Ryan rang early to say he was coming but then had to cancel just before the ride started because he had hurt his arm on a door at home. He did hope to join us later but unfortunately that didn’t happen, so just the four of us set off for the Avon Dam.

We were honoured to have Hallam on the ride. He had been given a choice of cycle ride or horse ride and he had chosen the cycle ride, partly because he had never been to the Avon Dam before.

It was already quite warm as we rode up Dean Hill and on to Bloody Pool. Here Hallam’s Mum passed with a horse box and Ash had a long chat with a bloke who was setting up his radio controlled aeroplane – the grass was apparently too long for take-off so he was just doing some maintenance on it where he would be well away from his neighbours.

We continued on to Shipley Bridge where we bought ice-creams and sat in the sun to eat them. Ash pointed out an interesting-looking beetle, Michael got involved and started talking about it and Callum promptly squished it.

The path to the dam was delightful today with rhododendrons out in full bloom. The reservoir itself was not quite full but very close – surprising in view of the recent spell of dry weather. The Teign Valley Pedal Pushers caught up with us at the dam: they had planned to go back to Shipley but decided to follow us when we suggested the moorland route to Buckfastleigh. Michael was not amused when one of the women in the group tried to poach Ashley for their fast group! We left them behind after a short time but I think they enjoyed the detour.

We left the reservoir at 12.20 so we expected to get home by 1.10. In fact we got back at 12.55 which was pretty good going. This had been a very good ride that everyone had really enjoyed.