lemans karting in Fremont, kim gets a driving fix Options

[krk]

Folks,

Not a lot of P content here. Well, I drove a P-car to the facility -- and got to show off a new engine to a buddy who hasn't been in the car. He was speaking incomplete sentences at one point. :-) But I digress...

I went karting tonight. I've not done this before, but what a gas. It was indoors, at a fairly new facility in Fremont (bay area). (website: http://www.lemanskarting.com) The evening was set up by a buddy of mine who is friends with the owner. We were the last group, and we ran until we were tired. They supply everything you need -- helmets, suits/gloves, etc. Their rates seem pretty reasonable to me.

As a driver, I sucked pretty badly at first -- less badly as we worked through it. (tho I don't think I really got out of the "sucky" end of the measuring gauge) Did three sessions. After the first warmup session, we had a leader lead us around the track slowly through the lines, picking up speed with each lap. Huge difference. I sucked considerably less. It is definitely the case that momentum is everything in those critters. With something like 9hp on tap, if you rub up against things, or scrub off too much by sliding around, it just takes too much time to buy it back. I would often get one sequence of corners to line up (it is *so* cool when it works!) only to rub something in the next sequence. I never did get a complete lap that was rub free. I'm told it's a "practice" thing. Hate that.

Anyway, Brian & Brad (most racing dudes are apparently named "brad" -- prolly makes conversation easier. lol) who run the place were awesome. The corner workers seemed well trained, and they ran a good show. We watched a couple of practice and race sessions as we got there a bit early. Well run -- cheezy drivers get pulled over for a discussion -- the rest race on. An excellent couple of hours. I'll be doing it again.

Things that did drive me nuts -- no mirrors, and it's hard to see what's happening behind you. Man, you gotta watch your corner workers.

I now return you to your evening program.

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kim.