Venue: BINGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, Pongsuda Resort, Sai Yok, Kanchanaburi.Hares: Todd ”Roughrider” JordanDates: 14/15 October 1995Scribe: Chris ”Bodyshop” Kirby.Hi everybody,This RIDE #45 was my first official HASH trip so I was slightly worried what to expect. After being told by Stiffy and Mark ”Whine-a-lot” Lavoie what PAPER was I felt much more confident about life. The RIDE was delayed by the late arrival of some people, this group did include myself. After some explanation by Roughrider the HARE we proceeded out onto the road and were off.The temperature was hot and I regretted having to discard my “Camel bak” because of the large variety of fungus growing inside it. The RIDE followed asphalt road for some time and people began to spread out. I was expecting some CHECKS as I had been warned of this type of cunning plan but throughout the RIDE this did not occur. The first real hill was a shock back to reality after enjoying the views and sun for many km’s. The TRAIL condition proceeded to deteriorate and I found the mud and streams similar to what I am used to biking through in New Zealand. As I biked straight past the border control the guards started to jump around yelling so I turned around as was shown the HHH sign with further instructions on the reverse side. The most aggressive feature of this border post seemed to be the highly trained “border geese” which appeared to work better than the average guard dog.The next people to arrive were Micheal ”Outback” Eyre, Henry ”Forever” Young and Jean-Claude ”Le Shuttle” Sinet. As more arrived we assembled for a group photo taken by a guard. I was impressed by Adam ”Michaelangelo” Florence’s bike “the Pheasant”, a locally made model obviously specially designed to perform in rigorous Thai conditions.The return trip started well, we met more RIDERS still outbound and proceeded back through the mud and streams and into the downhill section with people dropping off along the way for liquid refreshments. The weather started to deteriorate and heavy rain set in, the depth of pot holes was hard to determine which added to the entertainment. Jean-Claude and myself settled into a steady pace which became more competitive as we continued. There was continued “Pae mai kawd” calls from many locals who got great enjoyment from seeing muddy soaking Farang biking in the rain.As we neared the River Kwai bridge it was dark and the intended finishing signs lost so we returned to the start area. Distance approx 65kms. People continued to arrive back by boat across the river and were offered a fine selection of beers which I did note did not include any New Zealand brands-”hint-Hint”. The evening meal was excellent and things began to degenerate. My introduction to DOWN-DOWNS occurred. Thanks to Todd the HARE (Ed’s note:not Peter Rabbit?) and everybody else present for a great experience. I was impressed by the distances achieved by the children and those who hadn’t ridden a bike for a long time before.Ed’s note:At around Baht 6oo/person for dinner, bed and breakfast with four sharing a room this place is a steal.............they also allowed Todd to bring 10 cases of beer and they have a camping ground.