On the first day of the 41^st Luge World Championships, held at Lake Placid, N.Y., over 1,500 school kids from Northern New York and Vermont came to watch. Each school "adopted" one of the participating nations and was supposed to learn about the people and culture of their assigned country. But that didn't stop them from chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A" when an American slid by.

Flying down the course at 80 mph, I wondered if the sliders could hear the home crowd.

"You can hear it," said doubles competitor Brian Martin after he and Mark Grimmette won their sixth World Championship bronze medal. "We came into (curve) 10, and you're used to training and used to what the view is, even though most of my view is the back of Mark's helmet. You see that there are people standing alongside the track and you can hear them!"

Martin, who rides on the bottom, with Grimmette on top, does more than just lie there. Both sliders propel the sled out of the start and down the track. Then it's Martin's responsibility to establish the line.

"As we go into a curve, I give it a nice roll so the sled picks up onto the curve nicely and smoothly," Martin explained.

He uses his peripheral vision to pick up on "visual cues" to know when the curves are coming, and he uses his shoulders to steer.

On top, Grimmette does "more of the finesse driving," says Martin. "He's fine tuning the line because he can see where we're going and can correct as we come out of the curve and get us pointed to the next curve, to over-simplify it."

Grimmette steers with his legs (pushing his calves against the runners to change their angle) and with handles. Grimmette is also attached to the sled with straps. Lying on top of Martin, his center of gravity is higher, and, "in the higher G turns, I'd roll off," said Grimmette.

Other notes, facts, and observations from the 41^st Luge World Championships:

• Luge legend Georg Hackl, five-time Olympic medalist and three-time World Champion, was in Lake Placid to witness the 41^st Luge World Championships. After Erin Hamlin won the women's title, he was seen snapping photos of the American-the first woman from outside Germany to win the world title since 1993. When asked about the race, Hackl seemed happy. With a smile, he said, "It was a very historic day, a very good day for the luge sport. Everybody could see it was a very exciting race. Athletes from many nations could win. It was really exciting, and for sure, it was good for U.S. luge."
• Occasionally, sliders' arms touch the walls of the track when they miss the line. Does it hurt? "No, you never feel it," said American Bengt Walden, who took sixth at the World Championships, his best finish ever. "Afterwards, you can see a little bruise or a red spot on your arm, but nothing you feel on the ride."
• Luge is quieter than I expected. Given the speeds and the look of the track (from the bottom, my first impression was that it looked like something from the Great Escape Amusement Park), I expected it to sound as loud as a rollercoaster. But they fly by with only a whisper.
• The end of the track goes uphill. For a long way. It loops through curves 17, 18, and 19 in what's referred to as The Heart (because of its shape), then climbs from the end of curve 19 to the finish, then up through curve 20 to the outrun.
• Luge sleds are heavier than they look. According to the International Luge Federation, a singles sled can weigh 21-25 kg (46.3-55 lbs.), a doubles sled, 25-30 kg (55-66 lbs.). The sleds are made of fiberglass and sit on two wide "steels" (runners) that are angled to cut into the ice. The sliders can change the angle of the steels depending on the temperature of the ice.
• Speeds in luge average 80 mph. But at the new track in Whistler for the 2010 Olympics, rumor has it that speeds may top 100 mph. Sleds have no brakes.
• Doubles do not have to be two men. Women are allowed to compete, but usually teams are two men.
• In doubles, the team member on top is usually larger than the bottom man.
• Luge, bobsled, and skeleton utilize the same track.