Heavy showers and a Father’s Day deadline cut this one short, but it was still a brisk ride to Skerraton Down on the open moor. The day’s character came from impromptu Aerobie contests and a brief explore on foot of the secluded Dean Woods valley.

Gale-force winds and showers cut the evening’s junior ride to just two, so we kept it short with a loop through Buckfast and a foray into the woodland tracks near Bilberryhill. Brief but atmospheric, the bluster turned the off-road exploration into the day’s small adventure.

Welcoming Keir back, we chose Staverton over the cycle path and made a thorough evening of its riverside tracks—walking past the houses to avoid upsetting residents, even being checked by a watchful owner—before looping over the steam railway to recover Keir’s forgotten helmet.

With everyone riding faster than on their last visit, the group climbed to Holne before a lively descent from Gallant Le Bower. Highlights included a friendly stop for cold drinks in the village and a couple of tumbles—Harry sliding off and Rachel meeting a holly bush—on the way down.

An ambush with water pistols at Michelcombe set a playful tone, prompting a switch from the planned Venford climb to River Dart Country Park. After a tumble on the riverside track, Keir soon recovered and, on his new bike, rode the final hill to Crofters for the first time.

An exploratory ride put us on Bench Tor with Dartmoor views to rival Scotland. The descent was the test: a fence-line scramble and Gavin catapulted on a steep section, then a sudden downpour drove us sodden through the woods, past waterfalls, to New Bridge.

Against expectations, the group reached Avon Dam by 8.50 despite Joe on a borrowed bike, Keir nursing a minor hand injury and Jack returning after weeks off. As temperatures fell Keir borrowed a fleece, then he and Jack were unstoppable on the descent — their hardest evening ride yet.

After a flurry of punctures and fixes delayed the start, a testing loop over Haytor and Houndtor turned into a triumph for new rider Gage. He even unearthed two Dartmoor letterboxes over lunch—prompting Tao to admit he’d been looking for red boxes, not Tupperware.

No juniors turned up, so Matthew and Michael turned the junior evening ride into an energetic spin through Staverton and Broadhempston, a quiet, brisk outing that made the best of the evening.

With drizzle forecast we chose a Buckfast loop with an easy escape, and the evening turned playful: the Burchetts Wood track raised smiles, Gage found the ford deeper than it looked, and Harry’s swimming goggles briefly battled the rain before we rolled home.

Jack’s first day ride became a small triumph, as he rode to Mothecombe beach and back. Club spirit showed when Will’s lack of lunch was solved by shared rations, and the low tide crossing of the Erme brought laughter as attempts to ride it ended with soaked trainers.