5 year-old daughter's first time off-roading

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rtmozingo

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Since taking my son out to TRR earlier this year, both my son and my daughter have been constantly asking me to take them offroading. I had been concerned with both of them being too young, but my son had handled TRR well, so I finally relented and took them out to Texplex this last Saturday. As you can see from the video, they both loved it!


That said, I would not recommend taking a child less than 7 years old out for the fast stuff. My daughter's neck muscles were not strong enough to keep her head upright with the added weight of the helmet - something I didn't realize until halfway through the second lap, when she was getting quite sick. At 6y10m, my son was just strong enough to keep mostly upright at TRR, and started feeling ill about an hour into driving. Being a passenger in these vehicles will quickly fatigue you even as an adult, so while your kids will probably love it be mindful of the strain on them.

For those curious, this was my first time back to Texplex in a year. They took my complaints about the Raptor tax to heart - even with two passengers this was the cheapest visit I've had. The track has had some minor adjustments, both positive and negative. One of my favorite straightaways was removed in favor of very tight turns (bleh), but they've fixed the flooding spots so no more getting rained out (can't believe it took them so long!). It remains my favorite track in Texas.

In case you are wondering, both GoPros failed to record GPS data, so no overlays this time. Similarly, my helmet cam setup was not ideal, hence the poor view out the windshield. This will be rectified next time.
 
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rtmozingo

rtmozingo

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Pretty much every business will try and charge extra if you are a Raptor owner. Texplex is now on its third owner - the second upped prices to a ridiculous rate, but the park has always charged Raptors 4x what the UTVs paid for the same track. No longer!

Helmet and fire extinguisher, not that they have ever checked. Not even sure the extinguisher is required any more, think that was a TMX thing that got pulled into the Prerunner days. You can go any day they are open and not actively working on the track, and they are currently finishing up the website with this information.
 

Forumr

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What is that overlay you've got on your videos? That setup looks great and like a ton of fun! Hoping to join on the next TRR.

Guess I should clarify -- I mean on the first one you posted.
 
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rtmozingo

rtmozingo

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What is that overlay you've got on your videos? That setup looks great and like a ton of fun! Hoping to join on the next TRR.

Guess I should clarify -- I mean on the first one you posted.

The old GoPro overlay, using my GoPro's telemetry data and Dashware to generate the overlay. I would have done it for this video, but if the cameras don't have enough GPS signal then you won't get usable data, which unfortunately was the case this lap.

My favorite overlay is the Harry's lap timer one you can see here, but the app is super buggy and I got sick of ******** with it.
 

Muchmore

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I don't see any prices listed on their website, what does something like this cost (generally).
 

Morrisabm

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Is anyone still going to Texplex on a regular basis? If so when and what days are best during the month. The track looks well maintained in that vid. Last time I was down it was pretty rutted up.
 
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rtmozingo

rtmozingo

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I don't see any prices listed on their website, what does something like this cost (generally).
It was $105 for the three of us ($65 for driver, $20 for each passenger). I've heard they also have a membership now, but I didn't pay a fee nor ask about it.
Is anyone still going to Texplex on a regular basis? If so when and what days are best during the month. The track looks well maintained in that vid. Last time I was down it was pretty rutted up.
It's always been in this condition for me - even going during the prerunner days, back when TMX and Texplex were buddy-buddy. Apparently now you can go anytime as long as they aren't actively working on the track.
 
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rtmozingo

rtmozingo

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For those wanting a better view of the track with overlays, here's lap 2. Could have gone a lot faster but kids were starting to get fatigued.

 
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