Charley and Ewen´s Long Way Up?
 

Does anyone know anything about Charley and Ewen´s plans to do the Long Way Up in South and Central America?
Last I heard it was sceduled for 2009.
We´re in the area and would like to ´bump into´them on their way north, if they are actualy doing it now.

Johan

what i have heard....
 

Hey jc. Yeah I heard this here People.co.uk - Ewan's UP for a new Long Way. Theres also an article in the MCN that dates to 2007.

I heard there was to be a 'long way to go' which I seem to remember was a similar route. More recently I read in the times that Ewen fancied taking that trip on his own, without filming it.

I have mentioned in other threads that these shows seem to be a little fake and the blokes annoying to watch in one way or another. Thing is, if it weren’t for these guys I wouldn’t be sat here writing this. I can happily watch any of their adventures (especially race to Dakar) more than once a year.

This being said maybe e+c are not going 'public' with this trip, maybe they are there now??? I sure hope they are.

Shouldn't think it will be this year. I seem to remember reading somewhere that By Any Means 2 was given the go ahead by the BBC not too long ago, and will be on the TV this christmas so I would imagine that is being filmed round about now (or soon anyway). Maybe next year for Long Way Whatever it is?

I hope he gets the chance to do it.. this way! It seems to me that for the other two shows he was not happy with the filming schedual.

I hope so too.

It's the best comeback against the critics (myself included) if they do a ride without the fixer and back up trucks and the spare bikes and the.....

Three bikes (I guess they'd need a security guy) and write the book about it afterwards :thumbup1:

Andy

yeah that would be cool. how bout some different bikes (tink its already come up some where before). the guzzi stelvio? trek k amazonas (how cool would that look actually in the amazon!) or my dream machine the guzzi grisso (funny that on a trip the MG factory at lake como, ewen joked whilst sat on a grisso/breva saying "can we the panniers on ere charley?')

Didn't they fancy KTM's before the TV company made the BMW deal?

Could be a kick in the teeth for a big sponsor and affect future paid work if they switched though. Could even be a contract clause by a sensible sponsor; no BMW, no Long Way ????? title for the book?

Anyhow, think of all those poor wannabes everyone tells us about, doing three miles a year on their 1200GS's. They'd have to sell their GS's and buy new bikes. The second hand market would be flooded. BMW shares would crash. On that basis alone, allow me to reccomend the 1994 MZ ETZ 251. Decent long distance tool, easy to fix and I've got 1 and 7/8 in the garage right now. I'll even let them have the DM's, ex-MOD trousers, shooting jacket and **** pot lid that matches the bike. :rofl:

Andy

haha i would love to see that! i think your theory about bmw going broke because e+c switch bikes is fantastic! especially if they picked something like an MZ or jawa lol! i have to admit the GS is a smart looking brute, but evertime i see one i crack up a little after seeing that video on you tube with adolf; "you bought me a GS!!!!! Id rather f*****ng walk!!" :rofl:

Just to stick my oar in... Brave to start an E+C thread considering the negative response to prior ones (cue the slagging, or not?). But so far so good, good luck to 'em - but the interpersonal bitching in the Long Way ? to date i could do without. I wonder if ktm pulled out of the sponsorship as they might not appreciate the poss bad press of the bikes not making it with a clean sheet... Anyway i look forward to the series :clap:

ktm say no
 

yeah i seem to remember a chap from ktm coming to visit them and voicing his doubts at the lack of russian visas, and the very tough road of bones section. he said that he had to get a boat/train to pass that part of the trip. what a different (motorbiking) world it would be if they had said yes???

i tink it was charley who was pro ktm.

BMW got the gig and we are still argueing about what it shows. Does the welding-duff ECU-new bike from the back up truck thing make you love or hate BMW's more than you already did? Does the fact it was cut out of the film make a difference?

Personally I think the love it/hate it nature of BMW's brand made it a lot safer for them than say KTM or Yamaha. An unfilmed ride followed up by a book over which you'll have a final say is a safer bet.

Andy

We're all the way south in Southern Chile now, haven't ran into e&c yet, so I gues they are not on this rout at least.
Yeh, I hope they get to do it the way the rest of us do it, at least I'm sure they will enjoy it more.

I gues time will tell. . . . .

johan

PS: I'm happy with my GS, and got it before e & c got their first bikes (1150), and still rides it! Dont have the luxary of rich and fame like them. . .

JC - enjoy your time there. You are in a spectacular place. Safe travels.

Well Charley's facebook page says he's off to do BAM2 in May so that's him and Russ Malkin out the picture, and Claudio's been in Afghanistan and is now editing a film for Channel 4 so I guess you won't be seeing any of them in South America for a while.

Maybe Mr E & Mrs E are riding together?

Folks, it's just my opinion........

I personally couldn't care less if C+E never get on a bike again.

"We're hardcore," they say over and over again. And then they proceed to get everything handed to them for free, they get specialist SAS training to deal with bandits, they get "fixers" at every bend in the road, they ride through a river then describe it as "the biggest challenge of our lives", they have a tough 200 mile day then get a 5* hotel in which to recover, they camp out for a few nights then think they have almost become nomads of the land, they throw thespian tantrums with a few swear words to boot and they reckon they are "pioneers" for motorcycle travellers.

NO THEY AREN'T. They're 2 spoilt boys who happen to like bikes. Don't get me wrong, I am quite sure we would all jump at such a trip if given the chance and I have no gripe with them for taking advantage of the opportunities that have presented themselves. In fact, I would even go as far as to say....well done chaps, you manipulated your positions well.

