Press Release: For immediate publication.
Bodies in Motion
Evolution and Experience in Motorcycling
Motorcycling’s sensations are easy to experience, but harder to explain. How can riding be so exciting and yet relaxing at the same time - and why does this combination make us feel so good? Rather than question it, most motorcyclers and scooterists simply settle into the saddle, turn the key, grab the handlebars, and enjoy the magically uplifting experience.
Here, Steven L. Thompson carefully examines some of the most nuanced aspects of the rider/machine relationship. His research and analytics help disentangle our psycho-biological connection with the kinesthetics of riding from a complex mix of cultural elements surrounding motorcycling. Here are new ideas that can help point us toward a better understanding of how and why motorcycling is important, and why riding has such a powerful influence on us.
In the author’s own words, Bodies in Motion “...is written both for motorcyclists and non-motorcyclists, and thus longtime riders will inevitably find some material familiar, though I have tried to ensure that, when covering conceptual ground common to all riders, the context is analyzed to highlight aspects of the commonalities that are usually overlooked or misunderstood.... Bodies in Motion thus explores what evolutionary science, psychology, human-factors research and engineering research can tell us about why some people seek certain kinds of automotive activity experiences and others do not. The reason to be concerned about this is more important than just what it might mean to a motorcyclist trying to figure out which bike to choose or trying to explain to someone why he or she chose to ride instead of, or in addition to, driving a car. The overwhelming importance of automobility to our way of life means that human nature, as science can show it to be, is vital to our continuing attempts to cope with the costs that automobility has thrust upon us, along with its benefits.” Foreword by Andy Goldfine. Published by Aerostich. Softbound, 6"×9", 420 pp., b/w illustrations.
#5802 $19.95
"People ride motorcycles in order to express a cultural identity. Yes, that's part of it, Steve Thompson tells us, but not as important as the psycho-biological explanation of why we feel such a compelling urge to put our 'bodies in motion.' What happens when we ride? Steve draws on the experiences of a lifetime racing, riding, and writing about motorcycles. But here he does much more, analyzing the literature on human evolution that explains why we seek certain experiences, and drawing on his own unique study of the physical sensations delivered by iconic motorcycles, their 'signatures.' Nobody else could have written this book."
- Robert C. Post, Ph.D.
Dr. Post is a former editor of Technology and Culture, a quarterly published for the Society for the History of Technology at Johns Hopkins University Press, and former curator of transportation at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
"Steve Thompson is a record-setting motorcycle racer with a strong interest in evolution and the biology of emotions and background in the history of technology. He brings these perspectives together as he explores the chemistry between motorcycles and their riders. From the evolutionary perspective, he brings us down from trees onto bikes. He delineates the vibrations between man and machine, both figuratively and literally, having commissioned a study of the types of vibrations produced by different types of motorcycles in a quest to understand what gives each bike its distinctive character and feel. Whether or not you're known the allure of a motorcycle, Bodies In Motion will fascinate and entertain you."
- Thomas Wehr M.D.
Dr. Wehr is a former Chief, Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health.
Steven L. Thompson
Steven L. Thompson was born in Texas in 1948, and started racing motorcycles in 1967, while he was an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley. Six of his novels have been published, and he has been Cycle World's Editor-at-Large, Editorial Director of Cycle Guide, Editor-in-Chief of Road Test, Executive Editor of Car and Driver, and Executive Editor of AOPA Pilot. By education a historian, and by training an illustrator and pilot, he is currently a Senior Contributing Editor of AutoWeek, and an Advisory Editor of Technology and Culture. He lives with his wife and a Manx cat in Northern California.
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To order or for further information, contact Aerostich/RiderWearHouse
Phone: 800 222 1994.
Fax: 218 720 3610
Web: www.aerostich.com
Email: [email protected]
Contact:
Andy Goldfine [email protected] or Lynn Wisneski [email protected]