‘Long Way Down’ begins

[Bob]

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman have set off on their latest motorcycle marathon ride. The pair – who are undertaking a 15,000 mile ride to John O’Groats to Africa on a pair of BMW R1200GS – set off from a deliberately low-key launch.

The trek will see McGregor and Boorman bike down through Europe and into Africa, through 20 countries and ending at the continent's most southerly point, Cape Town in South Africa. They have decided to use old-fashioned maps to navigate, rather than rely on Sat-Nav kits.

The pair will also be acting as UNICEF ambassadors during the trip, which will be filmed for a BBC series.

[Big Dog]

Cool. Enjoyed what I saw of the long way round. Missed most of it but.

[ZeroIndex]

Damn those two are gonna get lost... they're a bunch of n00bs that can't ride for shit... watched the whole series of Long Way Round, and couldn't help but point and laugh, rewind, point and laugh, rewind, point and laugh again everytime they binned it... Come on seriously, some of their bins were so lame and easily avoidable... like what's the point in doing 5 - 10km/h on gravel when 60 - 80km/h would do just as well... like the bit where they went through the canyon that was supposed to look like the Grand Canyon... Charley Boorman binned in like what, 4 times in that one little section.

They should get Ghostrider to do a trip like that, will take like 2 weeks, not 100+ days

[ZeroIndex]

Another thing to add... why did they keep doing that gay little video diary instead of just showing their crappy riding skills... seriously, you'd expect Obi-Wan to possess slightly higher riding skills than what he shows in The Long Way Round...

[Bob]

I assume you're speaking from the angle of someone who rides off-road quite a lot? And I'm also guessing the opportunities to go off-roading are far wider available in NZ than they are in the UK.

Both McGregor and Boorman said they were off-road novices before they got into this. If you look at the start of "Long Way Round", you will see that BMW sent them on an off-road course to teach them the basics.

The pair of them are experienced road riders - I know Boorman has been riding since he was a kid in Ireland - but off-road is a very different thing. I know when a friend of mine did his stag-day as an off-road day, there were very experienced ROAD riders there - and they were all shattered by the end as they weren't used to the different demands of off-roading.

So riding 20,000 miles, on some pretty tricky conditions, a lot of it off-road, when you have precious little off-road experience? Takes some doing I'd say.

[sAsLEX]

I assume you mean from John O groats in Scotland down to South Africa?

[ZeroIndex]

I assume you're speaking from the angle of someone who rides off-road quite a lot? And I'm also guessing the opportunities to go off-roading are far wider available in NZ than they are in the UK.

Both McGregor and Boorman said they were off-road novices before they got into this. If you look at the start of "Long Way Round", you will see that BMW sent them on an off-road course to teach them the basics.

The pair of them are experienced road riders - I know Boorman has been riding since he was a kid in Ireland - but off-road is a very different thing. I know when a friend of mine did his stag-day as an off-road day, there were very experienced ROAD riders there - and they were all shattered by the end as they weren't used to the different demands of off-roading.

So riding 20,000 miles, on some pretty tricky conditions, a lot of it off-road, when you have precious little off-road experience? Takes some doing I'd say.

I'm from South Africa, and until January 2006, I'd never ridden a bike, and only got one in March 2006. I haven't done much in off-road riding, but chuck me on gravel (any mixture of it, even if it's wet clay), and I'll be quite happy to race along as quickly as possible, and I munted around for 15 minutes on a trials bike a few Sundays ago, so balance isn't a problem. I reckon I'd carve them up on the dirt. Also, shouldn't they have bought bikes that didn't need so much repairing... say for instance a DR650, which are known for being reliable on off/on-road touring over long distances... plus they're lighter than BMW's

[sAsLEX]

I'm from South Africa, and until January 2006, I'd never ridden a bike. I don't do too much off-road riding, but I reckon I'd carve them up on the dirt. Firstly though, shouldn't they have bought bikes that didn't need so much repairing... say for instance a DR650, which are known for being reliable on off/on-road touring over long distances... plus they're lighter than BMW's

Plus BMW gives them crap tins of money since its fantastic advertising and I bet KTM are kicking themselves for dropping the series

[ZeroIndex]

Plus BMW gives them crap tins of money since its fantastic advertising and I bet KTM are kicking themselves for dropping the series

BMW are giving themselves an even worse name with the amount of times their bikes broke down, and the bad rider skill...

[riffer]

Keep digging that hole, buddy. :nono:

[ZeroIndex]

Keep digging that hole, buddy. :nono:

Seriously mate, have you seen some of their 'riding' -if you can call it that

[S&S]

Long way down "start pictures "

[bert_is_evil]

Damn those two are gonna get lost... they're a bunch of n00bs that can't ride for shit... watched the whole series of Long Way Round, and couldn't help but point and laugh, rewind, point and laugh, rewind, point and laugh again everytime they binned it... Come on seriously, some of their bins were so lame and easily avoidable... like what's the point in doing 5 - 10km/h on gravel when 60 - 80km/h would do just as well... like the bit where they went through the canyon that was supposed to look like the Grand Canyon... Charley Boorman binned in like what, 4 times in that one little section.

