Haring is fun

… and why you should do it!

Getting started

If you love being on Hash weekends please consider being a hare in the coming year and receive the everlasting gratitude of your fellow hashers and the very highly sought after BHHB hare cycle jersey!. Haring is a great opportunity to bond with like-minded bike enthusiasts, discover even more of this beautiful Thailand and get a great sense of accomplishment and appreciation from your fellow hashers for organising a hash weekend. For "virgin hares" the idea might seem daunting, however it's actually very straight forward...

    • Simply let the Trail Master know you’d like to hare and when you're available and the trail master will guide you from there. If you are a virgin hare you can either join an existing hare team to get some experience, or go ahead and organise your hash if you know what bike hashing is all about.
    • A hare team should officially be no more than 4 people (3 experienced + 1 virgin), but you can use as many friends as you want to help organise the hash weekend.
    • Your hare team may find it useful to nominate a lead hare to help co-ordinate and keep track of the various tasks which need doing for a successful hash weekend.
    • If you are not sure where you would like to hare, look at the ride and resort archives for ideas or the trail master can also suggest a good location for you.
    • Establish a contact person at the resort and check they are available to receive the hash group for the proposed weekend. Hash weekends are usually on the last weekend of a month, but can be changed due to public holidays or other events.
    • An ideal resort has;
      • at least 30-35 rooms,
      • charges about B1,200-B1,500 per room per night inc breakfast,
      • Food available for Friday night, Saturday lunch and Sunday lunch,
      • can arrange dinner buffet for 50+ people on the Saturday night,
      • has cheap beer
      • located where trails can be accessed without negotiating main / busy roads.
    • You will need to pre-book about 20-25 rooms. Hotels differ a lot in how they handle this. Some may want a 50% deposit on the rooms, others will take the reservation with no deposit, which is preferred. Try to not deposit too much
    • Ask the hotel to accept Hasher’s bookings direct (It’s a lot of extra work to manage hashers bookings yourself) and inform the resort they can ask for 100% payment with booking to help get the best room price. Hashers will start to place bookings 4 weeks before the event.
    • A late checkout on Sunday, preferably 2 or 3pm.
    • Confirm with GM to reserve and pay for one room for the bike mechanic. Reclaim the money from Hash Cash. Include also 2 dinners coupons for the Mechanic
    • Also ask the hotel to provide the following;
      • Fridge space for circle food.
      • An urn of cold water an hour before the rides.
      • 1 table for hash cash.
      • 3 tables for the food.
      • 1 table for hash haberdash.
      • 1 table for circle piss pusher.
      • 2 large lockable drinks coolers for the beers and softies (Hash piss will bring locks).
      • ice to fill 25-50% of the drinks coolers. Keep ice in bag.
      • Area for bike mechanic.
      • Area with water / hose pipes for bike cleaning.
    • Check out the alternative accommodation in the area as an overspill resort or as a backup incase there is a last minute problem with the main resort.
    • You will need;
      • GPS/ Phone with recording app
      • Chalk / coloured string to mark any waypoints
      • folding saw & pruning shears to cut away any large branches and smaller plants, especially thorny branches.
      • A whistle to get the attention of your fellow hares when they wonder off.
    • Simply get out on your bike and enjoy exploring to establish your proposed routes.
    • You can also look at the ride archives to see previous routes used in the area. There is nothing wrong with reusing previous routes or go ahead and create something new.
    • Using a GPS, with Google earth will help you review where you have explored, share with fellow hares and look for other areas of exploration. Or simply use your memory and place some coloured string at key points to help you on your next recce.
    • If you bump into some local riders, ask them to show you where they ride.
    • Route conditions can change very quickly depending on weather and local developers, so be prepared to change your routes at the last minute.
    • One-way rides (with transport back) and ferry crossings etc. sound exciting but are difficult to arrange, so keep it simple, especially if this is your first time haring.
    • For safety reasons, try not to recce on your own. If you want to do a recce, but your fellow hares are not available, make a post on the BHHB facebook page that you are looking for a recce ride buddy and there's usually hashers happy to get out on their bike with you.
    • You will need to go to your chosen location several times in advance of the Hash (i.e. a few months or weeks before).
    • Firstly establish an initial Saturday and Sunday route, then explore for improvements you can make to the routes as you get closer to the event.
    • Look for one or two shops on or near your trail which can be water stops. Arrange for the shop to have a lots of bottles of cold water and sponsor (or similar). There should be some shade near the shop for resting. Using a 7-11 is acceptable, but are usually only located on busy roads. If no shops, consider asking the resort if they can provide a mobile water stop or you can offer one from the back of your car (but that is extra work for you).
    • Plan the ride for regular hasher to get back around 17h saturday and 11h30 for sunday.
    • Aim to make the Saturday ride 30-40km and Sunday ride 20-30km. Make the route shorter if the route is hilly, sandy or waterlogged and a longer distance if flat area, using roads, etc.
    • The Sunday trail should be suitable for children.
