After the long pull from Bickington, a biting wind near Jay’s Grave made Julie Twydell-Hobday’s shared apple pie a welcome rescue. With hands cold and spirits wavering, a quick vote scrapped the Hamel Down climb for a fast drop to the warmth of the Widecombe café.

With Dave out with a bad back, Ken stepped in and, after a series of votes, guided a smooth, hilly loop via Westerland to Stoke Gabriel, then Aish and Berry Pomeroy. Heading home he rode through what he thought was a puddle but was a deep pothole, stayed upright and vowed to improve his lighting.

A start-line mix-up defined the evening: Michael returned early from Bristol and chased hard up Dean Hill, on to Diptford and home via Rattery, certain the group were ahead. Meanwhile they were still at Buckfastleigh, took a brief ride up Dean Hill, then headed back to Crofters to explain what had happened.

A ride to Curtisknowle was defined by an unplanned split when keen leaders overshot the turn for a superb track detour, and by an impromptu stop at the famed goat farm for goat’s milk scones and apple juice—memorable less for the fare than the stomach‑turning llama odour.

With the leader laid low and no one else at the pick-up, the ride became a free-ranging dash to Woodbury Common: ice cream, jumps around the castle, politely halted by a warden, then laps of the race track and a chat with mountain bikers, before a canal run home via Dawlish for tea.

Aiming for Mansands, we sped by main road to Hillhead, only for a puncture to prompt Ken's impromptu repair tutorial and cost us the destination; we looped back via Galmpton and Stoke Road to Marldon. The evening became a display of cycle lighting, from Dave's experimental set-up to Ken's elaborate array.

There’s no full write-up, but the evening is remembered for a relaxed exploration of lanes and tracks around Landscove, with Michael guiding the group between occasional showers that left the byways quiet and glistening.

Clampitt brought a surprise: Michael found the once‑wooded slopes clear‑felled, leaving a stark scene. The group picnicked on grassy banks, looped the reservoirs, then some tried a rough bridleway shortcut to Five Lanes; a quick puncture stop preceded the split at Bovey Tracey.

The evening revolved around Ivan’s refurbished Moulton—admired by Ken, dismissed by Gary—and a brief bike-swap that confirmed a Sturmey Archer 3‑speed is hard work on local hills. With light fading we turned back at Coffinswell, taking the new bridleway to avoid the usual tedious climb.

A relaxed evening ride to Michelcombe and Holne changed course when the leaders missed the left turn on the old estate track, taking us downhill through the woods to Holne Bridge. We still kept the tradition of a play on the swings before heading back through the River Dart Country Park.

An afternoon ride towards Galmpton Creek veered into farce as our leader misread footpath signs, earning a landowner’s rebuke and a detour through cow pats. It peaked with a hasty retreat from ‘cows’ that were bulls, capped by a spectacular back somersault into nettles.

With no one joining at Chudleigh Bridge, the Buckfastleigh trio carried on alone in the sun for a hard-riders run to Exeter Cathedral, a straightforward day defined more by the empty rendezvous than any drama.