Rides no:- 137 and 138   Date:- 25/26 August 2001Location:- Khao Yai Grand View Thani HotelHares:- Marty Stanley and Chris BargeryScribe:- Craig BarratSetting off from Bangkok bright and early on Saturday morning, things got going in true hash style, as I missed the first turnoff to route 305. Fortunately the hashers foolish enough to follow me had had fewer beers and more sleep than I on Friday night, we never the less arrived without further ado.I was amazed at the discipline of hashers as 13h00 approached and the GM called his pack to attention they immediately assembled in formation that would have made the navy proud…….no, wait a minute, that was a dream. In amongst confused shouts of "has anybody not paid yet?" and "ten minutes to ride off", hashers were arriving by the bus load, and the sun beat down mercilessly on anybody foolish enough to be outdoors. Later rather than sooner, order was restored and with (un)clear instructions from the hares, the pack was finally set loose. At first I was sure the hares were not Marty and Chris, because this was way too passive a ride for such hares. After a short while we came across some fairly familiar territory, but determined that being on paper we had to be on the right trail continued regardless, until it became obvious we had done a loop twice. Fortunately Chris was there to save us otherwise we would probably still be riding in circles (hey, if there’s paper, we must be on). It turns out we had done the second half of a figure of 8 loop first, so it was mutually decide to do the first half second. The second half of the ride headed into some light bush, crossing some small streams. The enthusiasm of most of the pack had them racing straight over a clearly marked U turn to gather speed for the stream they never had to cross. We crossed over a field with corrugations that had most of us walking, and some even seen throwing a bicycle in disgust. It was only now that the sun had been beating down for some time and our energy levels were receding that we realized the halfway drink stop was now right at the end of the ride. This was not altogether a bad thing as the appetite for cold beer was alive and well by the end of the ride. An excellent ride that suited all levels of rider. Well-done Hares. The circle was called and a vast numbers of down downs ordered. Too many to list, but to mention few, we welcomed the visitors from Nestle, a visitor and ex-BHHB member Derick from Hong Kong wearing a hare T shirt. Taking over the circle from the GM clad in racy hotpants, Religious Adviser’s Ass Noriega stepped in and stole the show with his adenoidal Chinaman impersonation and called in Detlef for his covert role in manufacturing ladies’ lingerie and the GM’s bikingwear. We retired to a buffet dinner and attempted to further quench our well-earned thirst.Sunday’s ride was a led ride from Khao Ito waterfall, and the pack was to assemble for a 10h30 ride off. I was amazed at the discipline of hashers as 10h30 approached and the GM called his pack to attention they immediately assembled in formation that would have made the navy proud…….no, wait a minute, that was a dream (again). At this stage the car park looked more like a pit lane than a car park, with Keith fixing bikes with one hand while dressing with the other. So it was that we set off for this Sunday morning amble, and before long, one of our leaders had disappeared into the distance, and the other was waiting at the back to ensure nobody got lost. After a little interval training from Chris, we were all back on track. Quite soon we were faced with hills that were accompanied by comments like "that’s nothing, wait until you get to the real hill" On the way though there were some fairly technical trails that had the conservative riders walking, and some of the brave riders falling, and then the trail broke open onto tarmac. The hill was steep, but turned soon enough, so it could not be that bad, but at the turn I was met by the same picture, and sadly enough, this continued through quite a number of turns, each with increasing gradient. This was suddenly a little more reminiscent of a ride set by Marty and Chris. After a long and grueling slog, we summated the mountain, and then the fun began, for the rest of the ride was a long downhill, steep and fast, with the option to take jumps or bypass them. Either way, technical enough to get the adrenaline pumping and easy enough to give the more conservative a great thrill. An excellent trail. The ride came to an end with festivities at the waterfall which was now crowded with local revelers. In a brief religious observance reminiscent of his stint working for an Indian tailor’s shop in Sukhumvit, Religious Sage Noriega awarded a down down to "Subhuman" George for wearing a matching set of Jaymart olive green, wooly hip hop shorts and sox and also brought in a beautifully attired English girl whose name I didn’t catch as an contrasting example of sartorial elegance. Thanks again for a great weekend Marty and Chris.On OnCraig