December 18, 2005
Ongawi

Bash #134:
Sungai Sendat, Ulu Yam

It’s always the same story. As the year ends, fewer and fewer hashers are available to set the hash. Having received a distress call from the KL bike hash, the Fakawis (Ongawi, Allenawi, Kevinawi, Delawi, Melawi and Velawi) happily donned their superhero Lycra tights and helmets and volunteered to be hares for the last bike hash of the year.

Thanks to the super trail memory prowess of Melawi and Delawi, Sungai Sendat trails were chosen to be resurrected as the hash site #134. After days of recce-ing, hundreds of energizer batteries drained from our GPS units, hundreds of liters of 100plus sweated out of our pores and hundreds of km of trails edited off the intended route, we had our paper trail.

The paper trail (The Fakawi Tribe only uses and highly recommends unbleached, biodegradable recycled paper for the hash) was set the day before, in heavy rain. That was no big worry because everyone knows that when placed in nature, in the perfect conditions, paper takes 2-5 months to fully biodegrade. No chance of riders going off paper and getting lost here!

The 4x4 offroaders churned up mud and wrecked the trails, making them a disaster to ride. Fortunately, after crossing the river, the single trails were a beauty to ride, far from the access of the 4x4 offroaders.

Our main concern was the intrusion of our sacred trails by an army of 4x4 offroaders who were having their year-end Jamboree in Ulu Yam. ‘Tread Lightly’ were never in the minds of these numbskulls because they were churning up ruts and potholes the size of bathtubs all over the trails.

A lot of devious scheming went into the setting of the paper trail. The ever conscientious Melawi campaigned from the start to let the Short Loop riders off easy.

Brave men...
... fall hard!!

“Think about how many parents of newbies will be cursing us if their children are left stranded in the jungle...”, she pleaded.

So, an easy and scenic route was set for the short loop. We still managed to give them an extra 5km more than the standard 10km short loop. Value for money!

With all our compassion drained on the newbies, the Long Loop riders were to bear the brunt of the sick and twisted minds of the hares. Planning the long trail was more like a Psy Ops preparation. Psychologists, human physiologists and serial bullies were consulted. The trails (all 35km of it) were designed to break the will and spirit of even the most keen FRBs (Front Running Bastards). Loops and climbs that look and feel so alike were chosen to make the riders feel like they are going in circles and hallucinating in their heatstroke.

Judging from the tired smiles of the short and long riders at the end of the hash, we could tell that most riders enjoyed the Sendat bash. Mission accomplished. Would we do it again? We’ll just have to wait for the next distress call again, wont we?

Related sites: 1) Hash House Harrier history, 2)KLMBH
- Ongawi