Heavy rain didn't stop a few hardy souls from turning up at the start, including Joseph Bellows on his new Trek 800. They 'enjoyed' a short ride along Colston Road and returned early.

Our first social at South Dartmoor school was a resounding success. We had the exclusive use of the CDT room, with eight metalwork vices and numerous benches. Most members brought wheels, and during the course of the evening they learned how to dismantle the wheel bearings, clean them, replace damaged parts, regrease, reassemble and adjust them. There was adult assistance to guide them, of course, and we also supplied grease, bearings and tools.

Ken was beginning to panic when Martin Luke's Shimano gears came apart, but he managed to complete the job on time.

This was an excellent ride, taking us through some delightful scenery enhanced by the perfect winter weather conditions. Neil, who had been feeling unwell for half an hour, decided to go home at Bovey Tracey - a sensible decision, as it later transpired that he had German Measles.

A steep climb past the hospital brought us quickly to the reservoirs, and thence to the Rock for lunch. A few foolhardy members ate lunch on the top whilst the sensible ones sheltered from the wind at the base of the rock, making the most of the sunshine. Moretonhampstead's Mearsdon Manor provided welcome warmth and refreshments before we proceeded to North Bovey and the famous ford. The river was too high for fording today, but the muddy track offered amusement for many - the sight of Paul HW and others gingerly creeping along a high bank to avoid getting dirty was amusing.

Part way up the hill towards the Manaton road we met an interesting old lady and her two rescued dogs. After a short chat we were on our way again, only to be subjected to a mad motorist hurtling down the hill towards us. The icy patches which were causing us problems did not affect the car, but he very nearly overshot the bend: Paul and others were fortunate to survive!

A 'hot snack van' at Hound Tor proved irresistible for some despite the descending darkness - Dave Robinson certainly wasn't going to wait for them. When we finally descended Ausewell hill we discovered that Tao was in a poor state: his fingerless gloves had done little to protect him from the cold. We thawed him out in the Peartree filling station, and then Michael's gloves protected him for the short journey home. He vowed to bring better gloves in future!

While we waited in Totnes for others to appear Richard H took the opportunity to fix his front derailleur. No one else turned up, so we headed up the hill under the still ruined East Gate arch. We had decided that Julian needed some hill work, so the route to Dartmouth took in Dittisham and Old Mill creek, but left him unimpressed with our concern. The return journey involved avoiding some maniacal motorcyclists outside Harbertonford. Harberton itself suffers from the Robin Hood syndrome: every road in or out has an arrow on it. So, once again mindful of Julian's development, that was the way we returned to Buckfastleigh.

Thanks to Luke's sterling efforts as Publicity Officer we had a photographer from the Weekender who took up about half an hour of our time. Then, just as we were about to set off Luke had a puncture - another quarter of an hour gone!

Finally we set off through Compton, temporarily closed to traffic for pipe laying. Ben went rushing on ahead with the 'Big Boys' but failed to negotiate a slight bend and hit a stone wall at considerable speed. Dad's knowledge of first aid ("Can you wriggle your fingers?") was supplemented by Charlie who is a qualified nurse, and Ben was soon on his way - hopefully a bit wiser.

Soon after this we acquired a dog who followed us nearly as far as North Whilborough. When we stopped for Luke to mend another (or same) puncture the dog amused us by teasing some Heifers into chasing him out of their field.

At North Whilborough we separated into 'trackies' and sensible people. During the route discussion a P**t in a Ford Escort hurtled round a bend missing Julie's rear (trailer!) by inches. It's an interesting question - who would have been at fault if an impact had occurred? We undoubtedly were taking up much of the road, but it was a very quiet route and he could clearly see us as he drove at us like a complete idiot. In future we must ensure that we don't block off roads when we stop, however quiet they may be.

There followed the long climb to the Priory, the steep drop into Abbotskerswell and another climb out again. Coffee was taken at Pick 'n' Park where we said goodbye to Gary and Luke before a nice ride back to Marldon.

The first ever morning ride from Buckfastleigh didn't go exactly to plan. First of all, Michael fooled David and Matthew by being early at the start: they thought they'd missed the group and made their own way to Cross Furzes. Meanwhile Michael met Matthew's father, who was somewhat concerned that his son wasn't with us!

