LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN — According to these guys — and no one knows more about speed on a skateboard than they do — there's a hill in Colorado with the distinction of being the fastest skateboarding street in the world.

Although it isn't impossible to sleuth out, they're hesitant to say exactly where it is. They even prefer not to mention the town it's in.

That's because skateboarding on a road is illegal in Colorado, albeit a misdemeanor of the jaywalking variety, punishable with a $22 fine. But for the throng of more than 100 gritty gravity-fueled street surfers who gathered last weekend for the second annual Buffalo Bill Downhill Race on Lookout Mountain, that kind of money can add up quickly.

It's one of the reasons the enthusiastic crowd of longboard racers is so stoked about the fledgling Buffalo Bill event. For two days out of the year, a steep, twisted mile and a half of South Lookout Mountain Road is closed to car traffic and opened to skaters donning leather speed suits, body armor and full-face helmets for head-to-head competition in one of only three legal skateboard races in the nation.

It's a far cry from the tradition of "outlaw" racing the clan is accustomed to, with the benefit of hay-bale safety barriers and U-Haul shuttle rides providing skaters some 50 laps on the polished pavement overlooking both the Coors Brewery and the Continental Divide.

And the showcase of the state's seemingly endless assortment of steep mountain streets has captured the attention of longboarders throughout North America.

"I'm a racer myself, and I felt like there was good demand for a race like this in Colorado," event organizer Justin DuBois said Sunday. "There are a lot of kids that want to race and don't have a place to go besides outlaw races, which are super dangerous and you can't really get away with it. The sport is growing. There are just more and more fast people out there. Every year the kids keep getting faster and faster and more capable of skating gnarlier roads, and the courses just have to advance with that."

Despite appearances to the contrary, the Buffalo Bill downhill course does not fall within the upper levels of the gnarly scale that can see skaters reach rolling speeds of about 75 mph on the aforementioned unmentionable street. Still, the Jefferson County race course is considered a gem for its total package of tuckable straightaways combined with half a dozen tangled turns demanding the utmost technical skill.

Adding to the adrenaline mix, racers share the two-lane street with three other leather-clad speed freaks, jockeying for slots through a combination of drafting and "drifting" that places riders precariously close to one another as they skid through hairpin turns at 40-plus mph.

Bear in mind, skateboards don't have brakes. So the experts-only sideways skid is about the only way to check speed going into a tight turn.

"I wore out some pants learning how to slide to a stop," said 54-year- old masters division champion Tad Drysdale of Kirkland, Wash.

After buying his first longboard more than 20 years ago, Drysdale didn't find the courage to ride it until age 47. Now he's a sponsored racer.

"Every time I get on that board, I feel like I'm 13 again," he said.

In its second incarnation, DuBois' downhill race saw a doubling in registration that reached its 96-rider cap nearly two weeks before the event. Skaters came from Vermont, Rhode Island, California, Washington and Vancouver, with dozens of freeriders tagging along to simply sample the goods.

The word is out on our downhill skateboarding scene, and devoted riders are eager to see it for themselves.

"This event puts Colorado on the map, absolutely," said 2009 champion Zak Maytum of Boulder. "Last year was our first year, and a lot of people didn't really give us a chance, but there were enough of us from Colorado who had been to the big events and knew a lot of the top riders that they trusted our word that this was an unbelievable course. The location is great and the hills around this area are great."

As the owner of a skateboard parts company, Venom Bushings, the 18- year-old Maytum has seen what he terms "exploding" growth of downhill racing on longboards firsthand. And thanks to the abundance of quality riding terrain, he said Coloradans are leading the charge.

"Colorado is on its way up really, really fast," Maytum said. "The hills that we practice on around here are so much more difficult and so much more advanced than what people in other scenes have that we just have to learn fast."

Maytum finished second to reigning International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA) world champion Kevin "K-Rimes" Reimer of Vancouver in a tight final race that Maytum led nearly the entire way Sunday. Bolstering the Colorado clout, Golden's Kyle Wester, 22, finished third.

Wester has skated since he got his first longboard in seventh grade, but he took up racing only two years ago. He's been addicted ever since.

"I just love longboarding," Wester said of his decision to pursue the sport's rootsy speed discipline over the more glamorous park and vert ramp events showcased in televised contests such as the X Games and Dew Tour. "Sliding, racing, hills — I just like going fast."

Reference: Scott Willoughby, Denver Post

Photography by: Matt McClain

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons encourages physical activity as part of an overall health and fitness plan. You can have fun, but it is always important to be safe!

To improve skateboarding safety, a growing number of communities provide supervised skateboard parks. These may have professionally designed "bowls" and "ramps" or other designated skateboarding areas that are located away from motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Skateboarding is an activity in which you move quickly over hard surfaces. It can lead to injuries that range from minor cuts and bruises to catastrophic brain injury. Each year in the United States, skateboarding injuries cause about 50,000 visits to emergency departments and 1500 children and adolescents to be hospitalized. (Source: AAP, March 2002. )

Most hospitalizations involve head injury. Even injuries that heal quickly can cause pain and anxiety, cost time, and money and may lead to disabilities. This can include loss of vision, hearing and speech; inability to walk, bathe, toilet, dress or feed yourself; and changes in thinking and behavior.

