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Why I dont like the long way round...
For a good number of years i've always wanted to go travelling, some crazy expedition to a place where they eat crazy food, have crazy religions, drive on the crazy side of the road, talk crazy languages, worship the sun and still think that dial up internet is something which comes from out of space.
Anyway, i'm finally planning my first trip and am planning on going to India overland. I haven't seen the Long way round yet, but have caught bits of it. To be honest I dont have any bad feelings towards the project that they did and in all honesty if I was that famous with that much money i'd probably do something similar. What actually annoys me is the fact that every time you mention that your going travelling on a motorbike people almost instantly say, "oh cool, like on the long way round?". Well, i've not even seen it yet so I wouldn't know, but honestly I can't imagine it been anything like that. I'm going on my own for a start. No film crew, no buddy on bike, no sat phone, no doctor, no helicopter back up, no gps, no SAS training, no £7000 bike, no intensive planning and meetings with sponsors, no studio garage back home, hell i'm not even a jedi. Also if someone introduces themselves as Hutch, please dont say "SO where's Starsky?" Peace out all..... |
To be honest I wouldn't mind watching the series and its great what they did. I just think that its hard to compare their trip with the average joe's. Am I just been apathetic cause I dont watch enough TV and I'm running it on a shoe string budget? Yeah, probably. Anyway, you should probably ignore everything i say from now on...... :)
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RTW trips, whether via moto or 4 wheels, have had relatively little media exposure, even though adventurous people have been doing this for many years.
If the opposite were true, great past media exposure, Long Way Round would never have been produced. Perception...is perceived knowledge....and thus fact. :) |
Good News/Bad News ??
I am in the process of doing my Prudhoe Bay (this past June 8th) to TDF (Christmas/New Year's ????) trip and have noticed the same thing. A LOT of people to which I mention my trip bring up the Long Way Round thing. The folks that have done some adventure motorcycling know about their support and such and what they did. The non travelers at least seem to appreciate the difficulties of the trip. I guess that would make the Bad News -- They brought attention to adventure motorcycling, perhaps causing many more to attempt it (could get crowded out there). The Good News -- at least on TV they down-played all the support they had and played UP the difficult parts (bad roads, difficult borders, bike trouble, etc). Most everyone (non moto travelers) still understand that it may not be something to take on just because you can ride a motorcycle.
Rick |
Hutch. Check out the Mondo Enduro vid. They were (are) regular guys and they showed how it could be done on a low budget. Very entertaining and in a different class to LWR. Book also recently out in all good bookstores.....
enjoy simon |
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Why are they crazy? |
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I think its cool that you are planning a RTW... and a bit jealous. Whatever opinion "bikers" hold of Chas & Ewens LWR trip, with all the backup etc., they still did it and the vast majority have not. If you have not seen LWR, do so. Most people that I know have a grin on their faces while watching it. John |
I enjoyed the LWR, my little brother is now riding motorbikes around london and planning other trips after watching the shows, I got extra ideas from it, and have a great resource to show family, friends.. new partner a little of why i have been planing a bike ride for 2 years... with 2 more years or saving, trialing and stuff to buy...:thumbup1:
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Hutch:
I'd suggest you get yourself a copy of the DVD and take a look. They do come across as spoilt rich blokes to start with, but as the trip develops they do travel across some pretty amazing parts of the world. The episodes covereing Mongolia and Russia are superb and the stars prove themselves to be genuine biking and adventure enthusiasts. You'll also see the mistakes they made and maybe even pick up a few things to apply to your own trip. I'm currently reading the Mondo Enduro book which is proving to be very entertaining, and worth a look if you see it around. |
Too much money?
Sure, they had huge resources at their disposal compared to the rest of us, using the excuse that they didn't have much time, but even so, they had some pretty tough times to deal with. I had a pre-concieved idea that they were a bunch of jessies, but I read the book and watched the DVD, and came away with a grudging respect (mostly 'cause I'll NEVER have that sort of money!!). I think one of the most telling things they said, after wrestling there 280kg+ GS BMWs out of a muddly hole for the tenth time for the day, was to the cameraman who had to ride a Russian two-smoke after his bike died. They said "How come you haven't fallen off at all?"
Sometimes lots of money can be a problem. Regards Nigel in NZ |
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To me the things that stuck out in my mind was this.
despite the trained mechanics and backup vehicles, they had to abandon one of the bmws for brake failure, until a tech rep from germany was flown out to fix the ABS. so what chance have we mortals if we were to ride such a machine? secondly, once they hit the real dirt roads (as opposed to stone roads unsealed) the bikes were just too heavy. I appreciate that they were necessarily carrying lots of gear plus themselves, but the lightweight two stroke ran rings around the top heavy Beemers. |
My girlfriend found this a few weeks ago and we played it over a 3 day time period.
The 1st 3rd blew wads...fact. The middle 3rd was good. I apprecited the direction, filming, etc...and the content. Some really great sht there... The last 3rd, after they arrived AK, blew double wads and kinda screwed the whole thing....loosing the theme. The bike cam guy(Sergio..?) worked his ass off! It realy is very difficult doing something such as this unless you're spending mucho $ for support. Why would you need a chest full of Snap-On tools? :) The river crossings were very cool. The Diary Cams did help complete the project. Again, the following cam guy worked his ass off.... |
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