Adrenalin hit for extreme sport cost life of 'lady of luge' Sue Wickenden

Website designer Sue Wickenden, 50, was killed when she failed to negotiate a turn and struck a steel barrier while riding with a group of lugers at Mount Coot-tha early on Saturday morning.
Street luge is an extreme sport in which competitors lie on a thin fibreglass or plastic board similar to a sled and race down a paved course.
Police have said they believe speed was a factor in the accident, but Street Luge Australia ambassador Tyler Johnson says it was a tightly controlled ride.
"It was very safe. She had full leathers and a motorbike helmet on," said Mr Johnson, who was involved in the event.
"She knew what she was doing and she was travelling at a controlled speed.
"What has happened is just a freak accident. I have seen people injured before, but never seriously."
Mr Johnson said Ms Wickenden was highly regarded among the 20 or so lugers in the Brisbane-based community.
"She was family. We all knew Sue very well," he said.
Mr Johnson said lugers only conduct street rides at dawn on country roads with minimal traffic.
Fellow luger Andrew Smith says safety is a priority for participants, and the fatal accident is not a sign the sport is unsafe.
"When we ride we stick to our own side of the road for example, always all in the correct safety gear," he said.
"The hills that we ride are within the limits of people riding them; we don't let inexperienced people, for example, go and ride a hill that they can't ride correctly."
In a recent article on the Womensport Queensland website, Ms Wickenden said she took up the sport in her forties.


Ms Wickenden wrote of her love for the adrenalin sport on her webpage.
"I went looking for something different in life and discovered street luge in late 2009," she wrote on the webpage she designed for "ladies in luge".
"Riding my classic luge regularly has been great fun and an experience remembered from childhood when kids got out on the streets and played together until nightfall."
She met partner Brad Sterrit through the sport, in which he is ranked second in Australia. Mr Sterrit was too distraught to speak yesterday.
Ms Wickenden also leaves behind a son, Benjamin, who is in his 20s.
Luge involves lying down feet-first on a custom-made sled with wheels travelling down steep inclines at high speed. Participants are known to reach speeds up to 150km/h but on average hit speeds of 70km/h to 110km/h.
Mr Smith said the Brisbane Luge Club had a focus on professionalism and safety.
"All of us are very safety-conscious. We wear full-face helmets and full leathers," he said. "We don't have a lot of women in the sport but she was considered a very good rider. She was a massive support to the sport, building websites and organising events."
Ms Wickenden was also a tireless heritage campaigner alongside her mother, well-known Brisbane historian Marilyn England.
"She was a giant of a figure in the western suburbs," her friend Arthur Palmer has told The Sunday Mail.
He said she was continually battling with the Brisbane City Council and developers to maintain the heritage of the western suburbs. "She stopped them from bulldozing ANZAC Park and turning it into a carpark and that will always be a gift to this city," he said.
Ms Wickenden was also a member of the Toowong Historical Society.