Haytor was the first tor of the day after the climb from the Bickington pick-up. Budgie wanted to climb to the top like everyone else, but sadly his SPD cycling shoes just wouldn't give him any grip, so no certificate for him!

Top Tor and Pill Tor were next - the younger riders climbed up every little rock they could see to try to earn extra points. Bone Hill made a very pleasant lunch stop and fourth tor, then we set about the walk to Bell Tor, Chinkwell Tor and Honeybag Tor. It was on this walk that Eliot got Philip very wet indeed. We also saw a number of par gliders surfing the air currents and a number of feathers strewn around.

After the descent to Widecombe we were highly amused to find a group of folk dancers on the Green, entertaining the tourists. We stopped at the post office shop for refreshments and then climbed Southcombe Hill to visit our eighth tor, Wind Tor.

What happened next was one of the most unfortunate incidents in the history of our club. Paul was racing ahead of the group around the bend at the top of the Shallowford hill. As he rounded the corner he came across a slow-moving car heading towards him. The car stopped but sadly Paul could not: he clipped the corner of the car and sustained a nasty injury to his shin.

Michael rode down to Shallowford to call the emergency services and within minutes the air ambulance arrived to take Paul to Derriford hospital at Plymouth. We were all a little shocked by events and didn't much feel like completing the last two tors. As we rode home I think everyone realised that the safe riding instructions given out by Michael and the Safety Team in recent weeks were actually critically important for everyone's safety on the rides.

(Paul was unable to take part in club rides for several weeks but he made a full recovery thanks to the efforts of the emergency staff. Apparently he had always wanted to fly in a helicopter, but lying flat on his back in the underbelly of the helicopter meant he didn't really get to enjoy it at all.)

[This report never previously published - please tell us if you see any errors or omissions]