Our November afternoon ride was headed for one of our favourite destinations. Progress up Nurston hill was hampered by Chris Mabin's wide tractor: Ben and co decided it was too wide to be passed, so they went back down the hill to a wider part of the lane!

It was nearly 4.15 when we arrived at Shipley Bridge. The car park was nearly full, but most visitors were heading back down from the dam as the light began to fade. The only other person heading up with us was a woman on horseback, but her horse had other ideas when she tried to pass us. Apparently the animal was terrified of bicycles, and this was part of the reason she had brought him out today! Well try as she might she could not get the horse to pass us, so with gritted teeth she told her mount that he'd do it backwards then! With that she turned him around and backed him past us, which, whilst a little ungainly, seemed to do the trick!

We soon passed the picnic table that Zac had assured us was there, and when we finally reached the reservoir it was not as deserted as we might have supposed: several people (and dogs) were still soaking up the tranquillity and admiring the views from both sides of the dam. We stopped just long enough to eat some refreshments, then set off at a good pace with Michael chivvying everyone along in the diminishing light.

The sunset over White Barrows was magnificent this evening, and as we climbed the hill we were faced with a bright, full moon rising over the horizon. During the descent of the Abbots Way the moonlight became increasingly our main source of light, so this turned out to be one of the eeriest rides we had ever undertaken to Avon Dam!

It was close to dark when we finally reached Cross Furzes, but we had plenty of lights between us for the final descent to Buckfastleigh. We finished the ride just after 5.30 with everyone having thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

New rider Alex kept up an excellent pace along Colston Road and thoroughly enjoyed the Totnes cycle path. As we paused briefly by the weir, a canoe drifted towards us manned by a father and daughter team. They laughed at our suggestion of continuing up the weir but the daughter insisted on getting a taste of the rapids by moving over to the lower edge of the weir. The strong current caught the front of the canoe first, and within a few seconds they were both in the water. The embarrassed father shouted back to us that this was not the way to do it as the unimpressed daughter struggled to the bank and the magnificent heron observed it all from its vantage point on the nearby fence!

We met Dave Robinson at Totnes, out on his first ride for many years, who had arrived early and had been waiting for us for more than an hour. He had to wait a little longer while Ben, Alex and Michael raided Morrisons for lunch, then we set off for the start of the Ashprington track.

This track was recently converted to a cycle path, so the long muddy stretches and steep inclines are now a thing of the past. Autumn leaves were everywhere and we all enjoyed the fabulous views of the Dart and the long descents through the fields. Emerging at Ashprington we detoured through the play park and then headed down the hill to our usual lunch spot by the stepping stones at Tuckenhay creek. We were impressed by the numerous ducks before three noisy but magnificent geese dropped in to join in the fun.

We'd come to see Tuckenhay, so we did a quick ride along the creek to the village and then retraced our steps for the Harbertonford road, a flat valley route that seemed much more inviting than the climb up Corkscrew hill! The village store at Harbertonford was much larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside, with several layers of hidden depths around every corner. Once refreshments had been enjoyed by the river we said goodbye to David and headed off for Diptford, passing Kevin and some of his Torbay Section cohorts along the way.

It was about now that Michael expected Alex to be showing signs of tiredness, but the ten-year-old impressed us all by finding new reserves of energy and powering up the long climb from Rolster Bridge. He continued at that speed all the way home via Rattery, determined not to walk any of the hills. So it was that we got back to Buckfastleigh by 4pm, with plenty of time for computer games to round off an excellent day.

Bright sunshine greeted our largest turnout for several months, which included no fewer than four new members. After picking up Ben at Buckfast an almost unanimous vote took us along the lower Hembury track, which turned out to be quite muddy in places after the recent heavy rain. A huge group of walkers cramped our style somewhat near the end, but were surprisingly friendly as we regrouped at the end.

New and experienced members alike enjoyed the downhill to New Bridge, where the anticipated ice cream van prompted a stop for refreshments - which in Scott's case included a Hot Dog!

Everyone agreed to extend the ride by an hour so that everyone could complete the planned ride, which led us to the next step of climbing Poundsgate hill. The first of the predicted "isolated showers" made the climb even more challenging for our younger riders, so by the time we reached the top of the main climb three were ready for a shortcut. Michael led Ryan, Scott and Glen a short distance along the track to a meeting place on the moorland and then returned to catch up with the others on the final stages of the road climb. Charlie had no difficulty with any of the hills, although he admitted he was impressed by young Alex, on only his second ride, who just kept on powering past him! Ashley got top marks for achievement, however: he opted out of the short-cut and pushed himself on to the top, spurred on just a little perhaps by the offer of a free Hot Dog!

The youngsters posed at the top for photos with some ponies, and Ben, being Ben, left his helmet on the verge when we all set off for the track. We had been riding for a full seven minutes before he realised he was helmetless, so the rest of us braved the strong winds and the third isolated shower to view the impressive Dart Valley from a high overhanging rock.

