Gavin was late, so his ride started with a mad dash over Cross Furzes to Michelcombe, where he finally caught us. Will then treated us to a demonstration of his acrobatic prowess in the park, with a professionally-executed back-flip across the damp grass. It was just a few minutes later that Philip then made the mistake of noticing an escaped chicken near the slide. Tao and Will's attempts to catch the errant bird provided entertainment on a par with the film Chicken Run, but when she took cover in a bramble hedge and the owners came along needing our assistance, there was no choice but to surround the bird on all sides and mount an assault through the hedge. After many scratches she was eventually retrieved from deep inside the hedge, and seemed quite pleased to be reunited with her keepers.

Surely that was enough excitement for one evening? Well, no actually. Will managed to take a corner too fast and grounded himself and the bike, breaking the mountings for the new front light that his brother had just bought him that afternoon. To make matters worse, it wasn't even dark yet so the light had never actually been used! Poor Tao!

Barbecue smells abounded from the camping areas of the Park. Our return route from Ashburton brought us past the scene of a car accident. The police were taking photographs and allowed us to pass, but it wasn't until later that we discovered that two Buckfastleigh lads had been seriously injured.