Despite the ominous clouds and a pessimistic weather forecast, there was a good turnout to the final pick-up point at Gappah. From there, the steep hill caused some difficulties but fat Dave showed the benefits of his diet by coping admirably - still a long way to go yet though Dave!

At Luton John surprised Ken (but not those who knew him) by falling into a ford even though it was not on our route. Apparently he makes a habit of this.

After a long climb, assisted by a tailwind, we arrived at the area of our destination. Despite going up and down a very steep section of hill a few times, Ashcombe Tower just could not be found. Sensing a slight undercurrent of mutiny Michael very wisely declared a lunch spot at a pleasant wooded verge where the younger members of the group amused themselves with a game that was a cross between Rambo and Tag.

After lunch the weather was looking decidedly worse, so we took a direct route towards home. This was into the wind which by then had freshened considerably and proved hard work to pedal against, especially for mountain bikes.

By the time we got to Kingsteignton it was still early, so a further excursion to Bradley Woods was suggested. On the way Michael went to the hospital to have some grit removed from his eye. He caught us up at the river crossing, just after all the hard work of lifting bikes over a series of gates by the bridge had been carried out. There was a ford there, but it was so deep that even John wouldn't have a go, despite all of our encouragement in the hope of seeing another show.

We then set off through the lanes towards Pick and Park for a coffee stop. However, just after a particularly manure-covered stretch of road Ken got a puncture - the fourth in a Beltguard tyre in less than a year. This was much to the delight of Michael as, being technically an adult, Ken had to mend it himself.

The cafe at Pick and Park pleasantly surprised everyone by its high quality and it made a delightful end to a very enjoyable day. For John Stuart, however, the day had not quite ended. During the return to Buckfastleigh a majority of those present (including Richard Hopper who should have known better) voted to take the Beaston track near Broadhempston. It was even muddier and wetter than Michael had feared, with large lakes of muddy water completely blocking progress at several points.

It was John, of course, who managed to fall off in the middle of the largest and muddiest of them all, in full view of everyone. He was filthy, but was able to see the funny side of the situation. Paul HW, who had laughed loudest at John's predicament, soon found himself clinging to a gate in the middle of another lake - sadly the gate was not fastened properly …