But "hardcore" ?????
Not on your nelly, C+E, if you want "hardcore" just take a look at the guys who did Mondo Enduro and Terra Circa.........and lots of other people who submit their travel tales on sites such as this one (which doesn't include me by the way coz my bike travels have never gone outside Europe. But then I'm not claiming any titles either!). I'd like their shows much better and I'd respect them much more if they simply got on with the trips and stopped making reference to how they are experts, tough guys, macho men and whatever other ludicrous claims they make. Coz they really aren't any of these in comparison to other everyday bike travellers.

Like I said earlier......it's just my opinion, but I believe it's an opinion based on fact (and not jealousy!).



Chris

Agreed, Mondo Enduro was much much more hardcore , than this , Mondo were incredibly fortunate in all the goodwill they blended from everywhere , I wonder if such goodwill has been worn out though with all the riders passing through over the years.....

Ie Russians on the road (there being only one) thinking oh not another bunch of riders again.... etc

Sorry Chris - I must have missed that in the TV series and books - can you point me to where they say that?

m

Yes Matt

E Mc G made reference to it on two occasions during LWD and I heard him make reference to it on BBC 5 Live during an interview.

Chris

He does refer to the conditions as being pretty hardcore first in Kazakstan and then again in Mongolia... I don't think he says "hey, we're hardcore" just that it is.

And hardcore is all relative, he'd hardly biked on the dirt before. I know the first time I biked on a bit of mud I thought I was hardcore too.

It's getting like the Three Yorkshiremen on Monty Python in here:

"When I rode t' North Cape, Ah did it 'wi nowt but an F650 an a black and white GPS"

"F650! Ah'd a thought a were in 'even on an F650. Ah did it on a C50 wi no tread ont back tyre an only a 2-pound book token for petrol"

"C50! Ah pushed an Harley wi mi ole fam'ly ont back and square wheels......"

:rofl:

We've done this one before. You can't make a TV programme to a schedule with a risk that two front men and six crew will get stuck half way up the Amazon for a month until UPS and some customs clowns decide to deliver a spare widget. Hence you have fixers and spare bikes. I agree this makes it unrealistic and I agree Mondo Enduro was way better. It's like comparing a news reel with Saving Private Ryan though. The general public like stable shots and logical editing (ME is the best of it's kind but it's pure skill that it's watchable, it could have been real home movie stuff). Most BBC/Sky viewers don't notice that the bottom half of a Nazi tank is Russian or that one of the bikes changes for no apparent reason, but they will turn off when it ceases to make sense as to why finding a shiney thing it some drunken Russians hut is so good.

I felt cheated too, but having read more I think EM and CB got cheated out of their trip too.

As various people said at the start of this thread, lets hope they ditch the film crew and try it for real.

Andy

You're right Andy, I didn't and I've got the DVD's, when's it do it, I'll go and look..... but you have to tell or I'll only have to watch all ten hours again.

I feel it is time to refer to this again -
YouTube - EWAN AND THINGY (EPISODE 1 of 9) PREPARATIONS

and the other episodes in the series!

-
-
I also hope for their sake, and to stop all the bickering they 'go it alone'

They must read bits here and there, and must feel fed up that people are talking about them.
It probably didn't turn out the way they wanted it to.
I am sure they would not like that.
This might be the push for them to decide to do it alone.
I hope so,


'vette

...a good thing
 

well...I think that 'they' have done a lot to bring the 'sport' of adventure motorcycling to the fore.

Sometimes (and only sometimes!) my husband and I wish for the kind of support and sponsorship they, C&E, have had - but hey....they are famous and we are not. Its a no-brainer for sponsors!

However, with sponsors and film crews come many many restirctions - the trip is not your own...and that is why most of us start these kind of travels.
I hope they do the Long Way Up...and Across and...In and Out...blah blah...but for themsevles and get to do what they want and how they want. Thats the whole point surely.

The restrictions placed on them due to support vehicles , film crew etc, must be infuriating. We have been flimed a few times and boy! its frustrating at times having to do the same piece of track over and over again so different shots can be taken - to worry and concentrate on the continuity rather than the riding is not something I like doing!

My husband and I have had total and utter freedom (apart from constant cash worries and the restrictions that brings!) during our 6 years on the road.
I hope C&E get to eventually enjoy one of their trips in the same way...remember initially they wanted to do this for the same reasons we all do - for their love of bikes and the desire to learn and see more of the World.

ciao

In the endless compasions with Mondo Enduro and LWR/D/U/I&O I wonder if people miss the fact they have/had different target audiences. E&C made their programmes for mass-market audiences with a pre-decided number of episodes, and that surely makes a difference to the presentation of their trips. They have to have a "crisis" to overcome each episode, a cliff-hanger to draw lazy viewers back the following week, so of course things will be portrayed as "hardcore" and "the toughest thing since I tried to get my marmalade open", without those then lazy channel hoppers will hop and advertisers won't advertise.

Unless we really reckon they trailered their bikes about between shoots then I'm sure they had a great experience, meeting locals, seeing the sights we long to see, falling off, tinkering in the workshop, all that stuff. It might not be your idea of adventure, but it still looked bloody good fun to me.

In another thread a lot of people defined adventure motorcycling as driving outside your comfort zone. I have seen LWR and LWD and I think that’s exactly what they are doing.

I’m not a big fan of C+E but for me this bashing has no meaning, it’s just sad.

