Mamhead is a small parish on the massive east flank of the Haldon Hills, which rise to over 250m. Mamhead Park is exceedingly beautiful, with many noble trees, and views over a luxuriant landscape to the sea. It was Thomas Ball, then owner of the estate, who erected the obelisk on the hill above the house in 1743. Its purpose was to provide a landmark for vessels using the port of Exeter, or any others who might be driven onto the coast. The area provided an interesting but chilly lunch spot for us: Martin and Dayle had no intention of freezing, however, when they could be riding around the many tracks that crossed the surrounding woodland.

Dayle was on his new mountain bike today, and rumours were circulating that he was shaping up to be another Budgie - keeping both himself and his bike ultra clean, even after the muddiest of rides. Budgie listened to the conversations, but said nothing as he munched on Martin's Ice Gems.

There was disappointment all round when the proposed afternoon tracks were found to be closed. There was now no doubting everyone's desire to get to a cafe, so a route was selected that brought us eventually to Bovey Tracey. (I say eventually because Phillip's chain broke on the top of Haldon.) Along the way we paused briefly in the peaceful village of Trusham - not so peaceful when our youngsters carried out some tests on the wooden playground apparatus. They made so much noise in that quiet place that a local youngster came along to join in the fun. The verdict was that Trusham playpark was better than Buckfastleigh's equivalent.

When Hazel had finished musing over how things might have been if she had bought the house in Trusham a number of years ago, and Dave Robinson had completed his assessment of the village (he was very taken with it) we proceeded to the Brookside Tearooms for some well earned warmth and refreshments. The old lady in the cafe took an obvious shine to the younger members, and gave them special treatment. She even helped them as they got onto their hands and knees looking for Luke K's 50p which he assured us he had dropped - he later found it in his pocket and put on the appearance of surprise!

The air seemed warmer as we rode homewards, but it probably wasn't. For once we had plenty of time to enjoy the return, even exploring some interesting lanes along the way. New rider Phillip Harler had coped well with the ride, and probably hadn't really needed the morning lift to Gappah after all.

And so we reached the end of a thoroughly enjoyable midwinter ride; not too long, but with some interesting locations. One final point: the Observation Award for today's ride goes to Alan Skinner. As we arrived at the Waddon Brakes section of the A380 near Beggars' Bush, he asked why cars were overtaking around a right-hand bend when they obviously couldn't see if the road was clear. The answer, of course, was that the road is in fact one-way, being the Exeter-bound section of a dual-carriageway. It is one of the few places where the two carriageways are completely separated.