After getting up soon after 8am, Dillan and Michael were very pleased to have porridge for breakfast again after restocking at the supermarket yesterday. We shared the dining room with a large group of young teenagers, and after chatting with the teacher who was supervising them, found out they were from the Netherlands. Apparently the teacher had hoped they would speak with us to improve their English, but as they hadn't, he got one of them to talk with us for a while. We were impressed with his knowledge of English, which was surprisingly good.

The school group left to walk around Bath on a lovely sunny morning while we were getting ourselves ready, and it was just after 10.15 that we finally left. We rode down to the very old Pulteney Bridge over the Avon, which has narrow shops and cafes lining each side, and decided to have coffee in The Bridge Coffee Shop that overlooked Pulteney Weir. George, who had nearly left his towel behind when he was packing this morning until Michael reminded him about it, now realised he didn't have his coat. Then Lawrence couldn't find his wallet and was determined to ride back up the hill to the hostel to find it. While he was there he found George’s coat behind the curtain, which in fact was caught on Michael's video taken in the room, and John rewarded him later for fetching it.

Our coffee and cakes were very tasty, so it was an enjoyable refreshment stop. After taking some photos of the weir and a strange fishing shop on the corner of the bridge that had a bear outside, we looked in the market opposite for just long enough to work out it was no different to any other market, then rode the short distance to the Roman Baths, next to Bath Abbey.

Everyone except Dillan had looked around the Roman Baths on our last visit to Bath, so they walked around the town buying coffees and lunches, meeting up with Lawrence when he returned, while Michael took Dillan around the Baths from around 11.20. They were really interesting as usual, and Dillan particularly liked the audio talks by Bryson given via our Acoustiguides. The water from the spring was very warm, and we actually drank some from the fountain because it is supposed to have healing properties, although we thought it tasted foul.

We met up with everyone at around 12.35. John had kindly bought excellent pasties for Dillan and Michael, so they could catch up with lunch in the minimal time. After looking at Bath Abbey we rode up through The Circus to Royal Crescent, another must-see feature of Bath, which looked fabulous in the afternoon sunshine.

It was finally time to leave this fascinating city, so we let Google Maps take us down to the riverside path, then followed it westwards, having to do a small detour around a blocked-off section just before Locksbrook. We soon joined the Bristol and Bath Railway Path as planned. Michael messaged his cousin Phil, who had arranged to meet us at Bitton Railway Station for afternoon coffee, but he needn't have bothered as he had just arrived.

We stopped on the path near Saltford so that Lawrence and others could try their Chinese Seaweed, which of course they liked to call just Weed: apparently it tasted of seawater. We then made good speed and met Phil at Bitton Railway Station café at around 2.20. He had kindly reserved a table for us under the marquee. Lawrence bought an enormous hot chocolate with cream and an apple cake as his reward for getting George's coat, and everyone very much enjoyed the stop. Dillan took a while before he was ready to leave, but we finally got away at 3.25.

After riding through Warmley Station and the old Mangotsfield station, we saw a Morrisons by the path at Fishponds, and of course Lawrence really wanted to go in there, but we had trains to catch so we just didn't have time.

We arrived at Temple Meads station at 4.30, giving us time to deal with the potential problem of the 4.53 First Great Western train possibly being unable to take all our bikes, as we had been unable to reserve any of the six bike spaces. We had two bike spaces reserved on the 4.45 Cross Country service to Taunton, so we sent John, Will and George off first on that train - fortunately they were not asked to show the Family Railcard. The rest of us caught the slower 4.53 train: it was packed and already had two bikes on board, so there is no way we would have got six bikes in there.

John and family arrived at Taunton at 5.15 and the rest arrived at 6.20, which left us just enough time to buy hot chocolates from the Starbucks on the station platform. We had six bike spaces reserved on the 6.53 from Taunton to Newton Abbot, and that train was on time, so we were finally able to relax. Several of us bought fruit cake on the train, and we had plenty of time to discuss the highs and lows of our four day epic tour that had included 101 miles of cycling and variable weather conditions. We arrived at Newton Abbot on time at 7.42 and said farewell as we all headed home in two groups.

When George pumped his tyre at the top of Silver Street the unfortunate result was a broken valve which necessitated a tube change, but we were soon on our way again. At Scoriton Leo the dog was relaxing in the shade while his friend the sheepdog kept bringing us a stick to throw for him.

We intended to complete the ride at a good pace so after riding through Michelcombe to Holne we continued straight on up the hill to Venford and Combestone Tor, pausing only so that Will could eat a Crème Egg by the reservoir. Huccaby Bridge looked delightful in the afternoon sunshine, but we continued at speed to Dartmeet where we arrived at the café at 12.35, just five minutes later than planned.

An enjoyable forty minutes was spent eating soups and pasties for lunch, then after admiring the peacocks we all climbed Dartmeet Hill in record time. Everyone was keen to ride Dr Blackall’s Drive so we tackled the stony track to Mel Tor and then relaxed on the stone for a few minutes lapping up the splendid view over the secluded Dart valley.