Now that is a great definition. Mind if I borrow it? :thumbup1:

Andy

I guess so, but I'm just quoting someone else :rolleyes2:

I don't agree with the point about TV needing proper organisation etc.
The lads from Mondo Enduro/Terra Circa did it all themselves....no fixers, no nothing. They filmed their own sequences and presented it in a way that made it clear that the trip was of primary importance and the filming/marketing was secondary. And in my opinion it made for a more interesting programme. It lets you see how it REALLY is when you undertake a difficult challenge. No airs or graces, they just got on with it.

C+E had every opportunity to do this trip on their own. They weren't exactly stuck for a few quid, were they???? But they sold out to commercialism then had the cheek to gripe about the restrictions it placed upon them. If they were so disappointed about not getting KTM bikes for free to begin with then why didn't they go out and buy 2 of them?? Instead they reacted as if the world had collapsed around them with little chance of recovery.
To me it all comes down to a pompous attitude that says,
"We're famous. We want everything handed to us!"

Chris

It's no use, I'm going to get sucked in, I can feel it happening. I recently lent both LWR/D and Mondo Enduro to my dad to watch. He's not a biker, although he used to be in the 50's, he's not a traveller although he used to be in the 60's. He prefered E&C's efforts, so I asked him why.

His answer was that he felt the show was better produced, the camera work better directed and the quality higher. As he said Mondo Enduro is more like William Woollard's Top Gear, where content is what's important. LWR/D is like Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear, well filmed, well produced TV, where style is as or more important than content. And that's the market E&C were aiming at, the mass TV watching market, not the people who do it and then get on this forum and others like it. We're more likely to be drawn into Mondo Enduro.

Think of LWR/D as a taster, something to whet your appetite, a long weekend in the Lakes. Then once you've got the bug, found this forum you move on to Mondo Enduro, and plan your year-long tour of the planet.

Spot on, totally agree.

The question then is where they go next. The Jeremy Clarkson approach is to do the same wheel spins with a different Ferrari and blow up a bus instead of the caravan. The public will be entertained and will be happy that the programme is what they expected.

The alternative is to do a ME style trip and hope their filming and a good editor can produce what the TV company wants.

A TV producer would pick a repeat peformance, so you would have to fund it yourself if you went the ME route. ME made it to TV, but on one of the documentary channels. Even the likes of National Geographic havn't done anything with Lois Pryce, our mate Grant etc. The only alternative to E+C has been Nick Sanders, another one who I'd call a showman on a bike.

I guess that's where we find out if E+C are bikers on TV or TV stars on bikes.

Andy

Flew back from KL to Melbourne last night on Malaysian Airlines. The May inflight magazine has an interview with EM where he mentions that yes, South and North America are the logical continents for his next ride.

Garry from Oz.

i do laugh at Charlie and Ewans adventures sometimes but they have helped to inspire me and let my wife understand bike touring better. Since Long Way Round i have toured Bulgaria twice and Sri Lanka. Next month a 2 month trip round the Black Sea so thanks Charlie and Ewan and of course the Mondo Enduro / Terra Circa boys. Andy

i really enjoyed the movies R more than D but then i'm also not one to so quickly judge people. in reality they are two guys just like anyone else on the planet sure they are gonna refer to things as tough and hardcore wouldnt you when talking with your friends everyone wants to live in the moment and joke and kid. and i can understand some of the complaining about time and stuff, its like anything else you have this grand plan and dream and it doesnt work out the way you want it to. as much as some would like to say oh dont complain you had free bikes and a support crew..... its still a dream to do and all of us would want to fulfil that dream to the top. i think that many of us who travel in a non-tv way have a much better experience and they seem like good guys so i hope they get to go on a trip with out all the extra baggage. but how many would turn down the opportunity for sponsorship and to have a film to watch when your old and gray and your back is shot so you cant ride anymore i know i would
cheers
josh

Long Way Dross
 

Chris 1200 - couldn't agree more with what you say!

Hotspur

Hallefeckinlujah!!!!!
I knew I wasn't crazy. I knew there would be someone brave enough to agree with my direct and honest opinion, someone who would tell it as it is.

Thanks H

Chris:clap:

Charlie and Ewan
 

C+ E great entertaiment if you dont take them too seriously. We all know who the real Enduro guys are, but I think that Charlie and Ewan have inspired a lot of people to get on their bikes and go that little bit further .
Maybe they have been the catalyst for the next generation of younger motorcyclists to get off the 'race track' and experience a more fullfilling and controlled way of riding a bike. Just another opinion. Love this forum, love my bike [Wee strom], love my wife. Not in that order tho.

Chef

As tools of encouragement C and E may indeed have some value and I think that is a very valid point indeed. I strongly agree with you.
In my opinion (and it isn't necessarily right just because it's mine) I feel that if non-bikers, born-again bikers or part-time bikers (like me) were to look at other people's experiences they would gain a greater insight into the whole concept of riding bikes on seriously long journeys. Sure, we would all love to have the options that C&E had regarding bikes, sponsorship etc. but the reality is that we don't. However I have no doubt that their trips still presented huge challenges.
This a debate that could go on forever and everyone's opinion will have it's own rights and wrongs. Like everyone else I am often wrong in life.

Chris

And living in the US of A too, maybe he got fed up with Charely's talking arse and that's why Boorman's off on his own BAM2-ing.

Now what I'd really like to see is all the bits of E&C's journeys that have ended up on the cutting room floor. That and a long beer-fuelled chat with Claudio, now I reckon he would tell the full story.