Skateboarding is not recommended for young children. That's because they are still growing and do not yet have the physical skills and thinking ability a person needs to control a skateboard and ride it safely.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):

• Children under age 5 years old should never ride a skateboard.
• Children aged 6 to 10 years old need close supervision from an adult or trustworthy adolescent whenever they ride a skateboard.

When young children are involved in skateboarding accidents, they are often injured severely. Skateboarding is a special risk for young children because they have:

• A higher center of gravity, less development and poor balance. These factors make children more likely to fall and hurt their heads.
• Slower reactions and less coordination than adults. Children are less able to break their falls.
• Less skill and ability than they think. Children overestimate their skills and abilities and are inexperienced in judging speed, traffic and other risks.

Serious skateboarding injuries happen when you lose control and fall or run into a motor vehicle, road hazard, pedestrian, another skateboarder or bicyclist. You are at risk for injuries:

• If you don't use protective equipment.
• If you don't keep your skateboard in good condition.
• If you skateboard on irregular surfaces.
• If you attempt "tricks" beyond your skill level.

Sixty percent of skateboard injuries involve children under age 15; most of those injured are boys. At highest risk are:

• Inexperienced skateboarders. Those who have been skating for less than one week suffer one-third of injuries, usually caused by falls.
• Skateboarders who do not wear protective equipment. Every skateboarder should wear standard safety gear. This includes a helmet, wrist guards, elbow and knee pads and appropriate shoes. Skateboarders who perform tricks should use heavy duty gear.
• Skateboarders who go near traffic or use homemade skateboard ramps. Both activities are particularly dangerous.
• Experienced skateboarders who encounter unexpected surfaces or try risky stunts. Irregular riding surfaces, rocks or other debris can cause you to fall. You can stumble over twigs or fall down slopes. Wet pavements and rough or uneven surfaces can cause a wipeout. Avoid risky behavior. Don't skateboard too fast or in dangerous or crowded locations.

Skateboarding injuries often involve the wrist, ankle or face. Many injuries happen when you lose your balance, fall off the skateboard and land on an outstretched arm.

• Injuries to the arms, legs, neck and trunk range from bruises and abrasions to sprains and strains, fractures and dislocations. Wrist fractures are quite common. Wearing wrist guards can reduce their frequency and severity.
• Facial injuries include breaking your nose and jawbone
• Severe injuries include concussion, closed head injury and blunt head trauma.
• You can suffer permanent impairment or even death if you fall off the skateboard and strike your head without a helmet. Most brain injuries happen when your head hits pavement. You are most at risk if you skateboard near traffic and collide with motor vehicles, bikes, pedestrians or other obstacles.

You can prevent most skateboarding injuries if you follow all of these recommendations:

Get your butt covered! 

Here is a look at our favorite padded shorts for Mountain Biking, Motocross, Skateboard and Snowboarding :

Crash Pads - Crash Pads makes great padded shorts and padded pants.

• Crash Pads Mesh Long Underwear- They'll keep you warm and they have padding on the tailbone, hip and knees.  Great for sking and boarding
• Crash Pads Mesh Underwear - Cooler material makes these shorts good for summer sports like skatboarding although they have all the right padding for snowboarding as well.
• Crash Pads Power Underwear - If you don't like the idea of mesh the high tech moisture management fabric in these shorts provide compression and have the same padding that is ideal for snowboarding as well.
• Crash Pads Mountain Bike Short - Desigined specifically for Mountain Biking these shorts combine all the features you want in a bike short, but have all the padded spots in the hip and leg areas to protect from falls while riding.  Great way to protect from abraisions as well.

Zoombang Padded Shorts-  Zoombang's unique padding material is a polymer that is specially designed and engineered to behave like no other material in the world.  At rest the material is soft and conforms to the exact shape of the player.  However when an impact occurs Zoombang will instantly becomes firm and behave as a solid.

• Zoombang Hip and Tailbone Shorts - A true compression short with wicking properties, but with the built in padding on the hip, tailbone and thigh areas.  The coverage on these shorts isn't as full as the Crash Pads on the tailbone area, but it's it's a lighter short if you are looking for a little less padding and more comfort.

Dainese MTB Impact Short - The ultimate protection for Mountain Biking.  Dainese flat out makes the best protective gear we've seen.  What else would you expect from the Italians.  Through some baggy shorts overthese and your are protected.

Rockgardn Padded Shorts - Known for the mountain bike gear Rockgardn shorts are ideal for downhill and overall protection for mountain biking and work great fro motocross as well.

• Rockgardn CYA Shorts - These padded shorts are ideal mountain biking or motocross. Each ergonomically designed pad for the hips, tailbone, and lower quads is constructed as a half-inch thick “sandwich”, made from two layers of EVA foam with a center layer of impact-distributing ABS plastic.

McDavid Padded Shorts - McDavid makes some great padded shorts, but the they are better for team sports like football and baskeball. If you happen to be reading this for some of those sports be sure to check them out.

The Azzpadz - Designed for Snowboarding.  Not really a short, more a pad you strap on.   We like it, but we find the shorts are more comfortable to wear.