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Bicycle Touring
Cycling , Asia on Travel Bikes Hash House
Harrier
Hashing, as we know it today, began in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, in 1938, when a group of restive British company men started a
hare & hounds running group. They named the group after their meeting place,
the Selangor Club, aka the "Hash House." Hash House Harrier runs
were patterned after the traditional British public school paper chase. A
"hare" would be given a short head start to blaze a trail, marking his
devious way with shreds of paper, soon to be pursued by a shouting pack of
"harriers." Only the hare knew where he was going . . . the harriers
followed his marks to stay on trail. Apart from the excitement of chasing
down the wily hare, solving the hare's marks and reaching the end was its
own reward, for there, thirsty harriers would find a tub of iced-down beer.
Hashing died during World War II (Japanese occupying forces
being notoriously opposed to civilian fun), but came back to life in the
post-war years, spreading slowly through Singapore, Indonesia, Australia,
and New Zealand, then exploding in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s.
Today there are thousands of Hash House Harrier clubs in all parts of the
world, complete with newsletters, directories, and regional and world
hashing conventions.
Despite its growth, hashing hasn't strayed far from its
British and Malaysian roots. A typical hash "kennel" is a loosely-organized
group of 20-40 men and women who meet weekly or biweekly to chase the hare.
We follow chalk, flour, or paper, and the trails are never boring. When
forced to, we'll run the occasional street or alley, but in general we
prefer shiggy . . . fields, forests, jungles, swamps, streams, fences, storm
drains, and cliffs. And although some of today's health-conscious hashers
may shun a cold beer in favor of water or a diet soda, trail's end is still
a party. Perhaps that's why they call us the "drinking club with a running
problem!"
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Copyright © 2006 David's Cycling Adventure. All rights reserved.
My American bicycle
touring friends, Tim and Cindie Travis, gave me the book below when they
stayed at my house in Malaysia.
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