    • Trails should offer a short cut options to avoid any very technical sections or to provide a quick route back to the resort. (This could be a road route back to the resort from the water stop)
    • If you find a technical section you really want to include, but is a bit gnarly, consider marking it as a an additional FRB (Front Riding B*****d) only loop section.
    • If you are paying for assistance such as a support vehicle from the resort or labour to clear a trail check with the GM before you commit to the expenditure.
    • Your aim is to set a trail that is interesting, challenging, scenic, have a few surprises and the trail should aim to make everybody ride close together and finish together, by setting ‘Checks’, ‘U-turns’ and ‘false trails’ to slow down the FRB’s allowing the SRB’s (Slow Riding B*****d) to catch up.
    • A week or two before, think carefully where you want to put checks and false trails, ensuring they are far away from the on-in and other trails to prevent hashers from finding the wrong trail. Remember the golden rule: “If it can go wrong, the hashers will go wrong”.
    • Arrange a hotel buffet dinner for the Saturday evening starting about 7:30pm
    • Don’t go for the cheapest fare otherwise the Hashers will moan. A typical charge is B300 per person.
    • Make sure the proposed menu includes some vegetarian food.
    • Suggest the hotel use a ticket system for paying for the dinner.
    • Ensure that they will have a good supply of large bottles of beer. Recommend to the resort that guests pay for the beer as it is served to prevent confusion later.
    • Food suitable for vegetarians includes:
      • Sweet and sour vegetables with cashew nuts,
      • Phad Thai, no shrimps (good with the bean sprout and peanuts for protein),
      • Green curry with veggies (no protein, but tasty),
      • Phad Siew with veggies,
      • Khao Phad Medmamuang,
      • Fried rice dishes with vegetables/ eggs/ cashew nuts/ peanuts,
      • Som tam without shrimps,
      • Kang Chuut Tofu - the clear soup with greens and tofu,
      • Tofu Phad Met Mamuang (Tofu stir fried with cashews),
      • Tofu Phad Prik Thai Dam (Tofu stir fried with black peppers),
      • Tofu Laad Prik (Tofu with Chili Sauce),
      • Het Phad Khing On (Mushroom stir fried with tender ginger),
      • Phad Phak Khana (Stir Fried Kale Greens),
      • Phad Kraphow (Anything with basil and chilli),
      • Mama/Kuay Tiew Phad Khee Mao (Noodles with basil & chilli),
      • Tom Yam Chae
    • On the way to recce your Hash, measure out the directions to the location using your car’s odometer and prepare misdirections for Hashers to follow getting to the resort.
    • Event details;
      • Dates
      • Hare names
      • Resort name
      • Resort address
      • Resort telephone number
      • Resort email
      • Resort website
      • Room costs and options
      • Friday night restaurant closing time.
      • Saturday lunch food option / restaurant opening & closing time.
      • Saturday dinner details.
      • Sunday lunch restaurant opening time.
      • WiFi
      • Room amenities: (TV / hairdryer / desk / air conditioning / toilet / shower / garden view / mini fridge / etc)
      • Hotel amenities, (pool / fitness / snooker / sauna / massage / bike rental / walking trails / golf / etc.)
      • How to book details
    • Details should be sent to On-Sec and Webmaster 5-6 weeks before via this form so they can prepare and publish at least 4 weeks before.
    • For the food, the hares can either ask El Mercado to provide the food, or you can prepare and bring your own food.
    • El Mercado, will contact the hares before the hash to;<
      • confirm they should supply food.
      • how many rooms have been booked (so they know how much food to prepare)
      • make arrangements for hares to collect the food from El Mercado.
      • hares only need to buy the chips and bread for Sunday ride, if the bread runs out on Saturday.
      • make arrangements to return emptied food boxes to El Mercado.
    • If the hares wish to provide your own food, they should;
      • buy from Tesco Lotus, Big C or Makro.
      • keep the receipts and claim the money back from Hash Cash.
      • keep the ham and cheese in the fridge in your room.
      • bring a couple of sharp knives to cut up the vegetables, and three or four large plates to put them on.
      • typically food should cost less than B10,000 but gear it towards the number you expect at your hash and err on the side of making sure that everyone gets fed. If you expect the food to be more than this check with the GM first.
      • You can estimate the number of riders expected as follows. On Saturday it will be about one and a half times the number of rooms, and on Sunday about equal to the number of rooms.
      • A typical shopping list for 100 riders on Saturday and 65 on Sunday is:-
        • Bread (mainly brown) - about 550 slices (small loaves contain about 14 slices, big loaves about 20 slices).
        • Cheese 240 slices (However, buying block chess and grating it is cheaper)
        • Ham 240 slices
        • Crisps 30 tubes or large bags (no small individual bags)
        • Mustard 4 bottles
        • Mayo 6 jars
        • Cucumbers, tomatoes and onions: a couple of big bags of each.
        • Tuna 35 tins
        • Plastic knives 1 pack
        • Paper plates 2 packs
        • Napkins 2 packs
        • Large rubbish sacks 1 pack.
    • Hash piss will bring the beer and cooler locks. Hash softie will bring the soft drinks, rubbish bags, tissues, disposable plates, disposable spoons and forks.
