HITTING THE STREETS : VALLEY ROAD LUGERS REVVED UP FOR SHOWDOWN.

Byline: Rochelle Kaplan Daily News Staff Writer

Bob Pereyra of Northridge thinks the best strategy to winning the street luge championship at the X Games in Rhode Island next week is in simply avoiding the ``Big Red Monster.''

What the defending champion should also take into account while whizzing down the half-mile track in Providence - besides the intimidating, 90-degree right turn that was the cause of him breaking his right ankle in three places during practice last year - are two local street lugers who are competing for the first time at the games.

Mike Colabella of Studio City and Tom Mason of Encino took up luging after seeing Pereyra's winning performance on television, despite the injury.

While neither is a stranger to racing - Colabella was a professional mountain biker for eight years, while Mason raced go-karts across the country - they knew the unusual sport was for them.

``We just told each other after seeing it on television that we could do that,'' said Mason, who also races off-road dirt bikes with Colabella. ``We said that we would be going to the games next year.''

That Pereyra has achieved his goal in bringing the alternative sport to its competitive status - and after tirelessly promoting it for more than 10 years all while competing regularly - is something of a double-edged sword. He now has to work all the harder at retaining a top-ranked position.

``It's tougher now to defend who I am because I have to wear so many hats,'' said Pereyra, who, as president of Road Racers Association for International Luge (RAIL), organizes every event out of his Northridge home. ``I just want to race, but I've also got to put on the races.''

Pereyra now finds himself ranked third in points going into the X Games (also known as the Extreme Games), which begin Monday and mark the season finale of RAIL's five-race series. The competition will showcase the talents of 21 Americans, eight Europeans and three new professionals, including Colabella and Mason.

He hopes to show the general public that the sport, although classified as extreme, is as demanding as it is technical.

``I can't describe extreme and I still can't define it,'' Pereyra said. ``I guess (luging) is called extreme because it's something you don't see every day. We're not adrenaline junkies; we're athletes. Sure, we have a wild side, but we're disciplined, too.''

Besides having to contend with close friends and competitors Shawn Goulart of Sacramento and Lee Dansie of Seattle - all of whom have been taking turns in first, second and third positions for the past six years - Pereyra has newcomers nipping at his heels. As such, winning the championship is still up for grabs.

``I want to mess with Shawn really hard because he hates right-hand turns,'' said Pereyra, who won the dual luge title last year at the X Games. ``But (these new guys) could also be a problem because they've been watching tapes of me racing and have been copying what I do.''

Colabella and Mason believe their quick rise in the world of luging is because they've learned from the best. They say they can't wait to face the guy who inspired them.

``Nobody is better than Bob,'' Colabella said, ``but I'm not worried about racing side-by-side with him. It's all a matter of who can get off the line the fastest.''

Pereyra's goal this year is to also win the mass luge event - where four lugers race side-by-side as opposed to only two racers in the dual luge event, something he couldn't accomplish last year because of his injury.

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Photo: Northridge street luger Bob Pereyra will defend histitle at the X Games, which begin Monday in Providence, R.I.

Evan Yee / Daily News