That didn't go as planned.

Time for another update.  Last time, I mentioned how I was heading to KC to take my 2nd test drive in my friends Shawn Hill's kart.  Well, I did.  And, as the title suggests, it didn't go as planned.  Basically, I sucked it up on all my runs.  I can now say, with certainty, that a kart is the must frustrating thing I have ever tried to drive.  It isn't the speed, the grip, or the shifting.  It is all of it.  In little doses.

If a car is an airplane, then a kart is a spaceship.  Completely foreign, even though it is built to do the same thing: fly.  The speed is instant, and intense.  The grip is other worldly.  And, then, you add in shifting.  Lots of it.  I think that was the part that really messed me up the most.  Karts use a sequential gear box, like that of a motorcycle.  There is no pattern.  Pull toward you to shift up, and away from you to shift down.  Easy, right?  Well, now do that once or, at times, twice a second while navigating a sea of cones, looking ahead to see where you are gonig, while trying to gauge the limit of the grip available.  Now try to remember what gear you are in.   Not that the specific gear is entirely important.  But I found myself not shifting down enough gears in some corners, and trying to shift down one too many in others.  The former will leave you bogging out of the corner.  The later will spin you.  Quickly, as I found out.

However, as frustrating as it is, it is also a blast.  Glorious power slides, small crests causing all four wheels to come off the ground, and acceleration just short of a jet fighter on take off, will leave you with a $#!% eating grin on your face.  And I know as I acclimate myself, it will become less frustrating.  But there is the rub.  How long will it take to acclimate myself?  I get one year.  Actually, I get about 6 months.  It has taken Shawn 2 years to get to where he is at, and he says he still has a ways to go.  I love the challenge aspect of it.  That has major appeal to me.  However, I have a ride in a vehicle that I know and have done well in, with just one year of seat time, available to me as well.  I can't help but imagine what another year of seat time can net me.

So the plan is to run the kart once more this year.  I don't plan to figure it out.  I certainly don't plan to set FTD (fastest time of day).  What I want however, is to see if I show signs of progress.  Did I get better?  And, if so, by how much?  Was it a baby step, or was it a leap?  Once I can see if I am improving, and by how much, then I think I can finally make my decision.  And, honestly, either way I can't lose.  Both options are great opportunities, with people I enjoy.  I can say without hesitation, that it is a blessing to be in this predicament.  So thank you, to everyone involved for the opportunity, for your graciousness!