A 9.30 start and some fast riding got us to Lannacombe by 1pm, leaving us nearly an hour and a half to play on the beach. Most of us went in up to the ankles, but Tao, Keir and Eliot kept taking risks and were soon drenched up to their waists. Then, of course, they reasoned that they might as well go in a bit further: within ten minutes they could be seen prancing around in the sea fully clothed! Fortunately they had enough dry clothes between them to get home.

Thirty-five minutes of riding brought us to Slapton by 3pm, where we enjoyed refreshments and fun on the stony beach. More liquid was collected at Forces Cross, and then we came to the first delay of the day: one of the five Land Rovers that preceded us down Corkscrew Hill managed to turn over half way down, and our youngsters just had to watch as they tried to right it!

The speed wasn’t quite so fast as we clocked up the fiftieth mile at 7pm, but we felt we’d had another excellent ride in the company of some very good friends.

Philip deserves a commendation for keeping up with the group all the way - he has only recently graduated to full-day rides.