Daddy Duty

posted Oct 26, 2012, 10:15 AM by Jon Rumfelt

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of having Daddy Duty (some dads don't think it a pleasure). I decided I was going to surprise the kids with some cool fun. We went to the indoor Go-Cart track at Zip-Zaps in North Pole. It's important to note that these little battery powered carts don't go very fast, maybe 15-20. And while they accelerate faster than a Prius, they are low to the ground and remotely controlled by the track operator. He can control the max speed, throw on the breaks, and even specify max speeds for individual cars. Speed junkies need not apply, the track is a peanut shape no longer than 100ft on the only straight away. But for the kids, it'sWARP SPEED AHEAD BABY! Oh, we also had the whole building to ourselves!!! The first turn we had, I took Gabe as my passenger, and Paige and Michael took their own carts. Michael took the first car in line, and that was the last time I saw the front of him! Paige found the Grandma Gear and putted around the track like my Mom back in the Bentler days on her motorcycle (put put put...). the second race, however, was a different story. Gabe asked the track op if he was big enough to try to drive all by himself. The op had him sit in one cart, and we started putting cushions behind him to help him reach the pedals. Three was a bit too cramped, and two pulled him away just a bit to much, but the op let him give it a go. He told Gabe to make sure to "turn the cart and not run straight into the walls." This was a piece of instruction that went in one ear, and out the other, of this ear-to-ear grinning kid. All he wanted to know was, "Where's the gas pedal?" We got him strapped in, then both Paige and Michael strapped in. Michael was eager to start the race in the lead, and keep it, while Paige was just excited to be hanging out. I got in my cart, and away we went! We started off slow, the Op wanted Gabe to get used to steering. He swerved like a drunk driver for a few seconds until he got his mind calibrated to the tight steering. After about a half a lap, the Op let them loose. We all made the jump to warp speed (15mph). It wasn't 10 seconds and Gabe forgot the only piece of instruction the Op had passed on. He drove front bumper full on to the end of the track, bouncing off of it like a bumper car at the fair! Did he take his foot of the gas? OHH NOO! That was the one thing he DID care about, remember? He had that pedal to the metal and caromed off the next metal wall like a trick shot in pool. By now, with his 80 lb body still laying on the gas pedal, the excitement of the rush and the very rough ricochet off two walls had caught up to him and he started to cry. The Op had to kill the carts to go check on him. The Op told me afterwards that he could hear him crying frantically, and when he came to the front of the cart and asked if he was OK, Gabe looked up with tear filled eyes and said "Yea man! Let's GO!" and started laughing with a thumbs up!!! This kid is an adrenaline junkie! We got back up to speed and had a ton of fun. I broke the law and shot this pic while driving past Gabe (Sorry AllState): You can see the excitement in his face and can almost hear his squeals of joy! His brother and sister gave him a high five afterwards and he was glowing for hours. We had several opportunities to laugh at him for crying and laughing. It was so awesome to be there to witness his first solo on the go-carts. I love my Ugly Bug! And thanks Paige, Michael, and Gabriel for giving me the opportunity to hang out with you and serve Daddy Duty.