Went to a presentation on Wednesday by Russ Malkin, the Director of the LWR, LWD etc. Nice genuine guy & he was asked about the chance of "Long Way Up" & he said that Ewan has now moved to the USA & Charlie had just set off on a another "By any Means" & he didn't think that another "Long Way" would happen in the near future but said "you never know"

Lots of interesting stories from the trips, including that it took Claudio 3 attempts to pass his Bike test & he has set up a new website: Home - Big Earth

Two things I don't really understand.

Firstly, is why this is in Travellers seeking Travellers and not the HU Bar and, secondly, is why some are so vehemently opposed to C&E (at the risk of letting myself be dragged into an old debate)?

So they did a trip and carped on about how hard it was, when others have done something harder.
So they got free bikes and this and that when others have to buy theirs. What is the big deal?

Anyone who goes to buy a bike will try to use all their options to get as good a deal as possble. It just so happens that EM has a degree of clout that makes his options a lot better than other peoples. Good for him if he managed to get a free bike out of it. Anyone else on here would have done the same if possible.

I liked LWR, LWD, ME and TC.
ME and TC are more realistic and closer to my style of travel. Meanwhile, regrettably, LWD looked too much like a programme about a bike trip whilst its prequel, LWR, seemed to me a bike trip that they then decided to film.
If it was not, it was very well done.

I have to say that the negativity shown to C&E, for me, smacks of resentment. I think we motorcycle overlanders quite like being a member of "the fortunate and dedicated few" and a fair number seem to feel that C&Es little ride outs somehow dilute this, opening the doors of our "members only club of motorcycle travellers" to all and sundry. It's as if C&E have somehow diluted peoples acheivements, by association.

At times I am as guilty.
We rode a R1150GS two up around South America, and when people said "oh, what like C&E?", I'd feel compelled to deny this and point out that our plan had been hatched long before LWR even if our finances only allowed for it after LWR.
But this is my problem, not some fault in how C&E decided to pursue their dreams....

Some seem to think that C&E didn't do overlanding "properly".

Similarly, some have pointed a finger at me suggesting that, because I did a trip on a BMW GS, and because I had Ally panniers and a GPS mount, I am somehow not real traveller but a rich wannabee (I wish I were rich!). 'Fraid not, I just saved like crazy for a very long time...

I think its worth remembering there is no rulebook for how to do trips other than respecting the cultures, people and environments you visit....
After that, each to their own...

points of view
 

I think its ba good point abot sponsership and equipment. These are options un-available to the average rider. I can't afford (or at BMW's expense) to get a new (top of the range/popular) 1200 everytime I want to start a new journey. That and all the Garmin/Nokia/Touratech stuff thrown in free.

But im not a movie star. When reading a article by Claudio in Bike he mentioned that he wanted to shoot the picture in a way that showed what heppens between two friends on a long journey. I too would like to see the bits missed out, the show seems to 'cover up' the fact that the two guys had beef with each other. Although LWD makes up for that. The guys tried to have a similar experience that people on here want to have/have had, but becasue of personality profile this couldnt work.

The show is a bit of an advert for BMW/Touratech/Nokia/Belstaff, and boy, did it work!!

As to the E+C saying there "so hardcore", Im sure some of the time it was used sarcastically.

Warthog, it's in Travellers Seeking Travellers cos of the OP, who wondered if perhaps they were on the road at the same time as E&C, and we thus, seeking them.

And, one things just occured to me, something to ask ourselves as we have a snipe at the celebs. If there's no more E&C on TV, will you miss them? Cos one things for sure, no matter whether they got stuff free or not, they got biking on TV.

Maybe there's an opening for someone to jump in though, Poor Way Up, perhaps?

Ahh, so it was a case of mildly wandering off topic....

As for missing them if they did not reappear on TV? Depnds on whether the next installment has the feel of LWR which I liked, or LWD which felt more contrived...

Perhaps my point of view was unclear: I have nothing against what they did or how they did it, except to say that its not how I would choose to do it, but I still enjoy watching it all....

I can't see them doing another trip for a while, Ewan's just done two films he needs to publicise and probably has a couple more in the pipeline...not sure his wife seemed that happy about him swanning off either. I found the first trip entertaining, the image of them sinking in the mud on those 1 ton Beemers was amusing :-) They should interview Claudio, I bet he could write a book!

To the Attention of: "Long Way Up" production crew
 

Wouldn't it be more interesting if "Long Way Up" was filmed from and featured the point of view of the South/Central/North American people that stars Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rideby/meet along the way?

It matters little to me which bikes they ride, unless they decided to switch sponsors and ride bikes manufactured in Brazil.

It matters even less to me that they afford themselves the best gear, hotels, an expensive crew and equipment, and expensive contingency plans.

WHAT DOES MATTER TO ME IS THAT THESE TWO MEN, THEIR SPONSORS AND THEIR CREWS HAVE PROMOTED MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE TOURING TO MILLIONS, and it matters even more that because of their efforts, "hardcore or not" many, many more international motorcycle adventurers will be riding internationally.

I believe communication can resolve all conflict, and that the communication/understanding between international motorcycle adventurers and the peoples of the world contributes to world peace.

