A balmy evening ride to Ashburton turned into a gentle exploration of hidden paths, with Charles intrigued by the wedged design of Belford Mill. We revelled in the woodland track and Terrace Walk views, Sam sprinting up a felled conifer, before a final climb to Druid and swift drop to Peartree.

On a swift, sunny run to Bow Creek and back, the day’s charm was in playful pauses and riverside calm: the low tide let the youngsters step out onto the weir, and a nosy horse tried to raid a pannier. Ice creams in Harbertonford and the Pennywell descent ended the day.

After a spirited debate the juniors chose Hembury Woods. Charles and Heidi branched off to avoid the off‑road; the rest enjoyed the tracks despite a brief misunderstanding between Ben and Olly and a puncture for Ben.

The ride to Holne was all about simple fun: a park Frisbee contest with sticks needed for tree rescues, a first visit to the new café, and a rapid drop through Holne Woods where the front riders sailed past the junction and missed the last, best bit.

Sam got his wish with a return to Belford Mill, an evening that mixed play and mud: a deserted Ashburton Park let us loose on the BMX ramps (Olly favoured the swings) before a wet woodland track proved great fun, and we were back in Buckfastleigh in time for a post-ride game.

Torrential rain wiped out our Dartmoor Letterbox Special, and with the Ten Tors cancelled and participants airlifted from the moor we didn’t feel too bad about staying at Crofters for computer games — a washout turned into a dry, relaxed social.

We squeezed up Green Lane between tractors before enjoying the Baddaford to Landscove descents through fields being cut for grass. In the village, ex-pupils could not resist playing football on the school field, and Michael had a job dragging them away to head home.

With only two riders, our Avon Dam plan became a detour to Staverton, where the station master turned the morning into a railway lesson: Zac tried to buy a milky bar from an antique chocolate machine, then pulled disused levers in the signal box as the 12.20 rolled in.

With the rest of the group absent, Ashley relished his first exploration of Hembury Fort and a tenth run down the Slalom, while Michael’s five‑minute gradient “percentage readouts” helped him conquer the Hembury Hill climb.

With torrential rain forecast, the planned car‑assisted ride to Padstow and the Camel Trail was postponed to July; instead Crofters became a quiet base for a day of Doctor Who.

We set out for Avon Dam on a warm evening but, crawling up Dean hill, switched to Skerraton Down instead. On the moor two riders ignored Michael’s line and vanished into a gorse cul‑de‑sac—Sam said it served them right—before a fast run to Cross Furzes left little time to savour the South Devon views.

Planned as hill-climbing practice, the slog up Wallaford Road to Cross Furzes became Ashley’s breakthrough: fuelled by over-sweet squash, he flew up and vowed not to fear hills again. Later they paused to dam a stream on the moor before dropping to Scoriton and a social at Crofters.