With December constituting the third month of wet Sundays in a row, the attendance situation was beginning to look serious. A little encouragement was clearly needed during the Christmas period to revive enthusiasm amongst the ranks, and the result was an average attendance of ten over the month.

(Michael Jones)

On the morning after the Dinner, poor support for the long run could have been predicted. Only Mark and I met in Avonwick for the start, and on such a dull, overcast morning we decided not to press on to Brentor. Instead, we went for a spin around the lanes to Ivybridge and returned to Buckfastleigh via Brent Tor (similar name anyway) to meet up with Mike for the Afternoon Run.

(Michael Ward)

By this time the clouds had given way to continuous rain, and the three of us were rather damp on arrival at Marldon. There were only four other insane people there, including Sue Shepley, who after a lapse of nearly three months, felt she ought to make an effort. We rode out towards Littlehempston and on to Ipplepen before we decided to follow Mark’s lead and go home.

(Michael Ward)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]

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)

Social at the Maypool youth hostel clubroom. Bring OS Map 202, Torbay and South Dartmoor.

The last official ride of the year was on the 19th December. As if the rain of the last three months had not been enough to dampen our spirits, the Weather Gods chose this day to give us everything they had, just to make sure we were thoroughly extinguished. One look at the torrential rain beating against the windows was enough to tell me that attendance would be low, and so a decision had to be made to save our Christmas Lunch ride.

After numerous telephone calls, a complicated schedule was arranged for running four cars, collecting some of the youngsters from their homes and meeting anyone who turned up at the pick-up points. When we finally arrived at Cockwood there were no less than twenty-one of us, including two of Frances’ friends and Jean’s daughter Karen!

It really was good to get so many back together again, even if it had meant breaking the first principle of any cycling club. We were sorry that Colin and Don were too ill to be with us, particularly in the latter case as our usual mince pie stop at Dawlish had to be cancelled at the last minute. Still, we were determined to make the most of our afternoon, and after a delicious meal at the Ship Inn we rode down to Dron Lodge at Dawlish Warren for coffee. The open fire and Christmas carols made a pleasurable end to our day.

(Michael Jones)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]

And that’s almost the end of our 1982 story. There was no publicised run on the Sunday after Christmas, but nine members rode out to Redmount for mince pies and music during the afternoon. As if to make up for the previous week, Don was one of them, bringing a large tin of his own specially-baked pies for us to enjoy … delicious!

(Michael Jones)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]

But perhaps the most enjoyable time we spent together over Christmas was the following evening, when twelve of us went to Torquay to watch Steven Spielberg’s film ET – a modest title for such a moving creation. If all our children could be allowed to radiate the level of openness, sensitivity and innocent love portrayed in the film by Elliott and his friends, the world would surely be a wonderful place. This was Spielberg’s message, and it will give us all something to strive for amidst the gloom of our modern world as we enter the new year.

(Michael Jones)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]

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]

Six days later was the evening of the Exeter New Year Party, which a few of us attended. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and send our thanks to all those who helped with the organisation.

(Michael Jones)