Ride on Ewan and Charley and ride free.

xfiltrate

i dont really understand why people complain about the pair.
i had not even got a bike licence before i watched lwr, now i am saving for my trip from alaska to argentina next year with a friend who was equally inspired by the program. yes they moan alot but who cares, personally i think most of us moan when we are doing something difficult, and its the most difficult moments that we look back on with so much satisfaction that we did it.
the guys are not hardcore endurance riders that have been on the road for years they are bloody actors! you dont get much further from your comfort zone than that?!

chris

Just remember, they are filming a TV show. I would say that a lot of it is scripted or at least edited so to give entertaining conflict, man vs. environment, man vs. man, and man vs. himself, and the odd comic relief bit to keep people interested.
'Let's get the jeeps stuck in the mud and get the bikes out first. That'll keep the rider's the cheering and the cagers thinking about geting a bike.'
'Let's grab the wrong passport and piss off customs.'
'Let's tell C&E that there are bandits in the area and let them sweat."
'Hey Ewan, Charley, talk about your wives and kids and cry a little to rile up the macho guys and keep their wives watching...'
'Hey Charley, do a wheelie in front of that elephant to keep the macho street guys watching.'
"Let's make fun of the next guy's name and piss him off (BAM - Farty episode) and make 'some' people laugh at how rude and ignorant we foreigners can be...'

It's just entertainment, and it is entertaining(most of the time).

I do applaud them for trying to get local people into the picture. The unicef stuff is great. Having dinner with a local person is the best most of us can ever hope for seeing real people's lives without actually living there.

RE their bike of choice... they learned their lesson about sponsorship in Race to Dakar, we haven't seen a BMW 4x4 since. Those BMW bikes are up to the task, even if not all of us like them.

I wish I was a cameraman and could go along for the ride and get paid for it...

go to youtube and type in: ewan and thingy
9 different video clips that sum up C&E's death defying challenge

Seen them.... Brilliant ! :funmeteryes:

Imitation is the fondest form of flattery
 

I viewed bits and pieces of the suggested YouTube productions and could not help but laugh. Those who wrote and produced the series of 9 shorts now being presented on YouTube must be Ewan and Charlie's greatest fans.... proving once again that ancient adage "Imitation is the fondest form of flattery."

It brings to mind the shadows the men and women represented here who are more than likely the very people Ewan and Charlie are trying to imitate. They might be doing a better job of imitation than we can now know.

I will reserve further comment on Ewan and Charlie's adventures until the shows are over and I see how it all ends. There might well be a very surprising and endearing ending.

xfiltrate

The best trilogies come in threes...
 

You can bet if they do ever make a "long way up", it will be the same crew, they'll be riding BMWs, and the format will be pretty much the same... it's a successful entertainment franchise (as others have said) and they will not mess with the format.

If you don't think you'll enjoy it, don't watch it - simple.

Goodness only four pages this time, and already this subject is almost as tedious as the "how much should I get paid for an article" thread...

Toot toot!

xxx

I'l give you the €1.17 I've got in my pocket, will that do you?

Hee hee - wrong thread - I think... It can be difficult to tell these days x

That won't get him much synthetic oil for his BMW (Runs and hides) :innocent::blushing::rofl:

Andy

Just wanted to say, I'm not a biker, but I loved Ewan and Charlies shows. I am definately going to get my bike license, once I've got my car license (still on my Learner's). I thought their trip was just fantastic. Sure it wouldn't be the same if you're not a Movie Star, but who cares? They really did not take themselves that seriously either.

I think it maybe seems a lot more "commercial" than it probably actually was. Most of the time it was just 3 guys on bikes, with Claudio filming on a handheld camera. It wasn't like they had a huge film crew and directors following them around everywhere. The cars were mostly just with them at the borders, usually it was just the 3 bikes on their own, and the two cars on their own, on seperate routes.

They had a support crew and fixers and stuff to keep them on time to meet their deadlines. They were making a TV show after all. I am sure they would have done it without the TV show and support crew, and they probably will in the future.

Motorcycle adventuring has been brought into the mainstream by Ewan and Charlie and I think some people are just a bit bitter that they aren't as "cool" or "rebelious" anymore because of it. But there is nothing wrong with being mainstream. If you like it, do it, don't do it just to "be cool". Whatever anyone else says shouldn't actually matter. I'm really enthusiastic about getting into motorbiking now, because of Ewan and Charlie, I don't care if other bikers think that I'm "uncool" because of that.

And the BMW 4x4 on Dakar. The problem was just that the company that was modifying it to get it up to race standards didn't have enough time to complete it. And gave it to them with heaps of things unfinished and unconnected. It wasn't BMW that really had the problem, it was a seperate modifying company called... "Sceptre?" or something like that. They were basically just crap and the guy kept making lots of excuses as to why they were over budget and hadn't met the deadline. BMW comes off really well in all 3 shows I think. Simon was sort of from BMW, he was good, and John the Mechanic that royally saved their butts was from BMW as well I think. And the bikes seemed to do the job well.

The reason they had Nissans (or whatever) on LWD instead of the BMW from the Dakar was probably because of an existing deal with Nissan (or whoever) from LWR where they used the same vehicles. Dakar was a bit of a seperate franchise.

And that's just my little rant.

It was Scorpion racing, and they were probably busy with the amount of professional teams who needed their cars modding.

I believe Simon Pavey runs the BMW off road training centre in South Wales.

Ive read C+E have done plenty of overland trips on their tods. Ewan went from east to west coast USA on some cruiser with a lighter and ash tray installed. Apparently he "smoked all the way". In the same article he goes on to say that "he likes the idead of LWU, but would probably do it on his own due to busy schedule".

Welcome to the HU and thanks
 

KeithL Thanks for your rant...... Here is my rant...
And, thanks tommysmithfromleeds, thanks to your both for confirming what I suspected about Ewan and Charlie's motorcycle adventures. Your brief descriptions of their adventures feels right to me. I believe you got it right.

Mostly I post only on HU and have a well read thread in HUBB's South and Central America and Mexico region, so my comments are limited by the actual number of posts I've read.

