I've written about this subject in the past ("The Adrenaline Fallacy," Wheelspin, Aug. '01), but recent conversations with individuals both inside and outside of motorcycling have inspired me to explore it once more. It's one thing for the general public to have mistaken beliefs about our sport, but when I hear some motorcycle enthusiasts and racers apparently believing these same myths, it's obvious something is amiss.
Due to the continuing popularity of many "action" or "extreme" sports that emphasize the danger and risk their participants are exposed to, the misconception of adrenaline fueling our desire to ride quickly or compete on a racing circuit persists. One only need look at the exploding sales and increasing financial influence of the energy-drink market (both related and unrelated to motorcycle racing) to see that perpetuating the connection between a "quick burst of energy" and risky sports in the mind of the general public is an easy-and very profitable-sell. There's a certain glamor in dangerous endeavors that much of the public loves to be associated with, and promoting the perception of a key ingredient for participation in those sports certainly doesn't hurt the marketing campaign.
While it's easy to glorify sportbike enthusiasts and racers as thrill-seekers in search of the adrenaline "fix," the problem is that adrenaline is actually detrimental to our performance while piloting a bike. A natural hormone secreted by the human body's adrenal glands during times of extreme stress, adrenaline stimulates several key physiological functions born of early man's "fight-or-flight" panic response necessary to exist in the prehistoric wild. Some of the more obvious effects are heightened awareness and senses, along with a boost in the production of energy in muscle cells for greater bursts of strength than would otherwise be possible. If only looked at from this perspective, it would be easy to conclude that adrenaline is our best friend.
Unfortunately adrenaline also raises the body's blood pressure to abnormal levels, quickens the respiratory cycle (makes you hyperventilate to feed oxygen to muscles working much harder than usual) and causes the outer blood vessels to constrict. For a person who needs to sustain a period of high-energy physical activity for 30 minutes or longer, these physiological responses would be highly detrimental to peak performance. Although there's no denying that riding a motorcycle quickly or racing can be a stressful experience at times, if we had loads of adrenaline coursing through our veins we'd be exhausted in a fraction of the time required to finish a race or a spirited ride on a canyon road.
Another problem with the adrenaline myth is that the physical actions resulting from high levels of adrenaline are often very strong and largely impulsive, meaning that any real control over them is nonexistent. Think about the first time you panicked when you were learning to ride-not exactly in complete control, were you? While piloting a motorcycle at high speed definitely requires quick bursts of strength and movement, those actions must also be smooth and measured; rough and reckless operation of the controls is a sure ticket to a close-up pavement inspection before too long.
Scientists have frequently measured the physiological responses of top Formula 1 car drivers during the course of a race and have usually found that-contrary to popular belief-their heart rates and blood pressure rarely get anywhere above those of a healthy person going for a brisk walk. In fact virtually the only time their heart rates and blood pressure do climb is when the car isn't even moving; it's during the seconds leading up to the race's start that stress makes any type of measurable appearance. Otherwise, despite piloting a vehicle hurtling through corners at incredible speeds and generating G-forces that would tax most people after only a few laps, these drivers are far more relaxed than you'd think.
That's the reason you hear so many riding instructors telling you to relax. Riding apprehensively with a death grip on the bars means your stress levels are high, a condition that will signal your body to begin producing adrenaline-leading to a general lack of control that can easily result in a bad ending.
There is no doubt the risk factor plays a role in the psyche of all motorcycle racers and sportbike enthusiasts. But for the vast majority of us it has nothing to do with cheating death or thrill-seeking. The tremendous satisfaction derived from properly and precisely controlling a vehicle with such incredible-and demanding-performance has been described as everything from exhilaration to "being in the zone" to Zen enlightenment to an experience larger than life. Adrenaline has nothing to do with it.