We met Oliver and Tom at Cross Furzes as well as David and Matthew. Oliver got permission to ride with us until midday, so we set off along the track to Hayford Hall and Lud Gate. Pupers Hill lay in front of us, and the plan was to ride to the top and then across the ridge towards Water Oak Corner, returning to Buckfastleigh via the Avon Dam. Two successive mistakes compounded to make this impossible, however.

Michael made the first mistake. The leading riders were half way up Pupers Hill while the tail enders were still close to Lud Gate. Looking at his watch, Michael decided to direct the stragglers along a more direct route to the ridge, veering to the left. This should have enabled the leaders to see the spectacular views from Pupers and then meet the others along the ridge. Unfortunately, however, the stragglers took various different short cuts, and several of the leaders changed direction to intercept the stragglers. After a few moments, Michael could not be sure if anyone had gone up to Pupers. He had to spend ten minutes going to the top to check. When he found nobody there he proceeded to rejoin the others along the ridge.

As he approached, he saw a few cyclists riding off towards Water Oak Corner. The others were waiting as they had been directed. When heads had been counted and questions asked it became clear that David and Matthew had been followed by four other members. As we watched them in the distance they turned down the hill towards Cross Furzes, and Michael was powerless to stop them. The rest of us had no choice but to follow them, so we missed out on the Avon Dam.

The mistake here was made by David and Matthew, who should have waited with the main group until Michael arrived. They did not know Michael's proposed route, and moving off made it difficult to see if anyone had gone missing on the previous short section of riding.

We now had time to spare, so we decided to ride home via Coombe and Hawson Court. Sadly, however, Joseph Watkins got a puncture at the top which Matthew and David were unable to repair in four attempts. Michael, being without adult assistance, could not cycle up to assist, so he led the other riders home and then returned in his car to collect Joseph. Matthew and David had been very helpful, which made up for their earlier mistake!

Another evening of fun and games at the Southpark centre, including Risk, table tennis, pool and computer games.

Uninspiring weather did not deter the entire Walker family or the other twelve participants from taking part in this enjoyable ride to Exeter along the canal path from Powderham. Conditions at Turf Lock were so cold that we shortened lunch to just fifteen minutes, but once moving again we soon became comfortably warm.

The drag up to Haldon from Clapham was not particularly welcomed by the slower riders, but we still managed to get home by about 6.30.

Although there was still snow on the ground the council crews had done a good job and the roads were ice-free. Martin and Dayle joined Richard at the start and after picking up Richard B at Alston Cross we found Luke waiting for us at Chudleigh Bridge with new rider Seb. Luke demonstrated his understanding of the word cool by wearing shorts and cycling mitts.

Once we left the road at Steps Bridge the snow on the path became both a visual delight and a challenge to staying upright. The forestry track from Clifford Bridge presented new problems: the deep puddles had thick ice on them, but was it enough to take our weight? Most of the time, yes. Enjoyably Fingle Bridge had only a handful of motorised visitors, and here Dayle found that the Ribena in his water bottle was undrinkable - it had frozen.

Hunters' Path was the usual strenuous struggle to the top, but we were rewarded by excellent views of Castle Drogo in the snowy landscape. Tea at Moretonhampstead allowed the thawing of extremities and fortified us for the return home.

Members may be interested to know that a pot of tea at the Primrose café is now £1 per person!

When everyone had assembled at the Totnes pick-up we made an impressive sight for the locals - a huge throng of cyclists that filled a large portion of the Plains.

Our favourite route to Ashprington is along the Sharpham Drive track, but this doesn't suit everyone, especially in the winter period when the track is muddy. Today, just nine of our number opted for the road alternative, and paid a penalty with a prolonged half-hour wait at Ashprington. It wasn't that the trackies were being unusually slow: the track boasted several muddy patches, much to the excitement of many younger riders who managed to get filthy, and there were a number of styles to be negotiated - not an easy matter with twenty bikes! Then there was the gate which looked like a barbed wire fence: several had struggled to carry their bikes over the top before Neil pointed out that it could be opened. And then Christian broke a chain in the middle of a particularly muddy patch - quickly repaired, but causing slight delay nevertheless. To round off the fun there was a steep-sided field to climb (with an awkward style at the top of course), at which point Andrew Walker would have lost his new cycle computer had Dave Robinson not spotted it lying in the leaves.

We returned swiftly to Totnes via Bowden, and thence to Paignton and Buckfastleigh by our separate ways. The Buckfastleigh contingent were feeling so energetic that they opted for the hard return via Rattery. Joseph B had chain problems along the way, but these were eventually fixed when Neil returned to find him.