How to Learn the History of Street Luge

Street luging is basically moving down a hill at ferocious speeds about 2 inches off the pavement. If that does not fit the definition of an extreme sport, then nothing does. Learn how this sport evolved from a marriage between skateboarding and ice luging. Follow its history from a hobby for speed freaks into a sport whose X Game competition is televised worldwide.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Read one of the books that covers the history of street luge as well as its techniques, sites of competition, and equipment. "Street Luge Survival Guide" by Darren Lott is one of the more widely read books in this area.

2. Visit one of the Web sites that describes the history of street luge.

3. Understand the difference between the three different kinds of street luge competition, dual, mass and super mass.

4. Develop an appreciation for the difficulties faced during the early phases of the sport because of injuries to both contestants and spectators. Read about the Underground Racing Association (Underground Racing Organization or URO), the American Gravity Racing Organization (AGRO) and how these two organizations merged.

5. Explore how the X Games influenced the sport's popularity. Appreciate how Extreme Downhill International (EDI) became a successful international organization in part because it became the organizing body for the X Games.

6. Read about the legends and early pioneers of street luging, Roger Hickey, Biker Sherlock and Bob Pereyra. Read how they helped develop the various technological advances within the sport, including safety gear, sleds that use alloys developed for airplanes and "slick" aerodynamic suits that promote minimal air resistance.

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