CB: Certainly those first few weeks had a steep learning curve. But it was fun and everyone was very fun and very respectful and it was nice. Also, Triumph is owned by a family, theyre very generous and very kind and we have a great relationship. Then I was in a wheelchair for ages. The original broadcast dates in the United Kingdom were: In the final pages of the Long Way Down book, there is a mention of "Long Way To Go"; however, this is not the intended title for a third series but a reference to the continual support that UNICEF needs for its work. In the opener, he sees icebergs; tries screeching; visits the graves of Titanic victims; and encounters a tidal bore. The TV journeyman and professional biker tells Hannah Stephenson about some of his most hair-raising moments, Horror crash: Charley is back on his bike after a horror smash last year. He is also properly appreciative of Olivia, whom hes been with for 30 years and married to for 25. All good. In 2008, he did a show called 'By Any Means' where he traveled from County Wicklow, his hometown in Ireland, to Sydney, Australia using only appropriate public transport and flying whenever necessary. All Rights Reserved. The result is my recent book the Long Way Back. So, why has it taken more than a decade for the pair to reunite for a motorcycle adventure? That was sort of a wake-up call to me that we mustn't let this friendshipthis very special relationship to medrift. WebCharley Boorman has been riding motorcycles since he was seven years old. Id love to the do Simpson Desert. He is still close to his father, who is 84 and walks with sticks: when Charley was on crutches, they looked like twins, he says. A Mercedes clipped the Triumph he was riding in Portugal. As I approached I heard him say, So, Olivia, youre a beautiful girl, do you want to come to Australia with me?. The answer was the pair drifted apart over the past decade and its only thanks to two broken legs and a barbecue that they reunited for their latest adventure,Long Way Up. Our reviews are hands-on, detailed, and unbiased. Boorman at last year's Chelsea Flower Show. He smiled and nodded his head. This is a BETA experience. See our privacy policy for details on how we manage your data. A bit of separation is not a bad thing and I always try to schedule trips while the kids are at school. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. You can unsubscribe at any time. Ewan McGregor and his wingman, Brit TV personality Charley Boorman, have reportedly begun production of the third entry in their popular Long Way motorcycle road I taped him on the shoulder and said, I dont think my wife wants to go to Australia with you but I do. He looked me up and down and simply said No and then walked off. Ewan McGregor: Really once you've experienced that sort of adventure travel like weve done, it's sort of in you. 2. That was the case for Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, who ended their last biking adventure 13 years ago at the end of the Long Way Downtelevision series. News updates will happen by Twitter, through, Custom Eye Candy: An Electric Zero SR-X Concept, 10 Electric Skateboard Brands That Are Killing It, Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close, Fast Figures: Piaggio Groups 2022 Sales Were Best Results Ever, Industry Insider: EU Ignores Licensing Revamp Pleas, UK Is Next, Luck of the Irish: Insurance Costs Cause Country-Wide Racing Closures, Powersports Podcasts: Ricky Carmichael & Ryan Villopotos Title 24, Harley-Davidson Screamin Eagle Engine Sets New Record, Husqvarna Releases Up-Specd Norden 901 Expedition, Armor, Airbag, Base Layer, & Underwear Reviews, The Fight to Save the Davidson Ancestral Home, Indian Motorcycles Publishes Recall over Non-Compliant Lights, BMW Recalls K1600 Models over Suspension Failure. With Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman, David Alexanian, Russ Malkin. Can you change the seat? You hear stories about the horror crashes of the Dakar Rally, which is a long 16-day race, and about people getting lost in the desert, and they're all true. The answer was the pair drifted apart over the past decade and its only thanks to two broken legs and a barbecue that they reunited for their latest adventure, See our review policies for more information. Let me just say that this trip exceeded every one of my expectations. Charley had just returned from a Compass Expeditions tour of Tasmania when we caught up with him this week at The Bike Shed in London, where he is one of 31 founding members. Id also have loved to have ridden with Barry. Take a LiveWire around your city and youll just have such a laugh. Youre sort of ready for it to end. As with their previous trip, and Boorman's Race to Dakar, Russ Malkin's company Big Earth produced the series. We have just heard that well-known and loved motorcycle traveller. Holiday? More importantly, the pair hopes the show will give people a new appreciation for where electric vehicle technology is at this moment, and the kinds of eco-conscious adventures that are already possible in far-flung areas of our increasingly fragile environment. The wheels were spinning forward, but we were shooting backwards towards a cliff. After a period reliant on a wheelchair, Boorman is back riding, but now walks with a limp as his left leg is 1 cm shorter than his right after operations to repair the breaks. The two pals are back for their third globe-spanning motorcycle adventureand we sat down with them to talk about it. British adventurer Charley Boorman treks across Canada and discovers what makes the country amazing. Shots posted as recently as September 14th on the Facebook fan page Long Way Everywhere appear to show Ewan and team on the road with the Livewire bikes, charging them up as they go. Harley-Davidson provided them with their prototype LiveWire motorcycles that had a range of around 146 miles with its 15.5-kWh battery. The torque is unbelievable, its fun to be sort of silent and it's just a different riding experience. Its very rare that you get that period of time to hang out with your best buddy and ride motorbikes. You can plug the bike in and it's going to give you more than 100 miles in town and you just have a go. We need