Dan Burger, one of the early pioneers of "trailing," or mountain biking as it came to be known, formerly ushered in a new era in sports history when he gave an awesome display of technical prowess on off-road in-line skates, March 22, 1997, in Monterey, CA. Dan rode his knobby-tired skates like a magic carpet, floating them downslope with the greatest of ease, seemingly in utter defiance of the very laws of nature. These newfangled lawbreakers are called Roces Big Cats, and they very well may revolutionize the sport of in-line skating forever.

Dan duck-walked his Big Cats to the top of the hill at the Laguna Seca Motor Speedway and took them on a bonsai run to remember. He flew down the hard-packed dirt and grass slope, launching major back-scratching aerials off rocky protuberances and turning insane helicopter jumps . Wowing the crowd with his innate acrobatic agility on the Big Cats, Dan's run was a wake-up call to doubting Toms who had thought that such "trailing" just wasn't feasible.

For years, though, skating on dirt or grass has been entirely possible on regular old in-line skates. For me, the hard-packed off-road trails in the Berkeley/Oakland hills have already provided many hours of off-road excitement, but the Big Cats have opened up a whole new world of rip-roaring fun.

Many times when traveling abroad, I've had to negotiate dirt roads while navigating around discontinuous stretches of pavement. Rather than take my skates off and walk, I elect to go at it on my own, or catch a tow from vehicle such as a passing moped. Hanging onto the luggage carrier for dear life, I've traversed long, gravelly sections while kicking up a long plume of dirt behind me.

Similarly, in Indonesia, I once hiked up a hill shaped like a mango and strapped on my skates on for a wild ride to the bottom. The grass had been grazed down to stubble so that skating the hummocky terrain was as tame as skating on a golf course. The ground was not bone-dry, so it gave a little, allowing me to keep my speed in check. When things got rolling a bit too fast for my blood, I had only to carve a turn then traverse the slope until I felt comfortable enough to point my skates back down the mountain.

One of the beauties of off-road skating is that there's no such thing as road-rash. Taking a tumble is just that. The impact of the crash gets distributed all over your body, so that chances are you won't even break open any skin. And having a few bruises sure beats a giant strawberry on one cheek or the other.

Dan Burger is positive that he's reliving the formative days of new sport. Back in the seventies, when he was a honorary member of the Berkeley Trailers Union(BTU), he and his buddies caught rides up the hill to the top of Strawberry Canyon, and forged new trails down steep hillsides on one-speed bikes with coaster brakes. Dan saw the evolution of "trailing" to it's full-fledged counterpart "mountain biking". He's got a good hunch a new era has dawned. "There are no boundaries on the Big Cats," says Dan about the brand new phenomenon of off-road skating. "I think it's going to take the world by storm."

For years, many of us have had to constantly shop for good pavement when we go for a skate. Our skating universe is limited by our intolerance for rough stuff (even I'll admit that the never-ending search for smooth pavement had turned me into an asphalt snob). But now with the Big Cats, we'll be seeking out the very stuff we used to thumb our noses at!"

The new skates not only herald an almost infinite expansion of a skater's playground, but they also present a new and exciting twist in organized sports competitions. Already slated for broadcast throughout all of Asia is an Adventure Challenge Race in China that will include an off-road inline skate segment. The event is a multi-million dollar package that will feature some of the world's best known multi-sport athletes. Dan and I will both attend the event scheduled for September 11-14 1997. Hopefully, we can give new meaning to the old saying about "leaving the competition in the dust!"


TIPS FOR USING YOUR OFF-ROAD INLINE SKATES:

Big Cats should already be available at your local skate shop, and off-road models from other companies should be coming out soon. Once you get your feet into a pair of off-roaders there are a few basic laws of physics which you should "obey".

1 . Always lean back .
The back tire on the Big Cats is cantilevered out quite far to the back, so there is no chance of having your skates come out from underneath you if you lean too far back. Leaning back prevents you from getting tripped up by obstacles such as rocks and sticks, which generally have the effect of pitching you forward when run over. Pretend as if you are skiing in deep powder, and your life depends on keeping your tips up. The minute you get your weight forward, you are asking for trouble, because you won't get a second change at recovering your balance if a rock stops your skates but inertia keeps your body moving forward.

2. Stagger your stance.
A staggered stance is the most secure position to ride off-road. By scissoring your skates, that is weighting your rear skate and extending your other skate in front of you, you'll find that skating through rough stuff becomes a cinch. The staggered stance has the benefit of encouraging you to keep your weight back, enabling you to glide over obstacles without getting upended. If I'm turning to the right, my left leg is weighted but my right leg does the steering. A left turn means my weight is on my right leg while my left skate leads the way. A very effective way to get going on rough terrain is to run a few steps and then jump into the staggered stance.

3. Take a gymnastics class.
Taking a spill or two is inevitable, but you can minimize the severity of your fall if you know how to tumble. As a kid I learned how to dive-roll in gymnastics class, and this has proved to be an invaluable skill for skating as well. There have been many times when I have been able to roll out of a fall without getting scraped up. If you plan on riding your Big Cats on challenging terrain, it might be a good idea to practice some dive-rolls on floor pads or on a grassy lawn. Dive-rolling requires that you tuck your head and shoulder as the ground approaches and roll as many times as you can before coming to a stop. I generally end up laying myself out lengthwise, pulling my arms straight over my head, and rolling like a hot dog to a stop. Extending my hands over my head and keeping my legs straight keeps my elbows and other extremities from hitting the ground.

4. Learn how to duckwalk
Walking like a duck is a sure way to get up the hill without rolling backwards. The duckwalk traces a herringbone pattern, with heels facing in and toes facing out. Imagine a line pointing directly uphill and make sure your skates are always on the line, you'll have no problem whatsoever running your skates uphill.

5. Wear plenty of padding
Ideally, we would be able to crawl into a Michelin man suit so that we could bounce harmlessly every time we fell. This suit doesn't exist yet, so any prudent skater should wear a full host of protective gear. Kneepads, wristguards, elbow pads, and padded shorts are all optional. However, helmets are mandatory to protect our noodles. A brain bucket may be hot and appear dorky, but it sure looks a lot less silly than drool spilling out the side of your mouth for the rest of your life.

6. Build-up slowly to the double-diamond run of your dreams.
Don't jump right into the fire by taking your Big Cats up to treeline for your first downhill run. First learn to manipulate your off-road skates on poor pavement, then take them to a flat area covered by dirt or grass. Get a feel for how they slide on loose substrate at different speeds before taking them onto a slope. Always take your time, and remember that discretion is the better part of valor.

TWINCAM, Roces, PowerBar, Breathe Right, and Transpack - sponsored Eddy Matzger, four time winner of the Athens to Atlanta skate marathon, wants to be just like Dan Burger when it comes to off-road inline skating. Those wanting to enroll in a special off-road skate workshop given by the two of us should call toll-free 1-888-WRK-SHOP. Loaner Big Cats and protective equipment will be provided.