The usual panic in getting “grub” and the tandem ready for Phil’s Exeter Canal run meant that we were going to be even later than usual at Five Lanes. In the end Jean popped up in the car to tell them not to wait for us there and that we’d join them at the Newton Abbot pick-up.

Quite a fair turnout, the weather being kind enough to encourage folk, though I suspect the main encouragement was the prospect of tea at the Burrows establishment.

The less energetic, like Jean and I, were soon having a leisurely stroll up the final steep part of Humber Lane as we headed towards the golf course from Kingsteignton. The descent past Ashcombe Towers was a much more rapid affair, and then we turned off the Black Forest Road to cross the A379 and drop steeply into Cockwood.

A lot of willing help made fairly light work of getting the tandem over the railway crossing at Powderham and we soon found a spot where the sea wall embankment gave enough shelter from the wind for us to settle down to lunch. Not too long a stop, as it wasn’t that warm, before we carried along the canal banks, the one fellow who did fall off falling the right way into the prickles rather than the water.

We emerged from Marsh Barton estate into Alphington but soon left the main road again to take the “hard route” through the Shillingfords to the top of Haldon and then continued the back way into Chudleigh.

Thoughts of tea, reinforced with an odd ice cream, revived weakening muscles enough to get us back to Fairfield Road in quite reasonable fashion. Christine was well prepared for “feeding the 5000” – well maybe there weren’t quite that many but hot dogs etc were soon disappearing at a fantastic rate and they were just to take the edge off appetites before the cakes and custard tart that brought everyone to a final reluctant stop. Thanks Christine and Phil for a wonderful spread!

(Colin Brierly)

[We have been unable to find attendance records for this period, so the attendance list for this event is incomplete]