A simple evening loop: along Colston Road to Charlie’s Cross, the track short‑cut to Hole Farm, and back via Abham. The report is very short, reflecting a straightforward ride with the short‑cut as its modest highlight.

Delayed by a traffic accident, we squeezed in a hot, fast blast round the Red Track at Haldon Forest Park, relishing the shady sections. The notorious Black jump had been dismantled, and the new car-park café lacked pancakes, so we settled for drinks and ice creams before heading home tired.

An evening ride to Five Lanes unravelled when Ash’s tyre, flat from the start, proved unfixable: the valve blew at the top of the steep track and nobody had a spare. Gavin rescued us on Green Lane and the outing became a home computer‑games social with Call of Duty 4.

Riding up the Plym Valley cycleway, the highlight was watching clearly visible Peregrine Falcons from the first viaduct’s binoculars. Back at Plympton, the youngsters sealed the day with a Pizza Hut takeaway, before an afternoon Call of Duty 4 games social.

The drizzly afternoon cleared, but with no way to get Ryan and his bike down from Holne the ride was swapped for a cinema social at Vue Plymouth to see Terminator 4. A gritty post-apocalyptic clash of humans and Skynet’s machines, it delivered brisk, satisfying action.

A relaxed morning loop around Ashburton took us past Belford Mill and along the woodland track, with a pause on a fallen tree for photographs. A stream of motorbikes on the back road—likely a rally—gave the ride its unusual soundtrack, before a quiet finish via Terrace Walk.

With Ash nursing a trampoline‑injured finger, the ride became a low‑key social: computer games and videos at Crofters. A simple change of plan, but a welcome chance to unwind together.

A brisk moorland dash to Chalk Ford defined the morning, with Ash joining after Father’s Day and the trio sweeping from Lud Gate across the open ground. A spellbinding sighting of around ten deer in the park gave the ride its quiet highlight before the stony drop to Scoriton.

Rain shrank ambitions to a local loop, with spirits revived at the Holne café before a misjudged attempt to resurrect the old shortcut through Hembury Woods. Earth banks, brambles, fallen trunks and a river wade turned it into an ordeal, ending with scratches and a firm vow not to return.

An evening exploration of the tracks in Hembury Woods ended in a late return when Ash realised halfway home he’d left his watch by the river. Before the dash back, there was time for stone skimming and a paddle in the cool Dart.

A stop-start morning defined by heavy showers: we waited it out with games, then set off up Dean Hill only to be caught by the rain halfway and turn back at Ryan’s request. A brief outing with the weather calling the shots.

A playful evening ride ended at Landscove’s play park, where two local lads impressed us with swing backflips; Ryan slowly realised he’d met one of them years before. We rolled back to Buckfastleigh a little later than usual after the fun descent and its fiddly gates.