How many Range Rovers would you expect to see whilst riding from Buckfastleigh to Totnes on a wet Sunday morning in October? One? OK, how many G-reg Range Rovers might you see? None? What about Range Rovers with G-registrations ending with "WAC"? Not many?

We saw one go into the Dart Valley Railway as we left the start. When we saw two more near Austin's Bridge we began to get a little suspicious. By the time we had reached Totnes the count stood at 44! But whatever was it all about?

The explanation came at lunchtime when we returned to Buckfastleigh after a "potter" (as Julie put it) through the lanes near Rattery. We rode down to the DVR and found at least a million pounds worth of Range Rovers parked tidily in the car park. A gentleman from Austin Rover explained that the cars were there to provide regional dealers with hands-on training of the range. But why today? Because a new model, the "Discovery", was being launched in Plymouth tomorrow. Why here? Because they were trying to demonstrate that the Discovery could pull five carriages along the railway track. Unfortunately it had already done its stunt and was now under wraps again in its top-security lorry. All quite logical really - we should have guessed!

The ride had diverted to Buckfastleigh because of the inclement weather, of course. Conditions steadily improved as we enjoyed a warm lunch at Crofters, and when the sun was shining at 2pm we decided to explore the muddy tracks of South Dartmoor - specifically requested by Toby, Luke, Martyn and Martin, the Mountain Bike contingent. Mention should be made of Luke Hatherly, who poured water down Michael's back. But Richard reminded me that we'ñre supposed to mention good incidents as well, so I must report that Michael got him back.

The river near Cross Furzes was in full flood after the recent rain, and those who attempted to ride across got wet whether or not they put a foot down along the way! The day was concluded with an inevitable second stop at Crofters, for more tea and more computer games - this time Richard made sure he had a go on Imogen before Toby got his fingers on it!

Readers may be amused to hear that, earlier in the day, Ken and Julie had wandered all over Totnes with their van, trying to find a free parking space. They eventually gave up, paying a high fee and having to walk from the top of town to the Plains. If only they had read the sign in the lower park, which said (admittedly in small print) that parking is free on Sundays from 1 October! Regular readers may recall that Michael made a similar mistake last year, so he found the whole incident quite comical.