Will and George sped along the path, highlighting just how much they have come to enjoy off-road riding since their early days in the club. As usual we branched right onto the path down to New Bridge. John, who is still not a great fan of off-road, described it as “interesting”, and Michael managed to break a pedal on a protruding rock. It was all good fun though, and was undoubtedly the highlight of the ride.

From New Bridge we rode straight home via Hembury Woods, arriving back by 3.23. Today there was no social after the ride as Michael had to go out, but we are planning another longer ride next Sunday if the weather is suitable.

Our first advertised ride to a Costa coffee shop attracted just four members on a cloudy but dry morning that threatened rain showers during the afternoon. After a coffee at Crofters we set off at 10.50 and rode through Ashburton to the Dolbeare flyover where we followed Gale Road past Goodstone. The route had been selected by Google maps and turned out to be generally very easy cycling and very scenic. We had hardly ever ridden this way before so it was fascinating to discover the country lanes and wealthy properties that were hidden so perfectly from everyday view in the Combe Park area.

We turned left at Metley Cross and were soon at Chercombe Bridge, the start of the footpath through Broadridge Woods. Seasoned members of our club will remember we have had frequent run-ins with the middle-aged gentleman at Chercombe House who seemed to resent the fact that a footpath went right through his driveway. He always seemed to see us as we were manoeuvring our bikes through the side gate and would try to tell us we weren’t allowed through with bikes even if we were walking, which was of course nonsense. If he caught us opening his main gate to make it easier to get the bikes through he would tell us to close it and go through the side gate one by one. WE were understandably apprehensive as approached the property, but nobody came out today: either out stealthy movements won the day or the gentleman in question has moved on.

The path through Broadridge Woods was interesting, running as it does alongside the River Lemon all the way into Newton Abbot. There were a number of styles and kissing gates that often required the bikes to be lifted over the top, but there was plenty to see including a weir and leat. We finally emerged in Baker’s Park, Newton Abbot, and continued along the cycle path into the centre of the town.

As it was lunchtime we felt that a restaurant might be better than Costa. We were right next to Asda but Lawrence said he didn’t fancy the café in there, so we went on to the main street. We had almost settled on Wimpey when Lawrence announced he was going to Asda after all. When we followed him however it turned out he was going to buy things in the supermarket, not the café, so the rest of us got food in the café and made the best of it.

We set off at 1.40 for the return journey. Lawrence had requested the main road route as he had not ridden that before, so we rode through Bradley estate and then on to Ashburton. Almost imperceptible drizzle in Newton turned to light rain by the time we reached Bickington and proper rain by Ashburton. We got home by 3.12 and confirmed with Neil that it was still pretty much dry in Newton, which suggests the Met Office rainfall maps which show significantly higher rainfall near Dartmoor than at Newton are indeed correct.

This was a surprisingly good ride with a lot of interesting conversation. We rode up the long hill to Cross Furzes, took the track past Hayford Hall to Lud Gate and then descended the track over the open moorland to Chalk Ford. We looked in vain for pigs and piglets but today there were none to be seen.

After taking the stony track to Scoriton we headed home for 9.10, rounding off the evening with some general knowledge, games and music quizzes until 10.30.

Today was the 85th anniversary of the Devon CTC group and was also the last ride Michael will be running before his spell in hospital, so it was really good to have so many of our keen riders out today. Ash was out for his first cycle ride with us in more than a year and was particularly keen to do some off-road riding, so we decided to head for Chalk Ford.

We rode up Wallaford Road to Cross Furzes at a brisk pace in glorious sunshine, then got a few light rain showers as we rode up the stony track to Lud Gate. The moor was a little boggy in places after recent rains, but the downhill to Chalk Ford was still great fun. At the top of the track on the other side the youngsters had a contest to see who could throw stones the furthest into the field and woods below - Ash won of course, but several others came close.

At Scoriton we turned left and took the short hill to Holne where everyone was happy to call in at the café for a variety of tasty refreshments that included soups, scones and cakes. It was really good to have everyone together again for this special ride.

Next stop was Hembury fort, and here we were rather shocked to discover that someone had chopped down all four trees that previously adorned the mound in the centre of the fort. The ancient trunks had been laid around the perimeter for some reason, but for us it just served as a permanent reminder of the act of desecration that had been committed here for some unknown reason. This was a sad day indeed.

Ash led the assault of the Slalom track, which of course was quite muddy today, and this hugely enjoyable ride was brought to a conclusion when we returned to Crofters for around 2pm. The fun continued until 5pm however with games of Lord of the Rings and Modern Warfare 3 at Crofters.

Ash and John managed to rouse George and Lawrence on the way through the town, so we ended up with a very good turnout. There was the threat of rain showers so we headed out through Buckfast and followed the lanes up to Scoriton and Holne, with Michael following in the car as he was still recovering from his recent surgery.

At Holne everyone wanted a stop in the café so we spent an enjoyable time there eating soups and other snacks. When everyone had had their fill and the rain shower had passed over we returned via Hembury Woods where Lawrence and Ash took the Slalom track and the rest took the road.

There was the usual computer games social in the clubroom after the ride until around 5pm.