An honest to goodness adventure story worth watching

I’m not a motorcycle guy.  I mean, yeah, who hasn’t vicariously thought that the joy that comes from riding a bike would be even greater if it had a motor on it?  Even considering that though, I’ve always shied away from motorcycles, mostly because everyone I’ve known who rides one was eventually injured in accidents, some of them seriously, and one of them was killed after striking a deer at highway speed.  I realize that not everyone who rides is injured, but I suppose each person has to decide for themselves if the risk is worth the reward.  For me, it’s not. 

That being said though, it’s easy to imagine the pure joy that comes from being on the open road, motor underneath you, wind in your face, and the miles rolling by on a beautiful sunny day.  That’s what led me to watch the first installment of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s ‘Long Way’ motorcycle touring adventure series on Apple TV called ‘Long Way Round’.  The four separate series have now spanned twenty-one years of travel and adventure for the two friends, and there’s no end in sight.

Many long ways to go

For those who don’t regularly subscribe to Apple TV (which I do because they have a number of good shows I watch regularly), it’s worth trying even if it’s just for one month to watch this series.  My wife and I will occasionally subscribe to a streaming service short-term to watch just one show and then we cancel if we decide not to keep it.  As it turns out, ‘Long Way Round’ was so good that we’ll be watching the other installments of the series as well, which are described as follows on Wikipedia:

The official website that covers all four of the installments in the ‘Long Way’ series describes ‘Long Way Round’ like this:

“From London to New York, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman chased their shadows through Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, across the Pacific to Alaska, then down through Canada and America. 

Riding motorcycles the entire way, exhaustion, injury and accidents tested their strength, while treacherous roads, unpredictable weather and turbulent politics challenged their stamina. They were chased by paparazzi in Kazakhstan, courted by men with guns in the Ukraine, hassled by the police, and given bulls’ testicles for supper by Mongolian nomads. And yet, despite multiple obstacles they managed to ride more than twenty thousand miles in four months, changing their lives forever in the process. 

Long Way Round is the result of their adventures – a fascinating, frank and highly entertaining adventure about two friends riding round the world together and, against the odds, realizing their dream.”

Keep calm and carry on

‘Long Way Round’ is an honest-to-goodness adventure story worth watching, even if you’re not a fan of motorcycles.  It was at the same time an adventure, a geography lesson; it demonstrated extensive planning, perseverance, courage, sacrifice, friendship, great mental and physical endurance, and provided a view into all the highs and lows of a truly epic once-in-a-lifetime journey.  Except it wasn’t once in a lifetime, because they did it three more amazing times after the first show!

What Charley, Ewan and the support team accomplished during their first journey together was impressive. The sheer scope of the route was beyond ambitious, and I don’t think that their trials and tribulations are something that I personally could have endured.  Being away from family for such a long time, camping in the pouring rain, the harsh weather everywhere they went, dragging motorcycles across freezing cold rivers in the middle of nowhere, eating a lot of packaged trailside food, placing themselves in danger, motorcycle mishaps that caused minor injuries, language barriers in foreign countries, etc.  It’s just…a lot! But the two friends stayed (mostly) calm and carried on in their characteristic Scottish and British ways, and persevered through their entire journey ending up as better people because of it.

I look forward to watching the additional installments of the series, each journey using a different kind of motorcycle and taking a new route through the world. If that doesn’t satisfy my curiosity for their adventures, then I might also read Ewan and Charley’s book about Long Way Round or the one they wrote for Long Way Down. Additional resources include the Instagram for the show and also the Facebook page for the show.

If you decide to check out the Long Way shows, books, or websites, then sit back and live vicariously through the experiences of these modern day global journeymen. Enjoy!