Backcountry freaks, powder hounds, adrenaline addicts, we all live on the edge—the edge of skis, snowboards, and mainstream reality. Winter gives us a chance to indulge our passions in pow, but what to do about summertime in the city? Here is your guide to urban assaults

Group Guerrilla Ops

Bush Diving

Rarely seen tree-to-bush mute 5

Ranging in difficulty levels from mellow to X-treme, this obscure sport is just beginning to gain momentum. Favored by night owls and insomniacs, bush diving is a great way to get a workout while experiencing urban plantlife up-close. But amidst the fun and excitement, a heated controversy stews. Should athletes examine shrubbery pre-dive for safety, or does this compromise the activity’s integral recklessness?

Mellow divers usually enter feet first and steer clear of thorn bushes. Some rock their snow goggles for a little extra protection.

Attempting to enter a shrub via bicycle is discouraged unless you’re willing to drop a few bones to fix your bent rims, flat tires, and ruptured spleen.

X-treme divers like Richard “The Major” Major, however, have been known to dive head first, jump from cement walls into pine trees, and even incorporate front flips and cartwheels.

Not surprisingly, most X-tremers scoff at the pre-dive bush check, and usually have the body damage to prove it. Seasoned divers recommend a long-sleeve shirt such as the Volcom Maxwell or Element Locke.

Kickball

A youngster sport with a grown-up lust for blood. Gather your most energetic and immature friends together and get in on the action. Nurse-in-progress and spin class instructor Kate plays twice weekly with her team for a chance to compete in L.A. and win the regional championship. Sponsored by a local dive bar, these ballers unite in their love of healthy competition, and hot, sweaty urban action. This rowdy bunch can be found lounging around the Burton Lil Buddy cooler bag after practice, sporting tops like the DC Roxanne or Interleague Mesh Tanks, and trash-talking other teams’ names. After a grueling game, they head to their sponsor’s headquarters to discuss pitching style over a frosty (and deeply discounted) pitcher of suds, and then go home to dream of big red rubber balls.

Collective Bike Rides and Alley Cat Races

In the land of SUVs, sometimes it’s necessary to clog the streets with a buttload of bikers. Aaron Miller, a budding entrepreneur, rides weekly with a group of up to 20 people, touring neighborhoods, playing bike tag, and blowing kisses at motorists. Riding until late fall and most often at night, you can find these hoodlums rocking driver hats and bombing parking garages. Many of these bike gang-bangers also participate in alley cat races, non-traditional street races that capture the spirit of the bike messenger world. In the words of Travis Culley, "I had heard of races that involved elevators, jelly doughnuts, stairs, oversized boxes, shots of vodka—anything these untamed minds could come up with. Alley cats are both demanding and dangerous as most of them involve intense speed and are directed through busy streets, where unsuspecting traffic is, to us, just another obstacle."

Winners receive beer, messenger bags, new bike frames, and fleeting respect.

Solo Missions

Commuting

More and more bipeds are opting to get to work by pedaling. Along with gas prices, sightings of city slickers biking to work on vintage cruisers and fancy fixies are on the rise. You’ll recognize these commuters by their bike 'tude T-shirts, the bugs in their teeth, and their killer streamlined sunglasses.

Kiril Boyadjieff, musician and Dogfunk.com image guru, commutes by bike in hopes of solving some of the world’s problems. Half of all transit in the United States is six miles or less round-trip. This is a distance easily made on a commuter bike, possibly the most efficient mode of transportation ever invented. As a rider in roasting desert summers, Kiril recommends moisture-wicking, synthetic clothing that keeps the sun off, like the Burton Lightweight Shirt, and a hydration pack like the DAKINE Enduro. He also sports the Black Diamond Night Ray Headlamp to enhance his vision and visibility at night. Start locking your bike to parking meters instead of filling them with quarters.

BMX Riding

On his days off, graphic designer Jason Eichorst goes BMX style. He finds that BMXing is a great way to get around the city quickly, unless, of course, he stops to session a rail, a curb cut, or a tree. Then he can plan on sweating his ass off and not being able to walk for a few days afterwards. Brave the BMX world, and count on accruing scars redeemable for bragging rights at any bar. Your skate or street shoes can easily cross over for this sport. Just ask Vans rider Elf.

Funk on the trunk - Save a rail, ride a tree

Skateboarding and Longboarding

At the age of 8, painter and shredder extraordinaire Ian Andersen started skating with neighborhood crony Jeremy Jones. Two decades later, Ian remains core to the sport, killing it in the bowls and powersliding like a pro. Baffled by kids in skin-tight denim, he rocks jeans that fit snugly but have a lot of stretch, like the Planet Earth Rushmores. As an artist, he prefers cool graphic tees and shirts with retro patterns, like the Ambiguous Sweet Jane. While he likes to snowboard and prefers to do so in the backcountry (“snowboarding’s for rich kids”), Ian feels that skateboarding has more soul, involves more immediate risk, and takes more dedication than snow- or longboarding.

Chef Brendan Kawakami and restaurant manager Levi Rounds find plenty of risk and soul on their longboards (must be something in the food). For Brendan, bombing a hill on his Sector 9 delivers the same rush as dropping into a backcountry chute on his snowboard. He thinks longboarders in mountainous settings have a ballsier style and better technique than flatland boarders, due to the steep foothills and varied terrain. Brendan chooses his boardwear based on practicality before panache. Too tight or too baggy detracts from functionality—he rocks Volcom Black Bart Pants, and prefers the unobtrusive style and time-tested quality of Vans. As for Levi, he just wears his fedora and his homemade speed-enhancing squirrel suit.