    • You will need;
      • about 3 big garbage bags of shredded paper (compressed).
      • a very large backpack (for carrying the shredded paper).
      • a small bag to go on your handlebars for dispensing paper.
      • few bags of flour (incase you run out of paper) put into an empty large coke bottle for easy dispensing.
      • Chalk (for writing instructions on the road).
    • Please allow enough time for setting the trail which is much slower than riding the trail normally;
      • Consider dropping a garbage bag of shredded paper at the water stop so your back packs can be refilled when you arrive.
      • Some hares will set the Saturday trail on the Friday and then on the Saturday morning, two hares quickly re-ride the Saturday trail to ensure paper has not been washed / blown away overnight and top up where necessary to ensure the route can be easily followed. While another two hares set the Sunday trail on the Saturday morning. On Sunday morning the Sunday trail is quickly re-ridden to check the paper and top up where needed.
      • Some more experienced (and fitter), hares, will start setting the Saturday trail at first light on Saturday morning and may (or may not) finish just before the start of the hash. They will then set the Sunday trail at first light on Sunday morning, which again may be finished just before the start of the Sunday hash.
      • If you have 4 people in your hare team you can also consider having 2 hares set the first half of the trail while the other 2 hares set the 2nd half of the trail.
      • Consider that it takes twice the time to lay paper compare to ride the trail. Live haring is not recommended.
    • Please don't use paint for marking trails as it stays for years and looks unsightly.
    • Place paper about every 100m, always on the left side of the trail. Set the paper so it is easy to follow. Hashers should ideally not get lost following the paper, but only get lost at checks or false trails.
    • If the trail turns left, place paper just before the left turn and again just after the left turn so hashers know they have made a correct left turn.
    • If the trail goes straight, past a left turn, do not place paper before the left turn, only after the turn, so it is clear the trail goes straight ahead.
    • If the trail turns right, only place paper on the right to show the turn. Do not place paper on the left side directly before the right turn, since hashers may focus on the paper on the left side and think the trail goes straight ahead and not see the paper on the right.
    • To allow SRB’s to catch up with the FRB’s, set false trails and checks to slow down the FRB’s;
      • A False trail is simply a trail where the paper stops. Hashers may not notice the paper has stopped for several hundred metres. The trail can continue in any direction within ~250m from the last paper, but usually not straight ahead.
      • Consider placing a U-turn sign if you want to ensure hashers turn around and not enter a hazardous area or private property.
      • A Check is marked with a large X in paper or flour. The trail can continue in any direction within ~500m from the check. Leave sufficient paper for hasher to mark trail for SRB’s.
      • A false trail or check should never be placed where is could be possible for hashers to accidentally short-cut onto the on-in trail or jump onto the next days trail.
      • The number of false trails and checks depends on the type of route. On Saturday about 3 to 6, on Sunday about 2 to 5.
    • The first paper after a false trail or check should be a large drop of paper, so the FRB who finds the start of the next section of trail can use the paper to go back and join up with the last paper from the false trail or check.
    • Water stops and trail route options should be marked. Mark the water stop with ‘H2O’ or ‘Water’ on the ground so that the riders don’t shoot past. Do not rely on being there to guide hashers since you may be called away to help with an emergency or some hashers may set off late and therefore arrive after you have left and may then not know which way to go.
    You can find some useful documents and templates on this page: Resources
  • Just before the ride, one of the hares should inform the hashers of;
    • Approximate ride distance (normal route).
    • How many water stops.
    • Approximate distance to first water stop (normal route + short cut route + FRB route)
    • Details of how to identify any short cuts or FRB loops.
    • Details of any hazards on the route.
    • How to find your telephone number for any on route emergencies. If you are not offering a pick-up service, tell them so they know they have to arrange their own way back to the resort if they can not continue.
    • Ask if there are any questions and answer them (if it’s sensible)
    • Which way to go to find the start of the trail.
    • Share phone number of HARE.
    • Recommendation for safety and location of medical kit during the ride
    • At least one hare should be at each water stop to
      • greet hashers,
      • provide answers / help,
      • hold riders at the stop until most of the group has arrived,
      • provide a hare briefing before releasing hashers on the next stage of the route.
    • While the Hashers are paying Hash Cash look around for people who aren’t going on the ride, and try to talk them into cutting up the salad (if you are not using El Mercado for food)
    • Immediately after ride off, check the beers and softies have been put in the ice coolers with ice and they are locked. Spare beer/softies (for tomorrow) should either be kept by the hash piss/softie or should be kept in the hares car / room. Keys should be kept by the hare who will set out the circle food.
    • After the pack has left the water stop return to the hotel and put out the food. Don't put out all the food for that day at first, as it will all be gone by the time the stragglers arrive back. Instead put out about two thirds, and put the remaining third out after most of the pack is already back.
    • Hares with the emergency phone number announced before the start should be carrying the first Aid kit and be able to get to the emergency spot fast.
    • It would be nice to plan a pickup from the resort with a driver knowing how best to get to the next Hospital fastest or if not a driver, preparing an emergency plan within the hare team.