A combination of great weather and one of our favourite destinations helped make this the best ride of the year so far. We took the car to Starcross and then rode past Powderham to the path that runs along the Exe estuary to the Turf Locks. Everything looked very colourful in the winter sunshine and we allowed ourselves a short break to take in the scenery.

Continuing along the canal path we were soon in Exeter passing many other cyclists along the way. Our immediate destination was Pizza Hut, a favourite with our youngsters, where we enjoyed some delicious pizza and unlimited drinks. We then had plenty of time to ride around the park that surrounds the canal, pausing for the youngsters to play on the public trampoline.

We returned to the swing bridges by a different path and then followed the canal path back to Powderham and Starcross - all flat of course, so nobody could complain that the ride was too strenuous!

Perfect weather encouraged us to try another car-assisted ride, this time to the Hennock reservoirs. We parked up in the car park and first rode all around the Tottiford reservoir path, including the far end section that Michael had never previously ridden. We stopped part way round for a "chocolate break" and the youngsters were totally awed by the peace and beauty of the area, the gentle sound of rippling water interrupted occasionally by the call of a duck or the bark of a distant dog.

Continuing along the interesting reservoir path we soon reached the road again and set off along the Trenchford path which had a different style altogether. This brought us eventually back to the car park, and since we needed to be home for lunch we decided to end the ride there and return another day for the longer route that includes the Kennick reservoir.

We had planned an easy off-road ride today to suit a new member, but when he didn't arrive our youngsters decided to stay with the original plan. Our ride took us along the lower track through Hembury Woods, and near the end we were amazed to spot thousands of tadpoles struggling to survive in a few centimetres of surface water.

Ashley insisted we stop for a "chocolate break" on the grassy verge at the top of the hill, then we headed for Hembury Fort where we met Robin Hood practicing his shooting. Well it was actually a 7-year-old dressed in the complete Robin Hood outfit including feather in his cap, and his aim improved dramatically when Ashley gave him a few tips!

We concluded an excellent ride with the descent of the ever-popular slalom track through Hembury Woods, meeting the most enormous St Bernard dog we had ever seen at the bottom. We arrived back at Crofters for around 1pm.