New Years Day Trail-of-the-Hare CHEDDARHEAD Hike & Party

SPECIAL NOTE!  Think of the Cheddarhead as a New Year's Day "counter-reSolution" celebration.  To enjoy this big annual rain-or-shine "Hash House Harriers" event it helps to be adventurous, thick-skinned, and irreverent about social norms.  As we help one another follow the "trail of the hare" we'll occasionally find ourselves in unusual outdoor places or situations such as the tricky creek-crossing pictured above.  That's why we give it a "D3" difficulty level even though it's not as long mileage-wise as our more typical AOC D3 hikes.  Also you newcomers to "hashing" should be forewarned that you may be taken aback by the bawdy nicknames & song lyrics and general rowdiness of this so-called "drinking club with a running problem."

IN A NUTSHELL:  I've enjoyed recruiting a dozen or more Atlanta Outdoor Clubbers on each of the past four New Years Days to participate in this big event and despite the wet weather forecast this year we're excited about doing it again!  Please join me (a.k.a. "Dirty Limerick") and more than 100 of my friends in the Atlanta Hash House Harriers & Harriettes (AH4) for our 24th annual "Cheddarhead."  It's a blast helping one another follow the "trail of the hare" which leads us to a huge outdoor all-you-can-eat-&-drink dinner party (complete with lots of tents and tarps in case of rain).
  If you're looking for something festive and wildly different to ring in 2013 and perhaps ease you out of that "night-before hangover," the Cheddarhead should fill the bill, and it always provides more than enough aerobic exercise to keep “resolution guilt” from kicking in!
  No funds are collected by the AOC for this event, but if you decide to take part, bring $10 in cash to chip in to the AH4 registration volunteer for your fair share of the bountiful Wisconsin-style food, refreshments and door prizes that will be our reward for successfully following the hare's tricky trail.
  After a brief welcoming ceremony at the Start, our 200+ "harriers" (a.k.a. "hare chasers" or "hashers") will help one another find and follow the hare's flour-splotched trail (typically laid by that volunteer runner a couple of hours earlier on the same day).  The lead hashers at the front of the group will yell "On-On!" back to the crowd as they spot successive splotches of baking flour, confirming that we're indeed on the tricky trail chosen by the hare.  After a couple of hours and an amazing variety of terrain (usually about 3 or 4 miles for the Cheddarhead) we should arrive safely at the "On-In" party area - usually the back yard of one of the veteran AH4 hashers.
 For more on the history, culture and worldwide popularity of the sport of "Hashing" go to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers

WHEN & WHERE? At 1:30 PM our AOC subgroup will join the large crowd of Hash House Harriers at the START location.  This year the START will be the free parking lot beside the "Funtime Bowl" bowling Center in NE Plaza Center Shopping Center (see directions, address & lat/lon below).

MORE on the EVENT and WHAT TO BRING:  Between about 1:30 and 1:45 look for me, Charlie, wearing a green Atlanta Outdoor Club T-Shirt, a baseball cap, and my "Dirty Limerick" beaded hash necklace in the area where everyone is checking in.  I'll mark you present on our AOC subgroup roster and help you register with our AH4 hosts.
  At about 2:00 there'll be a mock-formal welcome ceremony featuring the hilarious "Wedge of Allegiance" Cheddarhead creed.  A few minutes later our big group will all set off together at a fast-walking or slow-jogging pace.  The hare's trail will likely take us along a creative sequence of forested urban trails, powerline easements, residential streets, etc.  Feel free to walk/jog with me during this "follow-the-hare" part of the festivities in case you're worried about staying "on trail."  I've had about 20 years of hashing experience and know NE Atlanta well.  Somewhere along the trail we'll enjoy a refreshment "pit stop" - then also of course the big party at the trail's end.
  The custom is for each participant to bring a small Duffel Bag of Extra Garments (esp. if it's cold), dry Shoes & Socks and a light foldup Chair which are delivered for us from the "START" parking lot to the "mystery-location" party venue.  (See "What to Wear & Bring" sections below) 
  
"CHEDDARHEAD"  PARTY DETAILS: The annual Atlanta Cheddarhead New Years Day event gets its name from the fact that its founder, a veteran AH4 hasher known as “Public Enema” and his partners in crime are from Wisconsin. (See some of their comments about its history in the NOTES section below.) At the big party and outdoor cookout they provide delicious all-you-can-eat Wisconsin-style food and refreshments - usually including charbroiled bratwursts, blackeyed peas & rice, Canadian-style french fries & gravy, salad, beer & soft drinks, and a nice assortment of munchies & desserts.  You’ll love their fresh cheese curds, flown down from Wisconsin and deep-fried outdoors at the party!  There’s of course lots of friendly socializing plus door prizes, bawdy drinking songs, and obligatory “down-downs” of a small cups of beer for “notables” such as the hares, “rule violators,” and newcomers to the sport.  (You may request your non-alcoholic drink of choice for a "down-down" in lieu of beer.)  Please plan to imbibe in moderation, esp. if you’re driving.