They should get Ghostrider to do a trip like that, will take like 2 weeks, not 100+ days

So what's wrong with being a newbie? I haven't seen the series but I very much doubt they started it by saying "we are seasoned experts at offroad riding". Do you alway point and laugh when someone less "skilled" than you bin's or just if someone with more money than you does? Now, what was it that it says on your auto signature, 11 bins since 2006?...

[magicfairy]

I'm from South Africa,

mmmmmmmmmm - explains a lot.

[sels1]

Seriously mate, have you seen some of their 'riding' -if you can call it that

Have you ridden a fully laden BMW1150 offroad? weighing over a third of a ton? Try it sometime...


Keep digging that hole, buddy. :nono:

I tend to agree

[WRT]

Seriously mate, have you seen some of their 'riding' -if you can call it that

Dude, just put a cork in it. I'm not going to comment on your ability, but as someone who grew up on dirt bikes, and rides MX now, I can say I have a healthy respect for how well those two guys do. Those are BIG bikes, carrying a lot of gear, ridden in very harsh conditions - you cannot even begin to comprehend how physically taxing it would be.

As for DR650's, they would struggle with carrying that amount of gear, and once laden down with that sort of weight they would be no easier in the rough stuff. And I bet they'd break down more often than those beemers too. Anyone who owns a dirt bike knows how much maintenance goes in to them. K's on dirt cannot be equated to K's on tarmac, your maintenance schedule for a sports bike drops from 5-10,000 kilometers to 50-100 hours.

Respect to those boys, and good luck for the journey.

[Babelfish]

Top notch news that the boys are getting back into it. BlankIndex mustn't have been paying attention throughout the long way around. Sure, the guys did their share of falling over...but some of the shit they did while learning was really well done. Remember, an experienced rider told them their route was impossible.

I'd suggest anyone bagging the trip point us in the direction of their video footage when they did it. :drool:

....bloody unusual for a south african to be blowing his own horn :shifty:

[bistard]

Since the "Long Way Round",Charlie Boorman has competed in the Paris Dakar, I am not sure what Ewan McGregor has done,but they will be way more experienced & the new 1200 BMW is much lighter & user freindly than the 1150s they rode last time
I am looking forward to the new DVD when it comes out,great viewing & if it raises the profile of motorcycling worldwide I am all for it

[NordieBoy]

And Claudio is "The Dude" :D
Rocks up in "Long Way Around" only having ridden a scooter and cons his way onto the team and rides brilliantly.
His camera work is sweet as well.

[dnos]

Cool - I really enjoyed Long Way Round so look forward to seeing this one too.
Sounds like it will be another interesting trip and I really don't understand how anyone can bag them for it.
I wonder if the support crew are gonna stay a bit closer this time or do the same meet you at the border stuff.

[Macktheknife]

Looking forward to watching this one, really enjoyed the last one, just wish I could go with them!
Bloody good on them too, lots of respect for people who just get out there and do it. No shortage of people around the world who want to knock them and the idea and the back-up and anything else they can think of, I notice they are not willing to do more than talk a good game though.
I will be watching the website with interest for updates.

[crashe]

I have meet Charlie Boorman as did a few other KBers here in Auckland.
He is a really nice guy.

Postie and Bugjuice filmed the ride from Mt Wellington to the Big Boy's toys.
(Still waiting on that dvd boys !!!!)

Hell's teeth, the way those bikes were loaded up and Im not sure how well balanced they were at the begining, as one got dropped before getting on the road...
But trying to keep them up in some of those conditions would have been damn hard to do.

I say they did a fantastic job and I look forward to seeing the next dvd or watch it on telly.

[Swoop]

Look forward to seeing that. Good on them, raising bikes/biking in the public eye, once again.

[Chisanga]

I'm so fucking jealous. I would do the "Long Way Up" i.e. from Cape Town northwards... can't wait to see the series.

I think i must be a frustrated adventure biker :)

[ZeroIndex]

Dude, just put a cork in it. I'm not going to comment on your ability, but as someone who grew up on dirt bikes, and rides MX now, I can say I have a healthy respect for how well those two guys do. Those are BIG bikes, carrying a lot of gear, ridden in very harsh conditions - you cannot even begin to comprehend how physically taxing it would be.

As for DR650's, they would struggle with carrying that amount of gear, and once laden down with that sort of weight they would be no easier in the rough stuff. And I bet they'd break down more often than those beemers too. Anyone who owns a dirt bike knows how much maintenance goes in to them. K's on dirt cannot be equated to K's on tarmac, your maintenance schedule for a sports bike drops from 5-10,000 kilometers to 50-100 hours.

