I was in the middle of a very nice nap this aftern…

I was in the middle of a very nice nap this afternoon when Graham called up and told me to get my ass down to Juke for lunch so we could go karting later. Keeping their excellent pancakes in mind, I managed to drag myself over there, late as usual. We were joined by Dean later on, but all of our entreaties to join our karting extravaganza fell on deaf ears, so we rode over to Kuting Station and took the train to the end of the Zhonghe line at Nanshijiao, and then took a taxi over to the Kart Formula Motorsport Co., Ltd. We were surprised to find it quite uncrowded, but then we were informed of the weekend rates and were enlightened. One session costs NT$350 a pop, and an all-day pass is a cool NT$2000. As we were already there, we figured we’d take a couple of laps just to check it out. Graham had been before, but I hadn’t been karting since I was in elementary school in Texas. All I remembered was piloting underpowered crates around a decrepit oval along the highway across from the Giant Slide. Of course, it was my dream to actually own a real go-kart when I was growing up. I used to sit in the family room drooling over the karts featured in the toy section of the Sears catalogue. I can still see them now. The two-seater was lime green, the one-seater orange.

We proceeded upstairs to the barlike atmosphere of the waiting room, which overlooked the track. The track was well over the size of a football field, or seemed so, and the little cars were racing through the labrynthian curves and straightaways at speeds that had nothing at all to do with what I remembered. These things were fast! We turned in our tickets and five minutes later were called to pick out helmets and then go wait for the current batch of racers to return to the pit. Soon enough, they did. We took their places, listened to the staff warn us about driving recklessly, and then we were off.

If the cars seemed fast looking down at them from the second floor, they felt even faster at ground level. At first I found myself driving them like I would a regular car, but I soon realized that the grip on these things was much, much higher, and the oversteer was fairly easy to control and even utilize for faster turning. The brakes were a joke and weren’t even noticable at speed. Bits of the track were uneven, and several times I ran over decent-sized rocks. I had a pillow in the seat, but every sharp turn threw me into the side of the seat with such force that I began to dread left turns because I knew they’d hurt. As I was just getting used to the track and the car, I didn’t really appreciate the other cars out there with me, but we seemed to be travelling at fairly similar speeds so it wasn’t too bad.

At the end of the first session the right side of my back was hurting, and the mask you have to wear underneath the helmet was suffocating me, so we went upstairs for some orange juice and target practice with pellet guns that seemingly would only work if either Graham or the lady in charge were holding them. They simply wouldn’t work for me. Oh, well. We watched other racers from the observation area. More people were arriving, and there seemed to be plenty of first-timers who were edging cautiously around the track. I had been right in the middle of the pack during our first run, but Graham did much better, earning second place. Couples could elect for the two-seater versions, and while some of them took it really slow, others drove the two-seaters just as fast as they could. There was even a kiddie track next to the big track, and we watched one kid bang into the walls several times before the operator got exasperated enough to pull the kid off the track so that the kid’s older brother could proceed without a crash every few seconds.

We’d bought two rounds, so we turned in our cards again after a while. This time we had to wait a bit before our names were called. By the time I got out among the cars, though, there were no more pillows left, so I just chose a car at random for the second round.

This time went much better. I was getting used to the environment and pushing the car harder. At the end of the longest straighaway one of the cars in front of me hit the graded wall and actually flew up into the air. Fortunately he didn’t flip, but it was a harrowing sight. I began to use slides to turn, and found the cart quite forgiving. Passing was the challenge now, and I realized that going around the track by oneself must be pretty boring. You knew when you flew out of control for no reason that someone behind you had hit you on a turn. Spinning out was a no-no as you’d basically stop and lose time due to lack of low-end torque. I had pulled the hood off my nose so I could breathe, and the pillow-less seat seemed much more comforable in corners than the previous one had. I really enjoyed myself on that session, getting fourth place out of about 20 cars. Graham, of course, did even better. He had one of the top lap times of the day. My cart was pretty good, though; it was fast enough in the corners that my keys came out of my pocket.

I enjoyed that session so much I suggested we have another go. While we were waiting some of the “professional” karting enthusiasts took over the track. These guys were decked out in full formula-one regalia, flame-retardant suits and all, and their carts had duel engines. One guy even had a two-stroke screamer that blew everyone else away. When one of them tried to pass another, you could look forward to a lap or two of high drama. Still, I have to say they looked kinda silly thusly attired while driving go-carts.

Unfortunately, by the time we were up for our third session, many of the drivers were the cautious, scenic-route types, which, while it makes for more interesting passing, also really cuts down on the speed factor. I happened to choose a slower car this time as well. At least my keys stayed put. Graham, however, had to go back to the pit to exchange his car because it was so slow. They gave him a good one, though, because he blew right past me when he got back on the track. I made sure I knew the number of the car so I can get it the next time I go. And there will be a next time. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a good time, and if we can get more friends to go with us I’m sure it will just be that much more fun. Unfortunately it will be difficult to get anyone to go on a weekday when the prices are low, but NT$2k for one day every couple of months isn’t too bad, I guess, especially if you go on enough races to make it worthwhile.

I could be singing a different tune tomorrow, though. I’ve got the feeling that I’m really going to be feeling it in my back. Damn pillow.

When we left, the “pro” guys were sitting around the waiting room drinking and sharing “war stories” from the track. We walked out and caught a taxi driven by a driver who didn’t know quite where he was. Luckily we knew generally where we were going.

I went out and rented The Touch to watch while I slurped up delicious home-made spaghetti. A fairly obvious Michelle Yeoh vehicle, this movie had a lot of good music and even more bad effects. The scenery was good but got a little much by the end, and the characters were largely meaningless. It was entertaining, though, if not actually good.

Work again tomorrow, followed by shooting Tall Paul’s film likely all tomorrow night and into the morning of the next day. Hopefully that will go smoothly; no one wants to deal with a restaurant full of cranky cast and crew at two in the morning.