The topic of Go Kart racing may seem a little bit outside the scope of interests for say, the baby boomer generation. But many older adults are finding that Go-Karts offer a fantastic recreational outlet, if the truth be known. Jay Leno, who’s 59 as of this writing, is a fan. What child doesn’t yearn to drive? You might just want to consider participating in this ideal sport for the entire family, if you’re a boomer with adolescents or a grandparent with grandkids. If you want to spend some quality time with your kids or grandkids, you might want to give this some thought.
Because these cars started out as children’s toys, many people think that go karts are basically for children. Add their small size and the unconventional spelling, and it’s no surprise that many people don’t know that older adults can have a lot of fun on go karts. While there are junior leagues in go karting, it’s a lot more in demand with adults, with karts capable of travelling as fast as sixty miles an hour.
That kind of speed doesn’t feel very fast if you are driving a car on the interstate, but just try it in a go kart, and you’ll see how fast sixty miles per hour can really be. There’s no enclosed cabin to keep you from feeling the wind in a kart, no windshield, no suspension. Furthermore, the bottom of a kart is only a few inches from the ground, so you’ll feel every change in the pavement. Travelling at top speed in a go kart feels much faster than the same speed in a Formula 1 racer, even professional racers say.
Go karts are becoming popular with adults in all kinds of settings, even including corporate outings. Some go kart tracks do mostly corporate business, with sessions focused on leadership development, staff motivation and team building. These corporate events are dedicated to the metaphor of racing, and even business professionals get to cut loose and hit the track in a go kart. In point of fact, karting is quite possibly the fastest growing motor sport.
Serious go karting can be expensive, with kart ownership costing as much as a small car. High end go karts can cost over ten thousand dollars and hit highway speeds, making it clear that they’re not basically for children. This type of racing kart is used only on large outdoor tracks. Indoor karts are used on smaller tracks and generally go only about forty miles per hour.
However, the turns and twists on a commercial go kart track can make even that seem a great deal faster – it’s like a roller coaster that you can control. Something that could be hazardous at top speeds is knocking wheels on a tight track, and indoor karts have more safety features, like steel buffers to prevent this.
Adults who are interested in driving go karts can simply walk into a track, and pay for a session – usually around thirty to forty dollars. Since these karts are a lot more powerful than go-karts for children, they’ll have to wear protective clothing and go through a safety talk. There are even adult racing leagues at most tracks, allowing kart enthusiasts to race against one another. Each lap takes about twenty seconds, and a normal race is fifteen laps.
If you’ve been thinking that go karting is basically for children, think again. This is an excellent sport that can be appreciated by anyone. Many adults are having a lot of fun, getting back into go karting.
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May 16, 2010
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