With the run headed for Fingle Bridge the following Sunday, all met at Bovey Tracey – Mike, Mark, Kevin and me, and Colin and Jean on the tandem. We turned off the main road at Slade Cross, taking the road up to and through the reservoirs and on to Blackingstone before passing Mardon Down and descending the fantastic slope towards Wooston.

We stopped at Willingstone Rock for lunch, after which we donned our waterproofs and ran for shelter from a large black cloud. It obviously saw us, however, and had the last laugh by not raining!

The steep path through Hannicombe Wood is hard enough to descend on a solo bike, but on a tandem – “phew”; full marks to Colin and his ballast! A heavy spell of rain forced some into shelter near Clifford Bridge, but it soon gave way to sunshine again and we pressed on to Dunsford. The run down the Teign Valley rounded off the day nicely.

(Michael Ward)

We were pleasantly surprised by the bright sunshine on the January afternoon ride. Of course, it was too early to state with any certainty that the Weather Gods had made a new-year resolution, but we could at least hope. As usual, no plans had been made regarding a destination, so we set off towards “Stumpy Oak” and wandered down towards Ipplepen before deciding to divert to Staverton.

There were thirteen members out that afternoon, the largest turnout for many weeks. It was good to see Duncan out with us again after such a long break, not to mention Andrew Winstanley, John Roome, Simon, Sue and Dave who have all been a little elusive of late (probably something to do with the weather).

Ian had tyre trouble along the track and decided to turn back before it became un-rideable. The rest of us carried on to Denbury, where Matthew and I left the others to wend their way home.

(Michael Jones)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]

On the cold, grey day of 13th February six of us met at Totnes for the ride to Hansel Mill – there would have been more had it not been for the previous evening’s antics! Eddie Wingfield was out again, this time accompanied by his friend Iona, out for her first ride. Also making a welcome return to Club life after mock A-levels was Frances Lofty, but she’ll soon have to settle down to work again for the real exams in June.

We joined the Strete road by taking the lanes through Tuckenhay and Allaleigh, and a few miles before the end we turned right to descend the steep sides of the Hansel valley. With the temperature as it was, lunch was not a drawn-out affair, and as soon as we had finished admiring the beauty and seclusion of the area we began the long climb up the other side. We said goodbye to three of our number near Diptford, which left Colin, Frances and me to wend our way homewards.

(Michael Jones)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]

Many readers will already know of the scenic beauty of North Devon, ranging from magnificent coastline to rugged moorland. It was to this region that Torbay Section took its first independent Easter Tour for a number of years, and with the luxury of fine weather the trip added up to a very enjoyable break for the eight participants.

The first two days of the tour brought back memories for two of us of our first cycle tour nearly four years ago, when more than twenty punctures were collected together with many shoe-fulls of water! We hoped for better luck this year.

Six of us were transported to Cathedral Close, Exeter on Good Friday morning by several kind parents. The other five were Matthew Tewson (14), John Roome (14), John Stuart (17), Kevin Presland (17) and Andrew Billington (20). To avoid busy roads, we took a lane route over Stoke Hill to Killerton Park, making such good progress that we felt we could afford to stop at Cullompton for coffee – and some of the most delicious ginger cake you can imagine! We then diverted through some delightful scenery past Stenhill and Reed’s Cross so as to avoid the Willand complex, pausing on Culmstock bridge for photographs.

Lunch was now the order of the day, but each spot we found didn’t seem quite good enough so we went on in search of greener pastures. It wasn’t long before we came across the main road on the outskirts of Wellington and wished we had stopped earlier! There was no going back however, so we settled down to make the best of the lunch spot despite the road of vehicles and the hard stares of their occupants.

(Michael Jones)

At Wellington crossroads the six were joined by Mat-thew (not to be confused with Matthew) on his first tour at the age of eleven, and his Dad Phil, on his first tour for more years than he cares to remember. Here, a small change of plan was made when it was decided to go over the Quantocks to Holford instead of around via Bridgwater. The remainder of lunch was taken at the roadside near Milverton before riding through the lanes to Combe Florey, with Michael checking the map at every junction.

A main road bash into the cold headwind to Crowcombe was followed by a spot of mountaineering, up the south-west face of the Quantocks. Here, Matthew decided to try the low gears on Matthew’s bike (up a 1 in 4?) and promptly fell off in the middle of the road, somehow getting both legs trapped! Matthew managed to free him before the next car arrived.

We took the pretty way down the other side to Holford, via the rough track over Black Hill, the only casualty being Matthew’s read mudguard which seemed to become strongly attracted to the wheel. A vandalised YHA sign provoked more discussion and map-reading before we selected the right track up to Holford hostel. This seemed to be choc-a-bloc with self-catering cyclists but at least we only had to wash up for eight.

During the evening we took a walk down to the telephone at Kilve. On the way, Matthew, in playful mood and encouraged by Michael, managed to walk straight into a ditch which was about two feet deeper than anyone expected. On returning to the light of the hostel it turned out to have also been rather muddy! Matthew spent the rest of the evening in shorts while his only pair of trousers and trainers dried out.

(Phil Burrows)