Here comes the rant part....

It is my opinion that 2 kinds of motorcyclists post here:

#1 Capable independent thinkers who are surviving the rigors of overland motorcycling, enjoying themselves and are willing to lend a hand to help others survive whenever they can. They are open to new ideas and applaud those who are surviving better than they are.

#2 Somewhat capable independent thinkers who are barely surviving the rigors of overland motorcycling, and are chronically antagonistic even angry and become enraged whenever they believe someone might be doing better than they are. They are threatened by anything new and different from the way they do things...... They attack anyone, who, in their opinion is better off than they are. They are very threatened by the success of others.

Fortunately, as I have discovered is also true in the real world, the vast majority of people posting here, are best characterized by #1. Only a very, very few could be characterized by #2.

I attribute the unreasonable attacks with the extremely negative comments about Ewan and Charlie's "Long Way Round" and "Long way Down," to the very few described by #2.

KeithL I hope you do get your bike license and a bike and when you ride it to Buenos Aires, I hope we can meet. WELCOME!

xfiltrate,

xfiltrate; nail on head!

your thoughts on two groups (1+2 thinkers) is spot on. :thumbup1:

nuff said, lets move on lol!

Charley Boorman in Northern Australia
 

Hi Guys,
For those of you that enjoy Charley and Ewan's programs I thought I would post this up just in case any of you are based around Cairns, Australia.

We have just making a second series of By Any Means in which Charley is traveling from Australia to Japan. The journey kicked off on Monday in Sydney and he is currently working his way up the coast.

Last year Charley met some bikers near Mossman, Queensland and went off for an amazing days riding around the Daintree, he was planning to ride with them again in this series but sadly it is not happening.

We would like to get in contact with any bikers that live in the area and know the area well.
Ideally he is looking at riding from Cairns to Cooktown via Mossman, hopefully along dirt tracks through the Daintree forest. We hope to do this at the end of the month.

If you think you could help out or would like to get involved. Please get in touch. you can email me at ollie 'AT' longwaydown 'DOT' com

thank you
O

See
 

We always wondered if someone checked out the HUBB from LWR/D and now we find out Ollie's in their office. In fact weren't you in the episode of LWR where everyone's madly packing the two Mitsus?

Possible mate for Boorman's North Australia ride
 

Mr. O, I suggest (kiwiryder), JEFF CONDON who was featured in National Geographic's production called "The Ride." (Alaska-Patagonia, Argentina) "Van Man," Jeff owns a home in Australia and has already filmed a pilot for his own adventure series in Northern Australia. He knows Australia like Chris Scott knows the Sahara and he also knows Chris Scott.

Right now, Jeff is a guide for Globe Busters and is doing reconnaissance (preliminary surveying and research) in Tibet, or near Tibet with Kev of BMW and Globe Busters, for a future tour. He may be available?

Jeff is an exceptional world class adventure motorcyclist, machinist/welder/mechanic. He is very capable .... very smart, sensitive, easy going and humorous.

You can private message him via HU or Globe Busters. Good Luck and

Ride On, Ride Free xfiltrate

Very nice posts xfiltrate!

Thank you xfiltrate ! i will look into this.
Cheers

So I guess the Long Way Up is out of the question and not going to happen any time soon?

Long Way round was very intertaining to watch. I watched it just after I've been through Africa and the Middle East myself, so could relate to many of the situations they faced in the series, and also know when things got a bit rediculos for the low budget traveller like myself.
By the time Long Way down came out I was more experienced in traveling and has been on the same roads they were on, and did not find it as interesting as the first one. The fact that they bust the rear shocks was also an indication of their lack of care for the bikes they did not even paid for. I did that road very carefully two-up and had no problems.

Anyway, they are in the intertaining bussiness and for them it is a job, rather than an adventure.

That's the way I see it.

jc

I don't think there is anyone who is jealous/envious of these guys for having the great experience that they had. I wish I had the commitment/money to do it myself but I don't have either in abundance in respect of biking around the world therefore I'm quite happy with the European trips I'm fortunate to have the chance to do.

What irks me about them is the fact they grumbled too much about the shackles of filming etc. Yes, they're in the entertainment business and yes, they did entertain many people....... and will do so again if they have another trip, but if anyone should know about the pending restrictions of filming then it is them. They've been in the business long enough!

In LWR they spoke of their first meeting, their passion for bikes, their desire for bike journeys and their commitment to each other that they would do something together. Yet for 2 guys who wanted to chill out and ride bikes they still sold out to the fast buck when the chance came along. And that's what irks me!

Chris

Left Bank Gang or Big Balled Ferry Pilots?
 

Chris, please see my last post here: the Future of Adventure Motorcycling? ( 1 2) at the HU Bar. thanks
xfiltrate

xfiltrate

I had a look at that. And it looks like a very fine article indeed. I do not dispute that in any way. However it still doesn't change my view of Ewan and Thingy.

If I was in their position regarding time/money/conviction, and wanted to do something like their trip, I'd have taken time off work and went on the trip for my own personal gratification. They try to trade on the exposure for biking. I think they did it as much for self-exposure as anything else. If they hadn't moaned so much I'd have thought it was great exposure for bike touring. But they did....and as a result I don't.

There are people who will agree with my views and there are others who won't. Everyone has their own different reasons and who is to say who is right or wrong? This is clearly a case of "you like it or you don't"......and I don't. I'm quite sure you'll agree with me that this is the whole idea of discussion forums.

