Street luge

PARK CITY — It all sounds simple enough: Press a little with the right leg and you go left, push with the left and you go right. It's the way of a luge.

But watch out for the little neon-orange cones. For some reasons, new drivers have an easier time hitting them than missing them.

In truth, trying to steer a luge is not easy, on ice or asphalt, as those testing the new "Street Luge" program at the Utah Olympic Park are finding out.

As part of its new "Gravity Zone" program, the park is offering visitors a chance to try the luge, "in a safe, controlled and fun way," explained Frank Zang, director of communications for the Olympic park.

Riding a street luge is not new. Each summer the U.S. Luge Association travels around the country on a recruiting tour offering youngsters the opportunity to steer on asphalt, hoping they will find it exciting enough to visit one of the two U.S. tracks in the winter — in Lake Placid, N.Y., and in Park City.

"But as far as I know, this is the only place where people can come and try street luge on a consistent basis, five days a week," said Zang.

"What we looked at in the beginning was offering people a unique Olympic experience when they come to the park. We wanted to showcase Olympic winter sports, and we've been able to do it by adapting so many of our winter activities to summer activities. We've done it by doing such things as putting wheels on bobsleds and luges, and offering freestyle jumping in the splash pool and ski jumping off a plastic surface."

Street luge is an ideal alternative to sliding on ice. Everything that's required for sliding on ice is mimicked during rides on asphalt — the same position, flat on the back, steering with the body and legs and holding the head up to look down the course.

"It's a great introduction to the sport," Zang continued. "It's another opportunity to do a sport people normally wouldn't have a chance to try. They're able to navigate the course, as they would on ice, and have the sensation of picking up speed."

The course is currently located on a section of asphalt north of the main lodge.

Zang said that within the next two weeks, "We'll move it to the lower loop area where we have a larger paved area and a place that features nice rolling terrain. We'll have a ramp there with head-to-head starting. People can either race the person next to them or race against time."

There are different sized sleds for both adults and children.