Shiz Grand Prix

As there is a small theme park only 5 minutes bike ride from us we thought I'd be a good way of wasting an afternoon. The main attraction for us are the go-karts. Dave, Brock and I had already checked them out a week before and so gathered the group for a proper race between all of us. The karts are fairly competant and the track is testing, with some fast and some slower bends. They are also very tail happy, particularly under braking. This also being China, safety is not a serious issue. First up we thought the girls could do with some practise, and we secretly wanted to know how good Meredith would be, i.e would all her anger come out in a go-kart. As we watched Meredith was closing on Becky, who had a head start, overtook her and then promptly spun in the next corner, so we were none the wiser really. Next us lads had a quick warm up before the big race. On the second corner I went in far too fast, spun, and had a head on collision with Dave, cutting my ankle on the brake wire in the process. Not the start I was hoping for.

We then came to our big race. Just the 6 of us for 8 laps. To give everyone else a chance, Dave and I started 5th and 6th repectively. We both made ground on the start and 2 laps in we were p's 1 and 2. I'm afraid this is how it remained for the rest of the race. I had to hold off Wallace to keep my 2nd place but after a while started to pull away and then lapped Meredith and Hilary on the same corner on the penultimate lap. Meredith was quick when she wanted to be but had no control in the corners, so we needn't have worried. I hate to admit it, but Dave was faster than me and so there was some light between us. So, a good 1-2 for England as we left the yanks in our wake. Next time they'll be more of us and so we may be challanged!

For the rest of the afternoon we explored the parks other rides and went on the log flume, rollercoaster, gyroscope, ghost train and some upside down thingy. None were really Alton Towers standard although the lack of safety made them a bit more interesting than they should be. They would also have been far more enjoyable had I not drank so much the night before.