Wimbledon men's singles final, the early start and the weather combined to dampen just about everyone's enthusiasm for the first of the year's reliability rides. When Toby and Richard turned out to give the new tandem its first CTC outing no one else appeared.

The rain looked as though it might hold off for a while as they made their way to Newton Abbot for the pick up, but had become quite steady by the time they got there. A double puncture made them late; the first one was just bad luck, but the second was the result of carelessness - Toby eventually spotted the sliver of glass that Richard missed after the first tube change.

The bad weather and lack of companions made the programmed ride up on to the moor less than inviting, so they took the quickest route back to Buckfastleigh.