Ride Reports
Hembury Woods
With Glen and Ryan lacking lights, we kept it short: along the lower Hembury track, then home via Hawson Court before dusk.
Landscove
As the light faded, Glen and Ryan insisted on a track, so we pushed hard up Green Lane and past Baddaford to catch a long, bumpy descent across four fields. Almost dark at the bottom, nobody needed lights, and Michael’s nudges to keep pace only sharpened a memorable evening ride.
Totnes
Dennis’s new road bike transformed the morning, his pace freeing time to explore the steam railway: puzzled by two trains near Staverton, we learned at Totnes Riverside about the new Staverton Loop, then later paused at Dartington for a juggler and unicyclist. Dennis rightly felt proud of his ride.
Skerraton Down
Seeking real darkness to test new lights, we climbed Dean Hill and onto the moor near Skerraton Down. Overgrown nettles slowed the approach, but the sweep of south Devon’s lights from the top and a quiet descent past fields of ponies made it a memorable night ride.
Golant 2006 2
Sunlit cliffs and a first youth‑hostel adventure set the tone for a small trio’s coastal ride to Fowey. Glen’s initiation featured a seagull’s direct hit in Looe and a hostel greeting from an Australian with cavernous ears and a notice warning that one shower might deliver boiling water. Day two brought the long‑awaited visit to the Monkey Sanctuary, poignant stories of woolly monkeys and lively capuchins. It ended with a mysterious halt at the Torpoint ferry, patience tested and spirits intact.
Games evening
Our first games social of the season was dominated by four-player clashes on the PC network. Atomic Bomberman brought the loudest duels, while Battle for Middle-earth II delivered sprawling skirmishes that kept everyone absorbed.
Fermoy's Garden Centre
Setting a brisk pace through the lanes to Fermoy's Garden Centre, we refuelled on pasty and pasta, then were dismayed to find Christmas stock already out in mid-October. The return via Broadhempston left us cold but dry beneath threatening cloud.
Games evening
A quiet games evening overshadowed by Ben’s fruitless attempt to install an out-of-date Grand Prix PC game, which took up at least an hour across two computers; Glen could only drop in briefly before leaving for London to see his father.
Badminton: Newton Abbot and computer games
Rain arrived just before the start, so the ride became a Crofters social with hot drinks and computer games, followed by an afternoon of badminton at Dyrons Leisure Centre in Newton Abbot. We welcomed Matt, settling in with his new bike, and heard from more youngsters keen to join soon.
Cinema: Click
Just two of us made the cinema trip to Plymouth to see Click, a comedy in which a harried architect finds a universal remote that lets him fast-forward life, mixing laughs with a touch of sentiment. A small turnout, but a simple, good evening out.
Bellever 2006 2
Thick mist swallowed Bellever as we arrived, yet curiosity pulled us onto the moor, where Glen vanished into the grey and reappeared after finding a digger and a lake, and we raced to Dunnabridge. Morning turned bright and strange, with long cobwebs drifting over the lanes. In Princetown a fire engine stood outside the Foxtor Cafe after a kitchen fire, but tea and a Dartmoor Devil menu still came before an easy run along the old railway.
Games evening
A quiet games evening: Zac and Glen played on the PC network, while Ben and Michael took turns with Atomic Bomberman and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II.