The drive north was well worth the cool of the mountains and tranquility of Mae Taeng. School break for
some, many headed north early, some doing an off-piste MTB tour of Sukhothai and others heading
straight for extra riding and chillaxing in Chiang Mai. Executives of course flew in sending their drivers up
in advance.
Arriving in Sop Poang is like reaching an oasis at the base of misty mountains that beckon. Second
Edition of this Out Hash approx. 50 riders including 6 or 7 local riders cements this hash location as a
new regular on the calendar – at least as long as Mothertrucker is truckin’.
Accommodation for this hash was very comfortable, and even if you were not one of the 15 odd people
lucky enough to be staying gratis at Tom and Duke’s, felt like home. Butsaba is run by a very welcoming
elderly Swiss-Thai couple and had alpine charm to it, not to mention the delicious unlimited supply of
homemade strawberry and mango jam at breakfast.
Seeing Asbjorn and his brother Torgrim at breakfast really was an indicator of how cool the temps were,
but was possibly also an indicator of whether they are indeed brothers from 350km north of the Arctic
Circle – one in a Tshirt enjoying the tropical air and the other in vest and reindeer suede shoes?!
Duke (Tom MT’s better half) non rider was an ever present figure behind the scenes and behind the
wheel as ferry driver, host at her home and also chipped in with entertaining young Emile.
The two Herve’s reunited due to Hairy Nutscrapers pre Siam visit, the French were in full swing, never far
from each other. Nicolas ‘Bravefart’ and Alex ‘Pussy Butcher’ (newly christened) shared a room and for
some reason requested extra pillows (they also always sat next to each other at breakfast).
The Sat ride off started with a convoy ferry of Songthaew’s and pickups. It was about a 20km drive to the
@ 800m rideoff point. The adventure began before all riders had even reached this point. Mikko
‘Energizer Bunny’s Bitch’ K, who was born in a Finnish Toyota Dealership (not sure where he was
conceived? Maybe the back of a Datsun), managed to take his Toyota Hilux and his three unwitting
passengers (Johan ‘Doggy Style’, Andrea S [ferry driver] and the GM) completely off course, at one point
putting his vehicle on the ride GPX. If it wasn’t for the in car Security Council vote to reverse out (Andrea
S and Johan ‘Doggy Style’ voting in favour of the motion and the GM, in true Mismanagement mode,
abstaining), he was wanting to drive the wrong way up the hash route, potentially risking FRB lives, e.g.,
Richard ‘Right Arsehole’, from coming head first through his windscreen potentially killing the GM riding
shotgun. Mikko also managed to give car sickness to Andrea S and Johan Doggie Style O-R as all twisting
mountain roads were driven twice including backwards, and Adrea S as ferry driver had to again drive
them back to Butsaba. In addition Mikko’s navigation skills endangered the lives of young hashers who,

without parents delayed by Mikko, got lost on the mountain. Mikko also somehow found logic in
stopping during all of this to buy a dozen unripe bananas for his car journey home after the hash, thus
further delaying rideoff.
The ride started with a steep 3km climb. Once at height and past the spirit houses it was time to drop in.
The FRBs were out of sight from second one - the steep Saturday trails, some of them like ski jumps with
an uphill landing zone – had the Scandinavians in trouble, though it was the flatland Dutch who fell
(albeit sans dropper). Up and down we went sometimes dismounting as the leaves and loose surface
below risked fishtailing at speed. Climbing up and then down again on hidden ridgelines we eventually
caught a view of Chiang Mai out to the right, skyline shimmering in the mid-morning sun. The Hares
spared us Checks and False Trails.
The water stop was a scenic little café hovering over the rice fields which stretched in between Butsaba
and Tom’s place, mountain ranges in the distant horizon all around. From there it was a rolling ride back
to the Circle via orchards, rice fields, cow sheds, local Wats and homesteads – almost heaven ... west
Jaimaca, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenendoah River ... country roads take me home!
Long after the Saturday Circle was dismissed and well past dinner – another victim of Mikko, poor old
Harold ‘Big Dipper’, rolled into Butsaba in a pickup. Sweeping to keep lost tubeless children safe with
their vexed mothers, he returned at circa 930pm greeted by big hugs from appreciative mothers. He had
been lost on the mountain with two flats and no battery power for over 3 hours in the dark. Attempting
to short cut across small valleys but then getting trapped in a deep ravine, he managed to retrace his
steps to a trail and eventually found civilization where he borrowed a shopkeepers phone and called in
the Hilo.
In trepidation of no El Mercado, food at the Circle was a highlight, and a reminder of how spoiled the
relative newbs are with food (waste and volume management so all eat was managed this Hash but, be
warned hashers, mismanagement needs improvement!). Catered by Food4Thought in Chiang Mai no
one went hungry and the vegetarians were well cat
ered for. Needless to say the Finnish logician Mikko ‘Energizer Bunny’s Bitch’ K was, following Johan
‘Doggy Style’s eloquent nomination, unanimously voted Piss Pot. As he could not handle downing his 1L
of Yuzu Soda, Mothertrucker helped by tipping the balance on to his face. Dinner was a standard buffet
put together by Butsaba, wings didn’t run out and were in good supply.
The Sunday Hangover Ride was a complete contrast to Saturday’s true mountain trails and the On Out
took us on the east side of Sop Poeng village 50m from the tarmac. Roller coaster like flowing track
through teak forest and dry seasonal stream beds that ultimately feed into the Ping and Chao Phraya was
the flavour. The water stop was adjacent to the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary. Not wanting to disturb
earth’s largest land mammals the briefing and water stop was enjoyed in relative silence. Of course Ass
Floater, having not mercifully revealed all at the past AGM, couldn’t keep it in his pants any longer and
proceeded to urinate 15m from the mobile water stop in plain view of women and children. No doubt
he felt at home with the pachyderms and was simply marking his territory.
Circle had a mix of all that is RA function – Asshole of the Month went to young Ethan for abandoning his
lost mates on the mountain. Harold ‘Big Dipper’ was awarded a special Good Samaritan prize for giving
Lucy Bitching Link his last tube and sweeping into the dark on 2 flat tires + no battery. Alex received his

‘Pussy Butcher’ name – the kitty variety, he tried to kill one thinking he was home on Soi Cowboy when
really the niner inches was his tires threatening a cat not his spaetzle pimmel. The GM was remanded
for being an SCB, obviously following the rules gets you in trouble on the hash. As the circle was
dismissed Mothertrucker invited all hashers staying on Sunday night to a BBQ at his place, about 20
showed up.
We look forward to next year’s edition of the Chiang Mai Out Hash and Tom and Duke’s generous
hospitatilty.
On On