Mon, 20 Feb 2006

The Florida Interbash bike hash was an unqualified success.
It had cops and firetrucks and skydivers and beer and shiggy. We drove up to Sebastian on Saturday morning, and got there around 1:00 pm. The hares and most of the hashers were already there, busily drinking in the the alcohol-free park. They had already had one cop encounter, but we missed it.

We got a nice chalk talk from Eatapus (non-grouchy flavor!) and the hares were off. After a short head start we pursed them. The trail wound through the campground, and then on to the streets. I took the eagle portion of the turkey-eagle split, and got to see the sunbathing girls by the water. Then it was a long ride though some nice muddy shiggy, and surprise, the first beer check!

We stood around for quite a while at the beer check. The pack compared injuries and different levels of dampness. Finally we got rolling again. The second portion of the trail left the shiggy and ran along the water for a while. We passed by a bunch of appreciated motorcycle riders. Then some neighborhoods, and surprise, the second beer check!



The second beer check was just as good as the first. I got to watch one brain surgeon try riding over a traffic cone. He wasn't injured too badly. SMD was able to repair a broken bike chain with his handy fixit tool. We had some more beers, and rolled on out for the third part of trail.

The third part of the trail was much like the other two, with flour and checks and stuff. Eventually we made our way into a secluded wooded area near the start. It was right next to the airport, so we got to see skydivers overhead the entire time we were there. We had a nice Eatupus-style circle, with plenty of down-downs and accusations. Then the hares fired up the grills, and it was burgers and dogs for everyone. Also beans, coleslaw and orange cheesy food.

Finally we ate all the food, and things wound down. The hashers who were going home went home, and the hashers who were staying went to the campground, where the evening's entertainment awaited (insert foreshadowing here). Circumspector and I joined Chewtoy at the airport's campgound. The hash camping area was pretty full, as well as having a no alcohol policy. Also a be very quiet policy, and a no having fun policy.

So Circumspector dumped out the tent and we began to set it up. Then we realized that one of us had forgotten the poles. So we drank some more of Chewtoy's beer, and rode our bikes over to the hash campground to see what might be happening.

What was happening was noisy fun involving alcohol. After socializing with Plop, SN, and SMD (and drinking some of their beers) we made our way to hash central, where Just Puke was organizing a shooting star run. He marked the trail with some glow-in-the-dark planetary objects. I forget what the drink at the first stop was, but it had some kind of alcohol in it. The second stop was PPP, and the third was yucca. As we stood around drinking our yucca, the two sherriff's cars rolled up on us. It was the usual: we claimed to be a church group, and they gave us a warning. It was pretty much a formality, because everyone there (cops and hashers alike) knew they would be back.

They left, and as we all stood around pondering our next move, my cell phone rang. It was Chewtoy: "there's a big brush fire over here, and you'd better come move your truck". Fine. So I pedaled back over. It was a pretty small fire. Anal arrived not long after me, and he walked over and stomped most of it out. Then the firetrucks arrived, and after some deliberation the firemen hooked up their hose and put out the fire. Then they left, and the excitement was over.

There was a perfectly good campfire at the airport campground. There was also a tiki bar, but it was closed, but we had our own beer. So we sat around there for a while. We had creeper races, with the wheeled creepers the skydivers use for practice, and we watched the drunk guy try not to fall in the fire, and some more of the hashers showed up. We had a fine old time.

Eventually the party broke up, with most of the hashers heading off to some local bar (Ernies?). We decided to just drive on home, since it was only 90 miles. We got to sleep in our own bed that night. The next morning I got a call from Anal, giving me a full report. He and G8rh8r were the only ones who had not been kicked out of the campground.

The sherriffs had returned (surprise!). Puke had fallen asleep in his tent, with his arms wrapped around the keg, and the tent flap open for all the non-hashers to see. That was the first thing they saw. They sent Puke and everyone near him on their way. Then they inspected the coolers at the rest of the sites. As you would expect, there was beer in them, so all those hashers were politely asked to leave. Anal and G8rh8r were the only ones smart enough to hide their beer in the bushes, so they got to stay. I plan to nominate them in the "I fought the law and I won" category at this year's Hash Awards.

Anyway, we all had fun, and nobody went to jail that I know of, and we'll do it again next year.
posted at: 18:23 | permalink |