Date: Tuesday 27th September 2011
Route: WP, Yennadon, Leather Tor Bridge, Crazywell, Older Bridge, Stone Row, Deancombe, Handrail, HQ4.
Riders: Colin, Julian, Alex, Steve, Gidon, Paddy & Nick
Weather: absolutely cracking

It was too good a night not to venture out unless you had a cold; were working; were working towards next pink chit or were resting your bollocks.

Seven fine weather riders ventured out of Willowby with lights blazing now from the start. Summer's over now, hmmm. Anyhow over Yennadon Down, skirting the quarry, to top out at Lowery Cross the speedy seven sped. A nice easy road to Shaggers Van prempted a tough ride for the rest of the night. A descent through Norsworthy Plantation to Leather Tor Bridge represented the last piece of downhill for some time to come.

Julian led us up through Raddick Lane to crest the down above Crazy Well Pool. Steve passed him riding the rise like local Champ Jon Tiernan-Locke. Unlike Locke he stopped at the top of the first rise. So did Julian... and then Julian became the first person to touch base with Mother Earth that evening. He picked a cracking gorse bush to fall down into - he's probably still picking prickles out of his shorts today.

After circumnavigating the pool we picked up with the Devonport Leat running eastwards towards Older Bridge. The technicaly adept, Paddy, Alex, Steve and Julian rode with confidence atop the ridge of the footpath that runs adjacent to the leat. Gidon, Nick and I, in particular, rode a little more circumspectaly. Up ahead we saw Julian take another tumble, I believe Alex and Steve also suffered similar fates. Only Nick of the second group had a major wobble. It couldn't have been too far from the position of his last skirmish with the leat.

Older Bridge is roughly the area where the leat breaks from the tunnel into the open - we followed a well trodden path back past the Stone Row to Down Tor. Well trodden by cattle - it was a particularly uncomfortable ride - with mud traps indiscriminately placed to catch out the unwary or the over confident riders. At last some downhill, a beauty down to Deancombe and on again to Norsworthy.

We followed the Burrator Road until we exited to ride the handrail (anti clockwise). A single chap seemed unusually settled maybe 4 feet from his car - the cooker going, he seemed unfazed by our blinding lights as he appeared to complete the crossword of the day.

Gidon decided to cut short the ride here, the rest of us rode out through Sheepstor village through the simple return slopes to "The Royal Oak". As with a previous ride, there was a sting in the tail to the last part of the ride. Not 50 yards from Greg's Leap, the little wooden bridge gave Steve a nasty shock. A little wounded the Routemeister remounted and still made it first to the bottom. All that remained was the traditional 2 pints and a packet of crisps and then the not so traditional slogs back home.

Jelly legged and jelly brained we all made it home eventually. Sam, it was one of those nights where you could quite easily have crushed your knackers! Hope you are feeling better.

Reporters: Colin

President's Footnote: As I sat all on my own at HQ after a long busy day at work I pondered, "maybe the time has arrived for me to get a smart phone so that I can pick up those all important emails when away from home"!!!!