The Hard Boiled 300 by some who wanted to have done .......... and have
1987
Bob Patten/ Set off at cracking pace into darkness ....
thick patches of fog .... struggled .... pleased to get puncture
for a few minutes rest .... glad of 28 sprocket.
1989
Stu Lee/ Fair steamed out of Poole .... freezing fog kept
us awake.... stone walled lanes .... still sleeping villages ....
out of Devon into Dorset .... 7 category 1 & 2 rollercoasters
in a row .... rasped your lungs .... 5th control .... fell asleep
with eyes open .... never been so smashed in all my life ....
vertical lanes .... final control.... people feeding you, drying
you, fussing you, it was worth every bit of pain
1990
Francis Cooke/ Pockets of freezing mist .... halfway I
was wondering what all the fuss was about .... Axminster the route
struck East ....11 viscious climbs .... on dusty narrow Dorset
lanes .... to Maiden Newton where the controller tells us the
three biggest climbs were yet to come
Alan Linge/ Leaving Axminster Sector Lane rapidly
bent skywards .... the hills .... descents .... mind boggling
.... on winding lanes so narrow .... grovel from Cerne Abbas ....
legs protest ....circle automatically .... no power .... average
speed from Axminster.... wish it had been 10mph!
1992
Drew Buck/ First control .... 4 in the morning .... local
bobby with hot soup and sympathy (aren't our policemen wonderful)
.... temperature drops .... water bottle freezes .... start to
notice HILLS .... around Crewkerne long and slow .... Axminster
long mean and steep .... engage granny gear .... take to walking
.... finish superb .... vegetable caserole, apple pie and cream
.... a challenge where you can suffer.
1994
Mark Houlford/ I would not have missed 10hrs of climbing
through rain for anything
Dave Stevens/ Axminster to Maiden Newton take forever....
the hilly section .... maze of lanes
1995
Alan Pedliham/ After 200k the action started with the
hills just outside Axminster .... too much flapjack at Maiden
Newton .... from then on a succesion of roller-coaster hills ....
shattered .... the finish .... too tired to eat
Robert Watson/ I did enjoy the Hard Boiled.
Melville Kirkland/ I really enjoyed .... the scenary
and villages ....Powerstock not much fun .... Cerne Abbas ....
quite dreadful at 4-5kph.... legs straining .... gasping for oxygen
.... simply could not see with sweat pouring in my eyes
Dave Lewis/ My altimeter confirms.... Hard boiled
is an absolute pig.
1997
Chris Beynon/ Salisbury Plain .... worst stage .... struggling
to maintain even 15kph .... relentless headwind .... pleasant
rolling countryside led to Axminster .... where the fun started
.... across Dorset on minor lanes .... more 1 in 4 and 1 in 5
hills than I can remember .... great fun
Jeremy Meades/ The 50mph headwind was a nice touch!
.... pleased to finish well in time
Robert Watson/ I enjoyed the 'hard boiled'
Jim Sturton/ Superb .... the hardest I've ever ridden....
I can hardly wait for the next
1999
Peter Marshall/ I liked the Hard Boiled before, but the
new version is an absolute cracker
Andy Seviour/ most impressive, nice to use all those
new lanes
2001
Paul Palmer/ My 7th hard boiled .... route to Axminster
greatly changed (for the better) .... It does not get any easier