A DARK SKIES RIDE

I woke up this morning and my adrenalin was still going from last night.  Four of us had decided to go on a dark skies ride for a Christmas meal by bike along some Dartmoor lanes.  We met at 6.30 at Ivybridge Watermark Centre.  It was only 6 miles to the Cornwood Inn along the Dartmoor Way Cycle Route but it was truly amazing.  There was no moon and no urban lights either so it was a true dark skies ride.  We could sense the countryside.  We could hear owls hooting, we listened to the flow of rivers alongside us and could pick out the ancient walls and trees beside the road. On the return ride, we stopped and turned off our lights to look at the stars.

When we arrived back at the Watermark, we realized that it was the winter solstice.  We had a great dark skies ride and a enjoyable meal too.  Happy Christmas.