Chris

Whatever you say about Charley and Ewan ,you cannot deny that they are bike enthusiasts .
They managed to include their love of bikes in a business venture and how many of us would love to do that as well .
I've got a grudging respect for those guys because they are genuine blokes with all their faults and virtues on display ,for the world to see .:blushing::blushing:

So I say Ewan and Charley ," Carry on Biking " , [ oh boy ,that's a horrible thought - another Carry On film ! ] .:oops2:

Opinion appriciated
 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I for one don't agree with most of what you have said but that aside you cannot disagree with the fact that C+E, through their LW trips have inspires many folk to get on their bikes and travel. Not to mention what they have done for bike sales. And that is my opinion. :thumbup1:

Domac 2000

You're as entitled to your opinion as anyone is to theirs. If you think it's correct then for you it is correct. It's the same for me too though, I think what I think. I don't doubt that they have entertained many people and there were many elements of what they did that appealed to many. Perhaps if I hadn't seen Mondo Enduro or Terra Circa I'd be of the same opinion.

Chris

Here's a thing:

I would be interested to hear where/how far all these people who slag off Ewan & Charley and/or the LWR series have actually travelled themselves?

Strikes me that if you'd ever travelled any distance yourselves, you should have a far more magnanimous view of others and of life in general?

Just a thought.

xxx

Ha ha JMo

I certainly don't claim to have done what they have done, in fact I made the point abundantly clear earlier that I'm happy with what I do, but that's got nothing to do with it sir. My points are nothing to do with their journeys, more the manner in which they did them.The opinion I give is my opinion when I compare them to other similar shows I have seen. In that respect they are very 2nd Division. In my opinion.

You clearly like Ewan and Thingy, good for you....but perhaps it's time to be less sensitive!

Chris

I have seen both Mondo Enduro or Terra Circa and agree that they are more realistic and appear more "hardcore" but all I'll say is C+E have inspired a lot of folk to get riding

Ah, I actually agree (or at least empathise) with a lot of your criticisms of the show/s - although I would take issue regarding LWR, the first series was a well put together and balanced piece of entertainment I thought?

It was more a general comment aimed at the quite high proportion of people on the HUBB that seem to join in the E&C bashing? - I'd have thought most people involved with the HUBB and traveling would be less judgemental, that's all?

xxx

ENOUGH!! ENOUGH!! DAMN, THIS IS GIVING ME A HEADACHE!! :blushing:

I don't doubt that they entertained people. But if they were Bill and Bob from Manchester they'd have been slated by everyone for doing it wrapped in cotton wool. That's my point. I suspect lots of people watched it because Ewan was in it (not so sure about the other guy though).


Honestly.....please trust me, it definitely isn't anything to get too excited about! :nono:

Chris

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.......and breath!!!:scooter:

I think this is going a little round in circles now, somewhat less than productive and certainly further away from the initial post than C&E ever rode on a motorbike, free or otherwise.

Chris: You seem caught in a cross-fire and that can't be very pleasant.
I will say that the tone of your initial post on this did not send me the same message and it did come aross as C&E bashing.
If that was just miscommunication, as your later posts suggest then I feel people should take you at you word. Particularly, as you pointed out, this is a question of personal opinion.

Contrary to your first post, your later posts on the subject seem more reasonable: I agree that they did bitch about their trip in LWD.

I would moot that LWR was far more natural and candid, and any complaints about the trip would have been down to inexperience of how long these things take, hence their own fault if LWD was a stress... my take on the programme.

So I suggest that we let this topic take a well needed nap...

you can please some of the people some of the time,but you can't please all of the people .....or something like that.

you may love it...you may hate it...But if it make's Jo Public more aware of us lot on two wheel's ,,,, then that can't be a bad thing can it ?

and if you had to watch eastenders and corrie...or the LWR..LWD ,then I know which one I would watch
:mchappy:

staf safe

Dazzer

Money Raised for CHAS
 

On the LWD, both Ewan and Charley raised money for CHAS, I recently had a weekend with Ewan's Father in Applecross raising more money for this great cause. There were over 100 bikes in Applecross on the Sunday, these bikers did not need to do this, just as I and his Father and Colin who organised the run. If people with fame can help others, then lets praise them, I think E&C are great, they have done a lot of positive things for the biking world and raised money. Three cheers for them.

Tourman:funmeteryes:

To the point!
 

Good post Chris My views exactly mate!
Cheers
Dingo down under

Warthog, thank you for reading my opinion the way it was intended.
Dingo, it's nice to see I'm not the only crazy person here!!

Yes Warthog, I agree, this post has somehow gone a bit mad. I simply gave an opinion and there were those who not only disagreed with me but appeared to be almost personally insulted at the same time. Strange, I know....... but then it takes all kinds of crazies to make a world, doesn't it?? lol

Opinions are wonderful, someone might like mine and someone else mightn't. And vice versa!

Chris

PS.....I still haven't changed my mind though!! lol :clap:

Anyone that is interested in following Charley and Claudio's progress should check out the links on here.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eans-2-a-43096

If you are not .............then don't ! :D

I'm quite sure it's interesting and useful.

Chris

Chris you're 50% right.

Ha ha alex

50% right will do for me. I'll let others make up their own minds about the interesting and useful options and which one is accurate. Perhaps to some people I am also 0% right and to others I'll be 100% right!!:thumbup1:

Chris

By Any Means 2
 

Charley and about 1500 other motorbike went by our place on the Northern Beaches,Sydney, NSW Australia about 3 weeks ago to start his new film By Any Mean 2...to bad I didn't have a bike at the time...cheers.

