Some of our members were apparently “too sleepy” to come out today, but we proceeded with our planned ride to Dartmeet with Julian adding to our numbers.

We made good speed through Buckfast, Scoriton and Michelcombe, then raced a horse up to Holne. Whilst the weather was mainly dry at Holne it turned damp on top of the moor as we rode past Venford and Ash and Callum were getting anxious about the dark clouds. We took the track over the moor from Combestone Tor right down to the stepping stones over the Dart: the water level was not too high today so we were able to cross easily, although Jack was happy to let Ash carry his bike over.

We arrived at the Badgers Holt restaurant by 12.30 or so, enjoyed some tasty refreshments and then Ash purchased a doggy tax disc holder from the gift shop for his mother’s birthday. We then tackled the big climb of Dartmeet Hill which turned out to be hot work at times.

Dr Blackalls Drive offered the usual spectacular views over the Dart Valley, but progress was interrupted when Ash got a pinch puncture. Things were delayed further when Michael discovered that Jerry had failed to put the cap back on the repair fluid, leaving it solid and useless. Julian saved the day by loaning Ash his own spare tube.

We concluded a good ride with the rapid descent over the moor to New Bridge, the climb to Hembury and the final descent of the Slalom track. Arriving home by 3.10 we finished off the day with some Modern Warfare 2, although Julian spent some of the time watching the Tour de France.

This officially turned out to be our best ride of the summer. We rode to Ashburton on a glorious sunny morning and tackled Ausewell Hill with enthusiasm. Callum O’B got faster as he went up and it was a great feeling when he actually reached Cold East Cross with the rest of us. Just for a change this notoriously chilly cross roads was warm and very pleasant.

Jack had been really looking forward to visiting Bonehill again, a destination that had always been his favourite ride with the club. It was so good there today that we ended up spending 25 minutes there: everyone really enjoyed it and Callum O’B wanted us to visit again on another ride soon!

We took the track to Natsworthy and then followed the road down to Widecombe where we had a very enjoyable café stop in The Green restaurant: the milk shakes were nice, but not as good as the ones Michael makes at Crofters, even though they used the same Crusha syrup. We met ex-member Luke Fursdon in the car park, now running 15 acres of his parents’ farm and a b&b.

On the steep downhill into Ponsworthy Michael’s front brake cable snapped and had to be replaced. He was pleased to see that Ash and Jack were coming back up the hill to see where he was this time, an improvement on a recent ride to Staverton. We continued down the lane through Leusdon, made an adjustment to Callum O’Bs brakes and then rode along the grassy riverside at Spitchwick.

When Michael checked his pannier for his blue Aerobie Superdisc Ultra (Frisbee) it wasn’t there. He assumed he had left it at home, but in reality he had failed to pack it away after we used it at Spitchwick on Friday evening. If only he had realised he could have initiated a major search for it. Still, Spitchwick was very busy, so it was likely it had already been taken by someone.

Ash and Jack rode the Slalom on the way home, bringing us back to Buckfastleigh by 4.30. There was time for games until 5.15.