The sun returned again and Doctor Blackall didn't disappoint with his magnificent drive. Just a few minutes later and we were reunited with the three younger riders, who had passed the time by rolling down the moorland slopes and, apparently, giving directions to passers-by! They had missed the upper reaches of the tracks, but the best was still to come. The final downhill across the moorland tracks provided a rollercoaster ride that left everyone elated - and muddy!

Hot soups and other refreshments from the ice cream van prepared everyone for the climb back to Hembury, although Scott, Ashley and Ryan needed a little encouragement. Once they were in sight of Hembury Woods, however, they all found new energies, and finished the ride feeling justifiably proud of their achievements. They made the most of the reward, by staying for computer games until after 6pm.

Having decided to use the fifth Sunday of November for a very special car-assisted ride to the Exeter Ship Canal, we were very grateful to Alex's Dad for helping with the transport of the bikes from Buckfastleigh to Starcross. Charlie and Dave met us at Black Forest Lodge on the dot of 11.15, and as bikes were unpacked Michael's promises of a totally flat ride were viewed sceptically by some.

The deer at Powderham seemed to appreciate the fantastic weather almost as much as we did, with the entire group showing themselves off by the lake just metres from the road. This all made Michael's offer of a chocolate voucher for the first person to spot a deer rather unnecessary, but Ashley claimed it anyway!

We managed to negotiate the mainline rail crossing without major loss of life, and when Alex and Ashley had finished teasing the Canada geese we headed along the narrow muddy track that runs along the side of the Exe estuary. Everyone splashed through the puddles, but no-one enjoyed them more than Alex - he even went back occasionally to ride the deepest ones again! After a while his lower half was so muddy that we felt Pizza Hut may exclude us all at lunchtime!

Turf Locks provided an opportunity for Michael to explain a little about the workings of canals to the younger riders, then we set off along the narrow towpath that was once used by horses pulling barges along the canal. Now it offered an easy and picturesque cycle ride that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

The second part of the path was recently "upgraded" to a full cycle path, with the associated loss of a whole row of trees in order to make it wide enough for cyclists to pass in both directions. It was more interesting and secluded before the upgrade, but at least the new path encourages more cyclists to enjoy the sport.

We were soon at Exeter quay with all its bustling shops and cafes, but we had an appointment at Pizza Hut and continued along the cycle route right into the centre of Exeter.

Everyone was hungry by now, so we were eager to place our orders. Unfortunately two of our choices were "off", because they had run out of red onion, mushroom and - wait for it - ham! With so few ingredients on the menu one would think they could manage to keep them all in stock. And as Dave pointed out, even if they did run out of ham you might think someone would pop across the road to Tesco to buy some more!

When the three enormous pizzas were finally delivered everyone loved them, and there wasn't a single piece left at the end. Alex entertained us all with his story of a recent trip he made to the Avon Dam with his friend Edgar. Apparently he had ridden into an elderly woman from behind who had fallen to the ground, dropped her belongings and then picked herself up saying she was fine. Her elderly friend, however, had "legged it", tripped over a rock, fallen into the river and been swept downstream. Alex, of course, rode on!

The youngsters felt the meal, with its unlimited drink refills, had made the day totally perfect. Zac, Ashley and Alex, however, decided it wouldn't be complete without a visit to the ice cream factory. Zac got there first and got a reasonable dessert from the machine, but the other two managed to extract only bowlfuls of liquid white goo! They carried on adding sweets as though nothing was wrong, but when they returned to their seats neither of them could stomach more than a spoonful. As Alex said, with his face covered in liquid cream, it was just wrong! The waitress fixed the machine but we didn't really want the extra delay.

We eventually left Pizza Hut and continued along the path beside the river as it wound its way through the centre of the city. At the start the river was up to the edge of the path because of all the recent rains, but as we headed upstream the water lapped onto the path itself and was soon several centimetres deep! We could see the next exit and decided to press on, but some eager youngsters just couldn't avoid getting their feet soaked.

We crossed the bridge and continued up to the weir on the other side where there was no flooding. When we reached the far end and started to head back across the parklands, Zac noticed that he didn't have his rucksack! Fortunately we were heading back past Pizza Hut on the way home, and it was still there waiting for him outside - much to Zac's relief!

With the afternoon shadows beginning to lengthen we rode back through the quay, this time stopping to observe the huge flock of swans and pigeons that had congregated for the adoring visitors. Zac was getting understandably tired and Michael had forgotten his magic chocolate box, but Dave saved the day by producing some KitKats for those in most need. Zac also got an easier ride by taking the parallel cycle path while the rest of us rode the towpath.

Soon we were by the Exe again, where Alex proved that he could never get enough mud in a day, and Ben discovered the importance of looking ahead when riding along the edge of a steep grassy bank - he was observed picking his way gingerly back up the bank, hoping nobody had noticed!

Darkness was almost upon us when we finally returned to the cars at Black Forest Lodge. Most youngsters had been smart enough to bring lights, but everyone was reminded to bring them on every ride for the next couple of months. Amazingly, all the youngsters still had energy to spare at the end despite having ridden 23 miles, so congratulations to all for doing so well on this very memorable ride.