Clive Heard and Jimmy Richards represented the Axe Valley Pedallers at this year’s Dartmoor Devil long distance ride.

The Devil is an annual event, taking in some of the most brutal climbs around Dartmoor, mostly on road but sometimes also off road. The notorious event is a real test of stamina and not for the faint hearted.

The distance is over 110 kilometres but the elevation is over 8000 ft in total, and the lanes were frequently awash with gravel and wet leaves mulch, difficult to navigate and with the occasional monster puddle, one of which was up to knee level.

The most tortuous section was heading west towards Princetown into a reported 50 mph gale. This was Clive’s fifteenth consecutive Dartmoor Devil, surely an AVP record, just don't ask him yet if he'll do it again next year!

Last week’s Wednesday Wibblers ride was meant to be a grand day out but proved to be just the opposite, with four and a half punctures en-route to Millers Farm for a coffee stop.

Sticky got the "half puncture" as it was a slow one which had to be constantly pumped up, but Twiggy had a puncture at the same time as Lunar had a tyre which insisted on leaving its proper place on her wheel.

At the same time, Whiskey had a puncture in the front tyre, so by the time all arrived at Millers Farm their forecourt looked rather more like a bike repair depot. Further agonies when it was discovered that Twiggys' spare tube was the wrong size and finally Poddy had to return to her car and perform a double rescue.

Finally, and obviously in sympathy with Whiskey’s first puncture, he collected another in the rear tyre on the way home. Such calamitous days as these are rare but it's the time of year when all the hedge cuttings are likely to cause a degree of havoc and usually we are all well prepared for such events, but things can go wrong. Nicknames have been used to preserve anonymity.