Tao and Michael had planned a route last week for today’s ride, so when everyone had finally arrived at 10.40 we set off up Dean Hill, impressed by the speed at which new rider Jude reached the top. Crossing the new and very expensive bridge at Drybridge we took the lanes to Venton Cross and continued on past Blakemore. The track to Peak Cross looked rather muddy so we crossed the main road at Gerston and took the lane to Harbertonford, a route we used frequently on our day rides in the 1990s. Michael recalled the time when veteran member Frank Boyes from Torbay pulled a starting pistol out of his saddlebag without warning to scare off an aggressive dog in the 1980s.

At Harbertonford the Post Office and Stores provided a convenient refreshment stop. The river and bridge, coupled with the disused telephone box purchased and maintained by the council, made the whole area very scenic. The lack of coffee and hot food coupled with high prices was disappointing, however. Perhaps we should have visited the garage around the corner?

Next we followed the Mill Leat road to Bow Bridge, busy and interesting as always. There is a ford across the river, but even the bravest members gave that a miss today in view of the high water flow. A short climb brought us to Ashprington village from where we joined the cycle path to Totnes. This felt much easier in this direction, offering great descents and spectacular views over the Dart. Michael and Tao remembered the times when some sections were just too boggy or steep to negotiate easily by bike, but the new tarmac path has solved all those problems.

We were heading for the Totnes Morrisons for lunch, and we arrived by 1.45. There was a 25 minute wait for food, but prices were cheap as usual and most were satisfied with the meals they were served. Tao bought a doughnut that was packed with jam so Michael then bought a pack of five from the bakery and shared them out. Tao reckoned they were the best doughnuts money could buy and did his best to make things difficult for John, who had decided not to have one.

We took the riverside cycle path back to Dartington, passing numerous Cider Press shoppers along the way, then after pumping John’s tyre on the descent to Riverford Bridge we returned along Colston Road after a very satisfying and varied ride. Jude still had plenty of energy when we got home - very impressive considering this was only his second ride with us.

Tao had come up with a 27-mile route for today’s ride which started by taking us around Ashburton. George had a problem with his rear hub at Bickington which took John and Gavin a few minutes to repair, but we were soon heading on again through Blackpool.

Our first section of off-road involved taking the track through Liverton’s Great Plantation to Heathfield. Tao then took us through some link paths to the Templer Way cycle path, only completed last year as a pleasant cycle route between Bovey Tracey and Newton Abbot. We had all seen the new cycle bridge over the A38 but had never ridden over it.

The route on the Newton Abbot side of the bridge was quiet and leafy all the way, taking us first past the point at Ventiford where the old Granite Tramway from Haytor meets the now disused Stover Canal. It was not hard to imagine the horse-drawn carriages unloading their Haytor granite onto barges for transportation to London.

The MT Tums outdoor café at Teigngrace was closed today but we had other plans for lunch in any event, continuing on to Newton Abbot and taking the cycle routes through to Costa in the town centre. Here we split into three groups, with Tao and Gavin buying lunch at Asda, John and George from Subway and the rest at Costa. We finished off with Asda donuts provided by Michael.

The next stage of Tao’s route involved the track past Bradly Manor which turned rather muddy near the gates and styles. We washed off the worst of the mud in the river and then pressed on up the hill to East Ogwell. The sun was bright and everyone was feeling great so we extended the ride by three miles with a detour through Ipplepen, returning via Staverton by around 4.10. Many thanks to Tao for coming up with such an interesting route, and well done to everyone for completing the ride effortlessly.

With heavy rain forecast all day we opted for badminton today at Ashmoor Recreation Centre, Ashburton. Michael tried out his new high-resolution Nikon camera and found that it could indeed take good indoor photos without flash. We'll be posting higher-resolution versions of the photos on our website from now on.

There were the usual computer games at Crofters before and after the badminton.

We made good speed to Ashburton but Jude felt a bit ill on the climb of Ausewell Hill. He improved after a good rest however so we proceeded as planned through Buckland in the Moor and arrived at Widecombe by 12:25.

The wood-burner in the Café on the Green was very welcome on such a cold morning, giving us the opportunity to thaw out chilled toes and fingers. Prices seemed even more extortionate than we remembered from last year, but there was certainly no shortage of customers.

Gavin needed to meet his family at Parke, Bovey Tracey at 2pm so he set off up Widecombe Hill at 1.15 while the rest of us returned home via Ponsworthy, Leusdon, Spitchwick and Gallant Le Bower. Jude was back to his normal speed after the refreshment stop so we got home in good time by 2.45.