We had planned a Morning Ride today, but when everyone arrived at 10.15 the light rain encouraged everyone to spend the morning on a games and homework social, postponing the cycling to the afternoon.

When we set off for Hembury the rain had vanished and there were sunny spells at times. Everyone rode up the Lower Hembury Track, including John who now has off-road tyres that make the task much easier. Climbing the hill to Humphrey's Cross however Lawrence discovered an unwelcome split in his shorts, behind his thigh, and decided at once that he needed to go straight home before his favourite shorts were ruined beyond repair. No amount of persuasion would change his mind, so the rest of us continued towards New Bridge.

After refreshments at the ice cream van we took the steep track through the woods to Spitchwick and then spent a very enjoyable forty minutes playing Frisbee and other games on the nearly-deserted common in brilliant spring sunshine. Clearly this is the best time of year to visit, when the tourists are at home.

As it was getting late we returned via Holne Chase rather than Buckland-in-the-Moor, with everyone agreeing that Afternoon Rides could be a good idea from time to time.

We gave the weather a little chance to warm up with coffee at Crofters before setting off for Dean Hill at 11.15, narrowly keeping ahead of a bunch of elderly cyclists out for a spin. Dillan's sprained wrist (a school injury) and the chilly conditions prompted us to decide against the possible Ugborough Beacon ride today so we headed down to Avonwick, passing one of the elderly contingent answering a call of nature right beside the road!

Taking the road towards North Huish we discovered a brand new play park, constructed last summer by Avonwick parents at a cost of £30k. George and Dillan tested each piece of equipment methodically and gave the whole park their unanimous seal of approval.

Dillan and George really are much faster these days, so the long climb to North Huish didn't even slow them down today. Once they had checked the village out, establishing that the only public building was a church that was no longer used, we proceeded down the long steep hill to the bridge over the River Avon near Manor House. The lack of sunshine detracted only a little from the natural beauty of the area, and the youngsters enjoyed skimming stones and doing gymnastics on the bridge.

Our return route through Diptford to Rattery took us alongside the brand new Coombeshead Solar Farm near Shorter Cross. It will generate 7.86MW of power when it is connected to the National Grid this month, enough to power 3350 households.

After ringing through to Ashley to get him to put some Rowe's Pasties in the oven we proceeded at good speed through Rattery and Pennywell Farm, successfully negotiating the visitors to the Buckfastleigh Races along the way.

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.