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"Racing is Life!"


Imagine the most masculine place possible in America and you might think of a man cave on Super Bowl Sunday or the Indy 500. Well, in Denmark I'm almost positive one of those places is a go kart track. If you've ever been to one you might realize why I stuck out like a sore thumb. If you haven't, I was the only girl there and one of the only people under 20 years old.

Lars was invited to a race called "Le Mans" which is a team go kart race that usually lasts 24 hours; this one was only two (thank goodness).

We put on all the supplied gear, complete with helmets and gloves, and my expectations of how badly I was about to embarrass myself grew as I watched racers out on the track and experienced-looking, middle aged men milling around joking in Danish and smoking out of pipes. It didn't help my case that I only spoke English, as the instructions were given in Danish so the whole group looked at me and Daniel (who only speaks German and English, man on the left) as the instructor had to explain quickly to us.

*Daniel is also staying with the Olsens, helping out as a friend, not a WWOOFer

In Le Mans, each person on a team drives about 20 minutes then is waved down by their teammate (two or three to a team) until two hours is up.

It took me two laps to gauge the amount of speed with which to drive through the corners and the serious amount of leaning I needed to do to minimize skidding. Some guys hold the pedal to the metal the whole time said Lars, and use the brake occasionally.

Now we came in last. Lars claims they gave us a really slow go kart. I know that it is definitely because I had never laid eyes on a go kart track before nor been behind the wheel of one, and he has only done it once or twice, never at that track. We weren't going very noticeably slower than the others, just a half second around one corner and a half second around another added up for the guys who knew the best lines through the turns by heart. It is a serious sport for some of these guys. And definitely a passion for lots of others. Men and their toys...

​I can't say I could do that more than a couple times a year, as my lower back was very sore the next day from all the (probably excessive) leaning around corners. But the g-force and subsequent adrenaline rush caused by these tiny machines was, in my mind, worth the slight chagrin of walking up to receive a beer basket (pity prize?) for coming in last. I've gotten used to an imbalance in testosterone to estrogen (working for hours with these guys on the orchard), and regardless of what gender you are, I'd recommend trying out go-karting sometime :)

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