Forget those silly tie-ins and let's get straight to the heart of the matter. Do you like risk? Specifically, do you like to risk life and limb? In addition, do you like to undergo said risks for nothing but the sheer thrill of it? Do you see Jackie Chan stunts and yawn, saying, 'Been there, done that?' OK, maybe that last was a little extreme.
So, in the spirit of boldly going where no football player has gone before, here are a few sites to sustain you in the event you ever decide to pick up an extreme sport:
I must admit, I've never thought of rollerblading as an extreme sport. But the folks at Yahoo apparently think so, which is why this is listed.
This site (http://www. rollerblade.com/) is geared to the athlete who wants to risk bodily injury and look good doing so: hence the link to the 1997 product line and other helpful information like the Top 10 places to skate.
For the novice, there are step-by-step instructions on how to get started. Coincidentally, for each of these steps a certain Rollerblade copyrighted accessory is highly recommended.
And you thought you knew how to skate. This site (http://www.skatefaq.com/), as per its name, "The Skate FAQ" has everything you could ever possibly want to know about the sport: techniques, skate reviews, locations, tutorials and even information on related sports like rollerhockey.
Having trouble doing backwards stair-riding? Not catching air like you used to? This is the place to be. For non-skaters, it's also a very comprehensive introduction to the art and science of the greatest sport in the world.
Perhaps the previous sites may have given you the impression that rollerblading is for those death-defying souls who have no qualms about a broken bone or two. Well, it is. But there's also a kinder, gentler side to rollerblading, as the author of this site (http://www.seas.smu.edu/~justin/inline_ poetry.html) so kindly points out: "Hard-core skating can be a very religious experience."
Often people just have to share that feeling with others,whether it be through lessons, setting up web pages, or even putting it in writing. To that end, the site contains poetry and prose about rollerblading, and a particularly funny selection: "The Zen of Skating."
Believe it or not, some people regard extreme rollerblading as a relaxing everyday pursuit. A large percentage of these people have found their way into a sport explained and promoted by this page: street luging. Remember snow luging, from the Olympics, where athletes lay prone on a sled-like contraption and slide their way down to the bottom (think of slalom skiing, lying down)?
Well, as with rollerblading, here's another sport that has made the jump from frozen water to asphalt. This site (http://members.aol.com/raptordg/luge/main.htm), the North East Street Luge, serves as an information clearing house for people in the northeastern United States interested in Street Luging.
There are sections on Luge Technique, a Live Chat Room, and a glossary of terms. If you click on the link, "Is Luging legal?" you'll find that it doesn't lead anywhere. Perhaps it's best not to pursue the topic.
And now a sport that's taking the slopes by storm -- snowboarding. Many people are accustomed to its sister sport, skiing, but snowboarding is reputed to be the sport that requires real skill.
This site (http://www.xtreme scene.com/board/gallery/), created by Richard Cheski, is a gallery of more than 70 pictures of snowboarding and boarders.
Unlike most amateur snapshots, these are actually very good, and capture both the style and spirit of the sport much more than a lengthy essay on the topic.
If you do, however, decide to take up the sport, this site (http://www.nyx.net/~mwallace/sb_faq.html) has a mother-load of information.
The Snowboarding FAQ, like the Rollerblading FAQ, contains almost everything you could ever want to know about this particular sport. However, unlike the other FAQ, it has no links to other sites, so if you want more-in depth information, you'll have to do a bit of fingerwork on Yahoo(www.yahoo.com) or other Net search engines.
For the faint of heart, it offers encouragement mingled with caution: "[Snowboarding] is as safe or dangerous as you want it to be. While there is always some inherent danger in the sport, most problems are due to "pilot error." Pay attention to posted signs ... they're there for a reason. Board in control."
