Quarter Life Crisis

Middle aged men get to have a mid-life crisis where they go and buy something they don't really need but really want - often a car or motorcycle or something.  I, on the other hand, am still far away from that point, so I needed another justification to get something I didn't need.  I figure that since I will live until I'm at least 100, it's about time that I had my quarter life crisis now that I'm 25.

Ever since I was a little kid I've wanted to have a go-kart.  When I was little, I actually designed one, complete with my own clutch.  Combined when my parents wisely refused to give me a weedeater engine to play with and the fact that I had no metal-working experience eventually made me give up the idea.  I'm still sure that my innovative clutch would have worked, though there would have been no idle (just stopped or moving really fast), so when I decided that I wanted a go-kart this time, I actually looked at go-karts that were designed by people who knew what they were doing.

When I was little, go-karts were way out of my price range.  Then, though, a wonderful invention called Craigslist was invented.  After watching the adds I found a go-kart for $150.  After some haggling (actually, the guy was really looking to clean up his garage), I got it for $100.  The go-kart was broken - the frame was rusted through in a couple of places and bent in another place - so I had to fix it.  Luckily, since I last dreamed of a go-kart I have learned a little about working with power tools and working with metal so I was able to get it done with just a few hours of work.  The engine just needed oil and gas, so after lubricating everything and checking everything, my 5 horse power quarter life crisis was running and I took it out in our alley.

Here are some photos:

It will go probably 25-30 miles an hour.  Gau really liked it, too.  He rode it more than anyone else while he was here.

Even Megan got in on the action:

And Harry was probably the most excited.  When someone was driving it he couldn't keep his eyes off of it and I've never seen him so intent on something when I gave him a ride.  His favorite part, though, was when we turned off the engine and just let him stand on the seat and wiggle the steering wheel - he wasn't moving but he was in charge.

So, here's some more bait to lure people out to visit us - if you come we'll let you ride our go-kart.  I know most people live their whole lives without ever feeling like they have to ride a go-kart, but if you are having a quarter-, mid- or even three-quarter-life crisis, come and pay us a visit.