POST-PARTY FREE SHUTTLE: Beginning at about 5:30 PM some of our Cheddarhead hosts will offer complimentary shuttle rides back to the Start parking lot for hashers and their gear.  After we reach our own vehicles it will be appreciated if some of us can take the time to provide the same short shuttle (typically only about 5 minutes from the Party back to Start) for other partiers who may still need a ride.

OPTIONAL EARLY-EVENING BOWLING PARTY!  After the afternoon excitement many of the Hashers will gather at the "Funtime Bowl" bowling center by our cars for a few friendly games, and everyone is invited.  It's only about $3.50 per game and $3 for shoe rental if you decide to take part - beginning about 6:00 PM.

FOR the OFFICIAL NEW YEARS DAY 2013 “CHEDDARHEAD" ANNOUNCEMENT ARTICLE click on this link:
http://AtlantaHash.com/?page=events&n=1651

 • For links to our numerous Hash House Harrier groups in Georgia including AH4 go to:
  http://www.OnIn.com/hhh/#georgia_hashes

THE "START LOCATION" for the Cheddarhead this year will be the FREE Parking Lot by the "FUNTIME BOWL" bowling center at NE Plaza Shopping Center, 3285 Buford Hwy in NE Atlanta.  Our vehicles can be left safely here during the event until we return after the "On-In Party" via the free shuttle rides discussed above.  It’s just off I-85, about 10 miles NE of downtown and about 5 miles inside I-285 (near the REI "Atlanta store").

DIRECTIONS FROM the I-85/ I-285 "SPAGHETTI JCN" INTERCHANGE in NEW ATLANTA:

1. Get off I-85 at Exit #91, “Clairmont Road.”

2. Go south on the southbound I-85 Access Road for 0.4 mile to the Briarwood Rd intersection just before the REI store.

3. Turn Right onto Briarwood Road and go just 0.5 mile to NE Plaza Shopping Center on your Left (just before the traffic light at Buford Hwy).

4. Turn Left into NE Plaza Shopping Center and drive across the wide parking lot to the "Funtime Bowl" bowling center.  The Cheddarhead registration and start area will be in the parking lot at that farthest SW end of the shopping center.

ADDRESS and LAT/LON COORDINATES of BOWLING COMPLEX & PARKING LOT: One or the other of these may be useful as your entered destination for GPS or Google Maps in conjunction with the above directions:
 3285 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30329
 33.8415, -84.3294

"CHEDDARHEAD FAQs" from 2009 MAGAZINE ARTICLE:  http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/outdoor-sports/running/on-on-hashers-are-drinkers-with-a-running-problem/

The Cheddarhead
There’s hashing, and then there’s the Cheddarhead, which could be the most creative hash in the Southeast. Take your standard run, drink, run, drink afternoon and throw in nearly 200 participants, 60 pounds of fried cheese curds, polka music, bowling, bratwurst, and more beer. Blue Ridge Outdoors talked with the Cheddarhead’s original founders, Dave Paul (a.k.a. Public Enema) and Derald Loomis, about the art of cooking cheese curds, light public nudity, and their obsession with running and drinking.

How was the Cheddarhead conceived?
Hashers as a group are very irreverent. It’s such a peculiar sport or lifestyle. You’ll only find a certain number of people who want to run through the woods, hollering, drinking, and getting bloody. Irreverence is a key aspect of hashing, so we wanted to play on the New Year’s resolution. Everyone wants to be healthy in the New Year, so we went in the opposite direction. We eat as much high fat food as possible and drink as much beer as possible. I mean, how ridiculous is it to eat cheese curds and run? I love it.

What is a cheese curd? 
It’s made during a process that involves separating milk into whey and blobs of curd cheese. They’re little blocks of cholesterol. People who worked in the Wisconsin cheese factories used to bag these little blocks up and take them to their local pub and eat them as a snack. We have 50 or 60 pounds of them shipped down for the run. They come right off the line, so they’re really fresh. If they’re not fresh, they’re not good. Of course, we fry them in a deep fat fryer.

Has the Cheddarhead grown over the years? 
The Cheddarhead started with 40 or 50 people. It was a very manageable group. Now, we get about 200 people, and Johnsonville Brats came on as a sponsor this year. They heard about the run, liked the idea, and gave us a whole bunch of brats. It’s definitely a big deal now, with all the cooking, and the logistics. Last year, we had 176 runners even in the cold weather. That’s the power of cheese.

Registration Fee for doing this big group event and party with the AH4, including its Food, Refreshments and Door Prizes.  Each participant simply pays $10 in cash and gives your name to the AH4 registrar in the START parking lot.  No advance guarantee of your participation is expected by the Hash House Harriers, but if you find that you can't join us please cancel your AOC registration for the event since we'll likely have an AOC wait list.