Creative Corner...

A college teacher takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the ways to avoid boredom on long solo motorcycle trips...

It was somewhere outside of Barstow, California, that I first realized the significance of what I was doing. Not the motorcycle journey itself, but rather, what I was doing with my lips and mouth. I was reverse whistling and not just making noise, actually whistling. The thing that amazed me the most was that it had happened without any conscious effort. I recall that as I approached Barstow, I was tired, my buttocks ached and I was bored. Then suddenly, I caught myself, with no premeditation, whistling "The Star Spangled Banner." Trying to perfect whistling into a 70 mile an hour gale proved so enthralling that I entirely forgot about the ache in my buttocks, the pain in my back or the boredom of the preceding few miles.

After whistling a few more tunes, I paused to reflect on the experience. Then it struck me: whistling was a diversion, but certainly not the first. I was fidgeting as early as Los Angeles, weaving across lanes at Riverside and counting mile markers near Death Valley. I continued to ponder this revelation for some time. Then near the Arizona border, while I absent mindedly whistled, "Bury Me not on the Lone Prairie," an unusual thing occurred. A cognitive learning implanted in my subconscious during my college years at the University of Illinois surfaced.

I recalled hearing Professor Mike Ellis, a play theorist of some note, in his simplistic and elegant fashion, explain the whole thing. The seat of the problem was not my aching gluteus maximus, but rather my cerebral cortex. After several hundred miles, motorcycling loses its "arousal potential." When a stimulus loses its arousal potential, the organism (in this case me) subconsciously or in some cases consciously, seeks alternative stimulation. That explained the fidgeting, weaving, day dreaming and the whistling.

Inspired by the resurrection of dormant knowledge, I decided to examine this phenomenon more fully. Indeed as a teacher of recreation at a major university, I felt it my duty. My motorcycle would become a one-man mobile recreation research laboratory and the tour would be a "longitudinal study" devoted to the creation and evaluation of arousal activities for prolonged solo motorcycle odysseys. I remember the excitement that attended my decision: at last, I thought, a chance to make a contribution to my chosen profession.

I decided to entitle my study: "A Taxonomy of Motorcycle Arousal Activities to be Played by One on Long Motorcycle Journeys." Mile after mile I experimented with various activities, games and positions, keeping a mental note of my reactions to each activity. The taxonomy slowly began to evolve. By the time I reached Phoenix I had compiled the following:

I. Arousal Activities Involving Kinesthetic Responses

A. Activities that protect the prostate, reduce pressure sores and help prevent hemorrhoids such as pushing the motorcycle after running out of gas, pushing the motorcycle after getting a flat or pushing the motorcycle after a short in the electrical system.

B. Games that help reduce stiffness, soreness and general bodily discomfort that generally comes after prolonged pushing of the motorcycle. Perhaps the most notable of these was soaking in a hot tub.

C. Games to promote agility, such as dodging tree moths in Arizona and June Beetles in New Mexico.

II. Games to Stimulate the Mind and Minimize

Illinois Parks and Recreation 24 November/December, 1979

the Insidious Effect of Somolence on the Weary Motorcyclist

A. Mathematical games such as adding up the number of times negligent drivers nearly hit you.

B. Games of mental agility such as creating a language that only you can understand. This way you can shout obscenities at negligent drivers without them being sure of what you said.

C. Memory games such as memorizing the license plate and vehicle description of those vehicles that actually do hit you.

III. Games to Awaken the Spirit and Prick the Central Nervous System

A. Games in which sound plays a vital role, such as reverse whistling wherein you purse your lips and then position your head in a way that causes the wind to create a whistling sound. (After a rather unsavory experience in Nebraska, I concluded that this game should not be played in areas infested with flying insects).

B. Games requiring a tactile response, such as the Vibrating Fabric Game. In this game you try to position yourself in such a way as to create as much vibration of your clothing as possible. Wherever skin and fabric come together a highly stimulating massage results. Unfortunately, this isn't a fun game, but since it can't be avoided, you might as well make the best of it.

Some would have been discouraged, some would have even given up, but the words of Dr. Al Sapora kept echoing in my mind: "If life hands you a lemon, open a speakeasy." (Well, something like that.) Being a natural optimist, I took him at his word and launched a new study, soon to be released. Its title? What else... "A Taxonomy of Games and Activities Suitable for Hospital Use by Mending Motorcyclists".

Dr. Ernie Olson is currently Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration and Recreation and Park Administration, California State University, Sacramento, California. Dr. Olson has been a lecturer at Southern Illinois University and San Diego State University. He received his Ph.D. in Leisure Studies from the University of Illinois, Champaign, where he was a graduate teaching assistant for a number of years. He also coordinated recreation programs for the Apache Indians in Arizona prior to attending the University of Illinois. The accompanying article was written in 1976 during a period of recuperation following a serious motorcycle accident. Both Dr. Olson and the motorcycle were nicely repaired and continue to be a common sight on California highways.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 25 November/December, 1979