We had planned an easy café ride today for Tom, but Tom had failed to get up for the ride. We had heard that the chef at Holne Café, Simon, was leaving soon, so we decided to make a special farewell visit, extending the ride a little by first riding up to Cross Furzes. Leo the dog was out to greet us as we rode through Scoriton.

At the start of the road to Michelcombe a resident was out cutting the hedgerow and ominously announced that he couldn't guarantee no thorns along the road. We didn't take much notice until Dillan noticed he had a flat tyre at Michelcombe. As we were so close to the café we hobbled up the hill with a few pumps.

When we arrived at the café we were disappointed to discover that Simon had left at the end of August. Volunteers were manning the kitchen until a replacement could be found, but the soup was excellent as usual. We would like to thank Simon for the warm welcome he always extended to us on our frequent visits and wish him all the best for the future.

Outside we fixed Dillan's new puncture and his older slower one in record time, then rode back to Hembury Fort where George wanted to ride around the moat. After riding the slalom track we returned home for 2.05 and as usual offered an afternoon games social until 4.10m