A brisk dash to Ashprington turned into an unhurried adventure: a puncture at Totnes, a picnic above the Dart and then comic soakings as three tried to ride the ford at Bow Bridge. With tired legs and underestimated miles, we rolled back late but pleased with a sunlit day.

A short Hembury outing took the lower track before climbing the ‘new’ line, with Ash and Ryan taking a Slalom run. The planned Lord of the Rings game was shelved when the disc went missing, so COD4 and the trampoline filled the evening.

We kept it short with a spin to Ashburton Play Park for some jumps, then looped back via the rarely used Pridhamsleigh track, happily clear and fast. Ash chased off a stoat to spare a young rabbit before later coming off and hurting his knee.

We set off for Chalk Ford, ticking off a record 24‑minute climb to Cross Furzes before dropping to the ford. There we found the piglets again—this time with a camera—and enjoyed a playful pause. A puncture on the return shelved plans to extend the ride.

A hot, sociable ride to Avon Dam, with Hallam choosing his first visit over a horse ride. Rhododendrons lined the path, ice-creams at Shipley, and the Teign Valley Pedal Pushers briefly joined us—one even tried to poach Ash—before a swift run home.

A Tracks Special to Baddaford and on to Landscove unravelled when Zac’s puncture revealed two holes and, after pumping, a snapped valve. With no spare tube he walked while the group rode back, the evening ending at Crofters with Call of Duty instead of Lord of the Rings.

On the hottest day so far, a short spin to Staverton turned into a leisurely, heat‑dodging outing: a rear puncture fixed in tree shade and a pause at the station to watch the steam railway’s Driver Experience roll through before the regular passenger train.

A quiet, easy evening spin to Hembury Woods on deserted trails. The mood was set by a playful riverside moment: Michael dropped a huge stone into the river while Ash and Callum searched for skimming stones, and their attempted revenge never quite worked.

We set out for Dartmeet but, with showers building, settled for a circuit of Venford Reservoir. The strikingly low water let us walk onto rocky grass usually submerged, before a damp return through lower Hembury Woods.

A humid evening took us towards Ashburton and onto the Parkfield track: a rough but scenic higher stretch followed by a lower woodland section swarming with flies yet full of jumps. We paused at Landscove with a Frisbee—briefly stranded atop a hedge—before heading home via Green Lane.

A delayed start, Michael wrestling with a soft car tyre, turned our planned morning ride into a social, with a trip to Plymouth to see Shrek 3 in 3D, a comic fairy-tale quest as Shrek seeks an heir while facing fatherhood. Back home we rounded it off with some spirited network games.

Heavy showers turned the planned evening ride into a social evening. We headed to Plymouth for pool and rounded off with a brief spell of computer games.