Respect to those boys, and good luck for the journey.


Top notch news that the boys are getting back into it. BlankIndex mustn't have been paying attention throughout the long way around. Sure, the guys did their share of falling over...but some of the shit they did while learning was really well done. Remember, an experienced rider told them their route was impossible.

I'd suggest anyone bagging the trip point us in the direction of their video footage when they did it. :drool:

....bloody unusual for a south african to be blowing his own horn :shifty:

Gotta come clean on this... No, I wasn't previously paying attention throughout the Long Way Round... Carver came over, and we just jumped through it and found all the bins, and I left it at that... I felt a bit bad about giving ObiWan so much grief that I decided to actually watch it properly today... up to episode 4, and I have to take everything I said back... well, almost everything... yes they do actually ride very well, but still, the fact that Charley Boorman bins it twice before even leaving England is quite funny, especially considering the first one is right outside their building...

Ok, I'm done with this post now...

[carver]

im a experienced dual sport/ adventure rider, so is my dad, who did a similar trip, on a T500 suzuki, with one bin total

they are n00bs, they just dont go hard enough.,
pussy out off road and your in shite, ride on the throttle.
it was like a comedy for me.

[Teflon]

I'm from South Africa, and until January 2006, I'd never ridden a bike, and only got one in March 2006. I haven't done much in off-road riding, but chuck me on gravel (any mixture of it, even if it's wet clay), and I'll be quite happy to race along as quickly as possible, and I munted around for 15 minutes on a trials bike a few Sundays ago, so balance isn't a problem. I reckon I'd carve them up on the dirt. Also, shouldn't they have bought bikes that didn't need so much repairing... say for instance a DR650, which are known for being reliable on off/on-road touring over long distances... plus they're lighter than BMW's

I can remember you taking a short cut (off road) on that hyunsung.. nice jump

[Bob]

im a experienced dual sport/ adventure rider, so is my dad, who did a similar trip, on a T500 suzuki, with one bin total

they are n00bs, they just dont go hard enough.,
pussy out off road and your in shite, ride on the throttle.
it was like a comedy for me.

At the risk of being repetative - they openly admit to being inexperienced off-road riders. As I said earlier, the first episode clearly shows them being taken out by BMW to their off-road course to learn the basics.

This wasn't a manual/DVD of "how to off-road". This was two blokes who came up with an idea to ride the ride they did... and they did it. As someone stated above, an 'Expert' who had ridden the same (well not quite the same) route said it was impossible.

Given the above, isn't it all the more impressive that a couple of "noobs" made it, when an experienced expert said it could not be done?

All a matter of perspective.

[Chisanga]

Theodore Roosevelt said

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Echoes nicely my feelings on the matter

[SwanTiger]

im a experienced dual sport/ adventure rider, so is my dad, who did a similar trip, on a T500 suzuki, with one bin total

they are n00bs, they just dont go hard enough.,
pussy out off road and your in shite, ride on the throttle.
it was like a comedy for me.

Look at your fucking signature.

[ZeroIndex]

I can remember you taking a short cut (off road) on that hyunsung.. nice jump

It was a Kinetic... and thanks... the jump came naturally

[carver]

As for DR650's, they would struggle with carrying that amount of gear, and once laden down with that sort of weight they would be no easier in the rough stuff. And I bet they'd break down more often than those beemers too. Anyone who owns a dirt bike knows how much maintenance goes in to them. K's on dirt cannot be equated to K's on tarmac, your maintenance schedule for a sports bike drops from 5-10,000 kilometers to 50-100 hours.

Respect to those boys, and good luck for the journey.

not on a DR...usual service, and there is a thread on here where some people use em for just that.
big bonus is simplicity

[riffer]

You're just not convincing me buddy.

Send me a copy of the DVD of your trip across the Road of Bones and you'll gain my respect.

Until then, your opinion doesn't count as its based totally on ignorance. :angry:

[ZeroIndex]

You're just not convincing me buddy.

Send me a copy of the DVD of your trip across the Road of Bones and you'll gain my respect.

Until then, your opinion doesn't count as its based totally on ignorance. :angry:

Yeah, the Road of Bones section was amazing...

[Bob]

As we've got two threads on the same subject, running just inches away from each other, thought I'd put a link to the other one here:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=49072

If you want this one closed, or the other one closed with a link to this one, or indeed the two merged, let me know and when I get a second I'll do it.

Thanks,

Bob

[mazz1972]

The official site www.longwaydown.com doesn't give much away but you can follow where the chaps are at, and watch short vid clips here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/longwaydown/

[Nonbeliever]

I'm looking forward to this new dvd, as I enjoyed the other alot.

ZeroIQindex, :shutup:

[ZeroIndex]

I'm looking forward to this new dvd, as I enjoyed the other alot.

ZeroIQindex, :shutup:

After I watched the whole series (instead of flipping through it really quickly), I really enjoyed it... amazing roadtrip really...