leusdon Lodge guest house on Dartmoor. Everyone had chosen their meals in advance from the menu and paid their deposits, so when we finally arrived (after exploring further new roads from Cold East Cross to Ponsworthy) everything was ready.

A huge long table occupied the mahogany-panelled dining room, and numerous staff were buzzing around the hall as we took our seats. Immediately the steaming soups were brought in, quickly followed by the excellent main courses and finally the Christmas puddings and other sweets. The atmosphere was perfect, and it seems certain that we will return again next year.

The descent to Spitchwick hardly provided sufficient exercise, but silly games on the common made up the deficit before we finally set off for home.

John Stuart was able to join us for this one ride, which happened to coincide with his all-too-brief Christmas holiday. The outward journey was memorable for our lack of success in finding an open cafe, the one at Erme Mill being closed for this week only. Nevertheless, the ride was enjoyable.

We were pleased to reach Bigbury: the fresh sea air and rough waves made lunch on Burgh Island all the more enjoyable. (We have heard, incidentally, that Bigbury youth hostel is due to close, so we will now never be able to find out what it was like!)

Having cycled back across the sandy beach, struggling to find ways of stopping the wheels from sinking into the wet sand, we set off up the hill for the return route, knowing that rain was forecast for the afternoon. Sadly it arrived almost immediately, but once we were drenched we were able to enjoy the ride once again.