Heavy rain overnight had given way to heavy showers just before the start of the ride, so when Jerry arrived at 10.25 he was not too keen to cycle even though things had dried up a little. He elected to convert the ride to a games social that included Modern Warfare 3, Command and Conquer 3 and the Olympic men’s singles badminton final. There were several more showers during the morning so staying home was probably the right decision.

This evening's ride was cancelled because Michael was away - at the Olympics.

It had been raining on the morning of the final day of the Olympic Games, and it was still a bit damp when Callum and Jack arrived just after 10.30. We played some games for a while, then set off for a ride at 11.20 when things had dried up. We followed Colston Road to Dartington and then called in to the garden centre café at Staverton. The coffees and hot chocolates were just what Michael and Ash needed but the cups were rather small for £2.20. The cakes looked interesting but when we discovered that they all contained ginger we decided to stay with drinks only and enjoyed them on the tables outside overlooking the river.

We returned home via Abham and the main road, getting back by around 1.25 for some games of Minecraft. There was also time to watch the broadcast footage of the Olympic diving competition that Michael and Ash had seen live on Friday or Saturday.

Michael was away again this evening so the ride was cancelled.

It was raining this morning at 10.15 and it was still raining by 11.00 so the youngsters decided on a sport social. After some games of Minecraft we drove to Ivybridge to play squash from 12.35 to 1.20 and then returned home for computer games until 3.20.

Michael was away AGAIN, this time in Paris, so the evening ride had to be cancelled.

Michael was still in Paris, so the ride had to be cancelled.

Will brought his friend Jacob out for his first ride today, and Callum brought his friend Will Cecil-Jones who was down in Buckfastleigh to stay with his father who happens to be captain of the cricket team. In view of the new arrivals we did an easy ride along Colston Road to Staverton where the youngsters insisted on playing in the park despite the fact that it was dark.

We returned home via Abham as usual by 9.20, with everyone doing well and enjoying the ride. There were some games of Modern Warfare 3 until the club closed at 10.05.

The forecast "patchy rain" hadn’t started by 10.15 so we set off on a ride towards Venford. There was some light rain by the time we got to the back of Buckfast however, so we diverted to the lower Hembury track. Near the Shuttaford end the rain got heavy so we sheltered under the bushes for 10 minutes until it finally stopped.

We continued up the lane to Humphreys Cross, then Callum and Will decided it was very likely to rain again soon and rejected Michael’s suggestion of Holne café. Instead we headed back to the Crofters café via Hembury hill, arriving (dry) by 12.00.

There was a games social after the ride until 3pm although Will left at 1pm as he was annoyed with some of the online players in Modern Warfare 3.

As the weather was so perfect we agreed to head for Chalk Ford on the moor. It took us longer to climb to Cross Furzes than we had planned but we pressed on to Lud Gate. It was nearly dark during the moorland descent to Chalk Ford, but Will coped well despite his misgivings about off-road rides.

On the way down the stony track to Scoriton we passed a police car that had driven up to the top and just stopped to wait for something. By the time we reached Scoriton at 8.45 it was actually dark. Callum then discovered he had a puncture so we ended up spending twenty minutes fixing it with the help of some bike lights. We eventually got home by 9.25 leaving us a little time for some games at Crofters.