Luke Hatherly was not pleased. He had braved cold showers and a stiff headwind to reach the Newton Abbot pick-up with Mike Giles and Martyn Williams, and now he had a puncture. If he had been hoping for some moral support from the Paignton contingent, he was disappointed. Oh yes, they arrived all right, but in a car! Dave Humphreys' car! And they hadn't even brought their bikes. They waited just long enough to see him remove his wheel and then carried on to Bickington without them.

A lot of members chose to travel to Leusdon Lodge by car, some because they had flu and others because they had heard the bad weather forecast. Even so, there were plenty of people at Bickington waiting for the Totnes group. Included among them were Hazel and Erica Brown, who were convinced they had booked a meal and paid for it when in fact they had not. This wouldn't have been a problem last year, but today the large dining room would be filled to capacity.

When Luke and co hadn't arrived by 11.30 we had to abandon them to their fate or we would not have reached Leusdon by lunch time. The Paignton Car Riders Club agreed to direct them along our chosen route when they eventually arrived and then go on to Leusdon to attempt a booking for Hazel and Erica. Mike Giles would be able to navigate, and we hoped they would catch us up before very long.

The journey was not uneventful. Michael had a blowout in his Nutrak Marathon Beltguard tyre on the way to Cold East Cross. He managed to patch it up quite quickly and soon caught up with the others, but he vowed never to buy Nutrak again. The sunny periods often gave way to some brutal, icy showers which almost proved too much for young Anthony Davis. Nevertheless, we arrived at Leusdon spot on time at 1.15pm and were soon settled into the dining room enjoying some delicious meals. Mike, Luke, Martyn and Martin arrived just as we were tucking into our first course, so they didn't miss much.

It was indeed a grand occasion. All previous South Dartmoor attendance records for Christmas Lunch rides were smashed with a 60% increase. Conditions were somewhat cramped however: there was a certain amount of seat changing during the meal, with some taking turns at sitting on the window ledges. But the meal offered excellent value at just £137.20, and we are as usual extremely grateful to the proprietors. Let us hope that the Section doesn't grow any more before next year, so that we can use Leusdon once again.

When the trophies and certificates had been awarded and all announcements had been made, it was time to set off for home. Richard Hopper led an enthusiastic bunch of trackers along Dr Blackall's Drive, whilst Michael took the younger members directly homewards. Typically, Michael's group ended up taking longer than Richard's, because they got four punctures between them. We always seem to get punctures when conditions are dark, cold and wet and everyone wants to get home! The youngsters coped well, however, and deserve every praise for riding to this very special event.