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September 6, 2005
Section: features
Edition: BRADENTON
Page: 28E
Column:HOMETOWN SPORTS
BRADENTON MAN SATISFIES HIS NEED FOR SPEED RECREATION CALENDAR
Scott Lockwood, Special to The Herald
BRADENTON --- John Colmorgen was looking for a new hobby. He found it while
watching, of all things, the street luge portion of the X-Games back in 1998.
"I saw it and I thought, wow, that was really cool," Colmorgen, 44, of Bradenton said
of the sport that involves riding a street luge board down a paved road or course.
"But I live in Florida, so, where was I going to do it?"
About three years later, his search for a hobby took off in earnest. He had debated
going into stock car racing but decided it would be too expensive. Colmorgen then
thought back to what he saw on television that day.
"One day I said what the heck, I'll look it up and see if it's possible to build one of
these things," Colmorgen said. "I didn't know if I was ever going to ride it or what."
Colmorgen then turned to the Internet, where he found a couple sites with detailed
instructions on how to build a sled. He started communicating with professional
racers via a message board and, in late 2001, began building his sled.
"The sled was finished in 2002, and then I got hooked up with a guy here in
Florida, and ever since then, I've just kept on going," Colmorgen said.
Phil Kirkland, 43, of Riverview, has raced in World Cup events. With that type of
experience, he was the perfect mentor for Colmorgen.
"A few years ago, John contacted me because he wanted to street luge and had
made his own sled," Kirkland said. "So I took him up to Clermont and taught him the
basics, and we went from there."
After working with Kirkland and learning the ropes of street luge, Colmorgen
competed in his first race, the 2002 World Cup of Bainbridge in Ohio. Despite
having the typical butterflies, he went on to finish a respectable 18th in a field of 30
professional riders.
"The first time down, yeah, it was a little scary, and I was very nervous and
apprehensive," he said. "After about two or three runs down the hill, I was
comfortable with it and ready to go."
In 2003, Colmorgen competed in a race in Oklahoma, coming home in 22nd
position for Team Florida. He went to a free ride event in Los Angeles in March
2004 and finished 10th. From there, it was off to San Francisco to race in the ISGA
U.S. Nationals, where he finished eighth.
Most recently, Colmorgen raced in the Madison County Gravity Festival July
31-Aug. 1 in Munnsville, N.Y., where he finished a career-best fourth.
While using his own self-built sled to compete in races, Colmorgen has also helped
teammates and other competitors build sleds. They are made using aircraft
aluminum and weigh anywhere from 25 to 45 pounds. The cost ranges $450 for a
sled like Colmorgen uses to $2,000 for a higher-end model.
Watching Colmorgen get involved in riding and building the sleds drew the interest
of friend Tony Butler, 42, of Bradenton.
"John got me started at it," said Butler, who races alongside Colmorgen and
Kirkland on Team Florida. "I always thought he was crazy --- until I tried it. Then I
ended up building my own.
"Now both of our wives think we're crazy."
Despite taking all the necessary safety precautions, street luge riders occasionally
take a beating. The sleds, which travel at speeds in the range of 60 to 70 mph,
sometimes slam into one of the bails of hay that line the course.
Colmorgen says he has "eaten hay" a few times in his career, and at his most
recent event, an accident eliminated him while he was running in second place
during a heat race. He has never been seriously injured in any mishaps.
In spite of all the risks that come along with this sport, Colmorgen has no plans of
slowing down. In fact, he would like to compete in championship events in Austria
and in several other countries in Europe.
"I've been as fast as 78 mph on one of these," Colmorgen said. "Most courses
have high speed turns and highly technical turns that you have to slow down for.
There are also a lot of hard 90 degree turns, S turns and chicanes.
"It's a lot like Formula One racing, and that's why I like it," he said. "It's close-end,
high-speed racing. When you're 2 inches off the ground doing 65 mph
side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder with another guy, there's nothing quite like
that."
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