This ride was somewhat unusual in that the Buckfastleigh crowd were to come to Marldon, giving the Locals a late start at 11.15. In the event they were somewhat late, and this was compounded by an almost immediate stop at Marldon shops for snacks etc.

Finally we set off properly with Paul (just turned 8 years) proudly leading on his new mountain bike. At the first side road he stopped, rather abruptly, thinking that he would have to give way to any cars from the left. It was explained that, whilst caution and self-preservation should always be uppermost in a cyclist's mind, such a practice would make our progress painfully slow - even for South Dartmoor Section.

Again we set off - all except Martin Luke, who had noticed a lack of front brake, and a long suffering Michael who was obliged to provide and fit a replacement. Unfortunately he was lacking the right equipment (a second spanner!) so he advised Martin that Ken's assistance would be required. Ken was, by this time, waiting at the next turn off half a mile down the road.

Michael set about packing the tools away, only to look up two minutes later to find that Martin had gone to get Ken on foot! At times like this there is only one thing to do: have lunch and wait! Eventually some of the others rode back, retrieved Martin along the way and brought the episode to a satisfactory conclusion.

Again we set off, just two miles and 1.5 hours from Marldon. After that lot the rest of the ride seemed rather routine: lunch by the side of the road; cafe stop at Stoke in Teignhead; cafe was closed; Ken fell off Tandem; Paul had a tantrum; Luke Hatherly split a tyre because of poorly adjusted brake blocks; cafe stop (eventually) at Pick 'n' Park; home. What a day!