I'm on a long work trip abroad and have too much time on my hands which is when I get involved with threads like this. They're great! Fantastic.

Managed to get through a whole load of books on this trip including Long Way Down and Ted Simon's Dreaming of Jupiter. Both are well worth the read if you like bikes and travel - I like the way Ted tells his stories - his slideshows are always good value at the HU meeting.

My feeling about Ewan and Charley is that they don't deserve the grief they seem to attract here and almost every other biking forum. There are elements that may not appeal to everyone but as far as I see it they have put together a bike travel programme that is on the TV and without them we would have nothing. My hat comes off to everyone who has done this whether it is Austin and the guys in Mondo Enduro and Terra Circa or Kevin and Julia Sanders on their Globebusters trip. All very different trips.

The point is that these guys have done the mileage on their bikes from A to B. The whole support crew issue is irrelevant - they are only in place for logistical reasons and cannot make the riding any easier or less enjoyable. If Ewan and Charlie were hopping into the support truck whenever there was too much mud or the road got a bit tough then that would be one thing. They never did, they rode the distance and fair play to anyone who has done that. (Anyone remember Ffyona Campbell?)

Sure when things go wrong - be it mechanically, an accident or on the paperwork front - then this is where the support crew becomes useful. In reality though it only speeds up any delay that any solo rider would face waiting for a spare part to be shipped over or tracking down a local mechanic or spending a few days waiting on an embassy. However that is not what the trip is about. It's about the riding and each to their own on that.

I have never done a RTW like they have. I would very much like to. My first bike trip (first time on a bike infact) was on an Enfield Bullet coming back from India to the UK. It was a very different trip but I can't ever think to slag them off because they did a trip very differently to mine. I've never done a London-Cape Town let alone a John O'Groats-Cape Town trip but I certainly would like to. It'll be different for sure and better for me - simply because it's my decision how it will be organised. I'll stop here before it becomes a rant - I've made my point.

Basically they have hit upon a good formula. They can do something they like doing for a few months which is good publicity for them and a whole number of charities. Makes a stack of cash and have a pretty good adventure.

I stand up and salute all fellow bike travellers past, present and future. Hope we get to see more films as a result on the TV. Sure as heck beats most of the crap we are supplied with.

Matt