A perfect spring morning offered ideal weather conditions for our first 2003 excursion to the Avon Dam. Joe did not relish the prospect of climbing all those hills on his BMX, so Tao took him back to Michael's to collect a mountain bike on the way to Dean Prior. Soon we were off again, but Michael's blowout necessitated another bike swap before we had finished the climb past Nurston.

The hills seemed never ending to the new youngsters, so Michael helped Joe and Tommy to pace themselves and select appropriate gears: soon they were climbing long hills without stopping, and feeling very pleased with their new-found skills.

The car park at Shipley Bridge was full to overflowing, so our progress up the picturesque riverside path to the dam was a little slower than usual. It wasn't long before the huge wall of the dam came into view: Ben, who had never seen it, was quite stunned by its enormity. We weren't exactly early after the morning's delays, but we made time to lay on the grass overlooking the water, to chat and eat refreshments in the noonday sun.

The final part of our route, across the open moor behind the reservoir, was new to nearly all the youngsters. Ben made a long detour to avoid crossing the path of a moorland cow, only to watch it scuttle away as soon as Michael approached it. The promised panoramic views from the top of the hill did not materialise, being obscured by a thick haze, but the downhill to Cross Furzes proved every bit as exciting as Michael had predicted. Tommy managed to fly over his handlebars on the final descent, but he reckoned that was the best part of the ride!