The air was chilly at the start despite the sunshine, so Lawrence collected his fleece on the way past his house. By the time we reached Ashburton, however, it had been stowed away in Michael’s pannier, and it really was turning into a glorious day as everyone rode up Chuley Hill.

The Parkfield track – new to most of our members - got a rating of 4/10 today from our youngsters as the lower section was a bit muddy in places and, as Lawrence put it, there were no decent jumps. Everyone preferred it to the road however, so they then elected to ride the second track of the morning, Beaston, even though in this direction it was slightly uphill all the way. The lake that used to plague the middle has long since been drained, but today there were many swarms of annoying little flies that seemed to be spread along the whole length of the track.

When Lawrence had decided not to raid Michael’s chocolate box when we were so close to the café, and Michael had freed his clogged mudguard, we rode up to Memory Cross and then into Landscove where the youngsters tested the equipment and had fun with a tennis ball.

Today was our first visit to the Hill House Nursery Tea Room since it reopened for the new season in March. The cakes were just as tasty and enormous as they were last year, and the gardens offered plenty of opportunity for stick fights and other amusements. Lawrence is always wary of this place since he accidentally wandered into the pond as a toddler!

There was a unanimous vote for a third and final track on the way home which involved another climb to Higher Penn and then a fun descent through a field and a section of woodland. On the way home we had a chat with retired Buckfastleigh doctor Peter Edwards who was rolling the verge outside his home at Beara.