Kart-ing around

Woohoo! I just had my first trip driving a go-kart! It was really, really cold. But fun, nonetheless. My friends were telling the truth when they said that 10 mph feels fast when the ground is less than 5 inches below one's derriere. Controlling that thing makes me feel powerful. The shaking engine sounds like a delicate objet d'art that I can almost crush and enjoy the process. It's so fun to give it enough gas to keep it turning over yet not go forward (would this be manual idling?), then roar off in a cloud of dust and try to avoid tearing up the grass.

I believe the machine was built for someone with a smaller frame, since my head stuck out between the bars of the roll cage. I was afraid to see if I could launch the thing into the air since the cage seems somewhat unstable. The left front tire isn't quite on its rim, making steering tight turns somewhat of a joke. Aaah, the sweet taste of driving on the edge of safety, peering into the face of danger.

My hair smells like gasoline now.