to be a bit more friendly toward each other and look at what the cycling industry has done with their lobbying. If Ewan hadnt been involved, it wouldnt have had a chance to be successful, says Boorman, frankly. I found Africa's landscapes stunning to the eye, it's people vibrant and welcoming, it's food diverse and exotic, and it's history fascinating and complex. We looked to the back of their car and there was this young guy smiling at us with a gun in his hand and he was pointing it at us. In 2004, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman embarked on a journey to bike across 12 countries and 19 time zones in 115 days. Moped narrowly avoids 70mph train at level crossing, Tom Sizemore: The Hollywood hardman who fell from grace, Calm weekend will turn to freezing as snow and ice warnings issued, Hong Kong activists convicted over failure to comply with security law, Actor Tom Sizemore dies after career tarnished by scandals. I agreeI do not agree. JAG: Ewan, you're a big movie star, as I was pointing out to my daughter when we were watching the show. The Long Way Up production crew hooked up with an electric SUV startup, Rivian, to supply new prototype pickup trucks designed to take on every terrain. The problem is that riders are very individual and not part of the scene or a club. And if the photos trickling out of the southern reaches are accurate, theyre not sparing the whip, either. I think this scene (The Bike Shed) has brought younger riders back into biking. The television series began broadcast on BBC Two on 28 October 2007,[3] with clips also shown online. I broke both my legs, broke and dislocated my right ankle and smashed my left tibia and fibula. EW: [Laughs] You just have to ride, people just have to have a go. I have earphones in them and I can listen to podcasts and books. Scottish star Mr McGregor, 49, first rose to prominence in Danny Boyles cult classic Trainspotting and subsequently starred in blockbusters including Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and DC But when you and your best friend are the two most recognisable faces in adventure biking, people start to ask questions when you havent been seen together in a while. For other uses, see, "Ewan McGregor secures sponsorship deal for South American road trip", "Long Way Up is go! That meant electric bikes (Harley-Davidson supplied prototypes) that could withstand myriad environments snow, ice, altitude, wind, rain and very few charging stations. (Charley crashed on a Triumph launch in Spain a couple of years ago.). Charley had a terrible accident and was very badly injured. I usually go back the way we came with them so they can experience it as well. Portions of Boormans recovery from the horrific accident are shown in the first episode of Long Way Down. These snippets show how dedicated Boorman was to getting back on the bike and how important it was for him to do this third trip. They crossed 13 countries, namely Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S.A. Electric bikes are brilliant. Their daughters - Doone and Kinvara, 21 and 20 are both at university, but Doone also had to be flown home last year after breaking her jaw on a skiing trip. Re-watching By Any Means for the 20th time at the moment. Co-director of photography Jimmy Simak also acted as music supervisor and soundtrack producer for the series. The title song was performed by Welsh group Stereophonics and is identical to the Long Way Round theme, with the lyric "round" replaced with "down". He then broke his hip riding a Vespa whilst still in recovery. When you stop at traffic lights, you can hear people talking as they're walking down the pavement, it's a fantastic experience. The second installment in the series, 'Long Way Down' was shot in the year 2007. ", "I remember Ewan and I were on the side of the road in Long Way Round (a TV series in which they rode 32,000km around the world) in the Ukraine or Kazakhstan and a white Lada stopped and these two big guys got out and started walking towards us. Theyll have to make it all the way up first. Long Way Down is a television series and book documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2007 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from John o' Groats in Scotland through eighteen countries in Europe and Africa to Cape Town in South Africa. Ive never really had any regrets. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman reunite to ride 13,000 miles from Tierra del Fuego to Los Angeles in the Apple TV+ show "Long Way Up" -- the third journey In 2019, Ewan and Charlie reunited 12 years after 'Long Way Down', this time hoping to journey from the city of Ushuaia at the southernmost tip of South America to Los Angeles, U.S.A; a journey of over 13,000-miles. I mean, one time it was so cold outside that the batteries would just turn off and they wouldnt charge. You're looking at your GPS for the actual mileage left and you're looking at your bike which is telling you the projected mileage based on within the parameters that it's experiencing at that point in time and you're trying to keep those fingers together, so it adds a certain element of artistry to it. Charley Boorman bares all for our readers, Custom Eye Candy: An Electric Zero SR-X Concept, 10 Electric Skateboard Brands That Are Killing It, Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close, Fast Figures: Piaggio Groups 2022 Sales Were Best Results Ever, Industry Insider: EU Ignores Licensing Revamp Pleas, UK Is Next, Luck of the Irish: Insurance Costs Cause Country-Wide Racing Closures, Powersports Podcasts: Ricky Carmichael & Ryan Villopotos Title 24, Harley-Davidson Screamin Eagle Engine Sets New Record, Husqvarna Releases Up-Specd Norden 901 Expedition, Armor, Airbag, Base Layer, & Underwear Reviews, Click here to read more about his African tours. Previous iterations of the episodic documentary series were Long Way Round, an eastward journey from London to New York City in 2004, and Long Way Down, a southward odyssey from John o Groats in Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa, in 2007. The book abounds with bikes trashed and accidents endured, including the time Boorman rode 400km in the Dakar Rally with broken hands.