Its called Irony try and grow a sense of humor.

Yes phtest.......I reckon you should indeed do thaT.

have watched the series a good few times and dont remember much of this happening, in fact the opposite and ewan admits over and over how inexperienced he is and that if was nto for all people that they met that helped them they may not have done trip.

but hey as few lads have said already e+c have brought bikes back into the good books in the media and have draw some good lads and lassies into biking and they are very welcome.

also go email fron Russ the producer says that he may be doing his own trip and with charlie on BAM 2 there stilllot happening and look forward to watching them

Although, I'll agree that C+E are hardly hardcore! I have to give them credit for getting me off my back side and finally given it a go.
Sure, as soon as I started reaserching, I found out and read about (particularly in this site) about plenty of people out there that were really hardcore.
But hey, good on them! Not only can they afford to do it and enjoy it, but they're making money off it. And more importantly, they're giving motorcycle adventure huge exposure.

Cheers

Flippin' eck.. is this thread still going? This subject has been round the world more times than Charley Boorman...

(or Austin Vince x)

xxx

I'm one of those who watched "Long Way Round" and enjoyed it immensely.

It motivated me to walk the Uk's "Coast to Coast" in 12 days and that was a good adventure. I may only tour Scotland and soon Europe, on the bike, but I am content.

Ewan & Charlie may not be hardcore, but they are entertaining and are in the business of making programmes for us to watch. This necessitates the backup team and succeeds in its aims very well.

Nick Sanders made a DVD around his RTW speed record that was very interesting, but will never make the TV as it is bellow standard to broadcast and is not entertaining enough. That's because he has no crew to ensure the final product has quality and entertainment value. I think Nick is amazing but I use him to illustrate the point.

People set their own adventure. in their own comfort zones. Big, small, safe, dangerous, solo, group, it is still an adventure and a challenge for them. For me walking 190miles or biking 1,500miles was a challenge, and things seem to be getting bigger each year (next year 3,500miles Europe).

Comparing anyone famous or not, to the most hardcore solo RTWist on a limited budget is elitist and people should be respected for what they wish to do.

Whatever they do next i'll be watching and will buy the DVDs. They have introduced a generation to motorbikes in a very positive way and I salute them both.

Maxander

BRAVO! Well said.

That's the whole point .. we're all different. The trip that qualifies as a lifetime's adventure to me .. could be perceived as childishly simple/easy by another.




.

Bravo +2, anything that encourages people to have a try is good.

What I'm less comfortable with is how people react to the details. From Maxander's other posts I detect (tell me if I'm wrong) that he's viewing this as a starting point and comes here to pick up other aspects. At the other end of the scale some clown will eventually get into big trouble when he's found a thousand miles from home with a part welded BM GS, half the Touratech catalogue and a signed photograph of EM/CB. This isn't the LWD/R boy's fault, it's how the media presents everything and how some people seem to soak it all in as fact. If the only result is Metal Mules costing £2000 a set because they are a must have for stockbrokers, so be it but I worry the effect will be worse.

I could criticise Chris Scott's book for now being used as a shopping list (not his fault, the lists are a useful starting point). Ted Simon was always more of a journalist on a bike not a biker (something he's said himself). Nick Sanders is ****ing dangerous and it's pure luck he isn't now a stain on some roadtrain or bit of armco, but lots of people ride like that and he's just a more famous example. They all got info out there and gave people ideas. The biggest issue with LWD/R is the shear size of it's profile because Ewan McGregor is an actor, it swamps the other sources and hence worries me.

I'll stick by the idea that if they'd made a Holywood feature film of Mondo Enduro the results would have been similar to LWD/R.

Andy

Agreed, but that's the commercial factor. They made LWR initially because they had a famous name to launch the project at the highest level, and without Ewan you could argue that it would never have been made at all.

You see the contrast between LWD/R RTD where there is obvious big sponsorship and career directors / producers on mainstream TV channels, and the amateur DVDs that would be lucky to make Men & Motors, Discovery Whatnot, or direct to DVD. It doesn't mean the amateur stuff isn't good, it's just more for the enthusiast fringe audience.

LWD was great entertainment and could not have been made any other way and still fit the mainstream market it was sold into.

Maxander

Yeppers, there's a world of difference in the promo world with the right personalities fronting / backing a film project. Take aussie Rossco's good work for instance. Rossco has put together a bloody brilliant promo of his adventure ride called "This Way Up". The download for which is here: http://www.radium.tv/thiswayup/This%...Up%20Promo.wmv

You can get the full story from this ADVrider thread, which you'll find self-explanatory. I piped-in on the thread with my tuppence-worth at post #55. [BTW, I am not a regular visitor or prolific poster on ADVrider, but I do hang-out there from time-to-time under the screen name 'Keef'.]

Ross &Co deserve a BIG break with this project, that's for sure. I'm certain he would appreciate your support .. and any constructive help /ideas /comments would no doubt go down well too.

I thought Rossco's project would be worth mentioning under this particular HUBB thread, as it's highly relevant IMHO.

Thanks

KEITH

PS - Incidentally, I have no commercial interest in "This Way Up" whatsoever.




.

Flogging a dead GS...err..horse...actually no!
 

Just read on wikipedia that McGregor has confirmed Long Way To Go for June 2010, possibly South America.

Im actually excited. By Any Means 2 is quite enjoyable at the moment.

I thought so too, maybe it's because it's a part of the world that's not overly exposed, or maybe it because there's more bikes in it.

I'm kinda getting to like Charlie a bit more now. :helpsmilie: