Talkback: Boorman and McGregor planning another Long Way Down?

Long Way Up ? Blast Boorman into space....

Wrong way down - where they set off from London heading to Cape Town but end up in Tibet having taken the wrong turning off the M25? Oh how we laughed (not)....Seriously wouldn't they be better off finding someone new & interesting to do something new & interesting?

long way away?

Boorman must need a cash top up as he is known for nothing else, how about a trip through Afghanistan and Iraq.

Why the hate? The more motorcycle related shows the better and LWR and LWD were quite interesting for most of us. By Any Means not so much but there is worse crap on TV. I say bring it on!

Northern tip of Canada to the southern most tip of South America.

I agree with Jens in the whole why the hate for Boorman, yeah he may have a slightly grating personality for some, but I'd rather see bikes on tv, than none. Plus Paul S's suggestion above is probably the best, but i'd do it the other way round and go South to North calling it the Long Way Up. Simples

He gets on my nerves too. Fail to see why we need yet another one of these things. Essentially it's him and Macgregor on some pointless wet dream they thought up.

There's better ways to put bikes on telly.....

How about the WSBK test from PI for example...

I can't believe how short sighted and up your own arse some people are, the whole bike industry is on its knees and things like this give it a boast, I can't stand them and won't watch, but then I don't need to as I am a biker, if this gets some people onto bikes then it can only be a good thing for the lot of us.

You beat me to it Thoppa .........................

I think (dangerous I know) that it will inevitably be Long Way Up - the Americas and the Pan-Americana thing. Anyway - the whole 'hate Ewan and Charlie' is understandable in some ways. I say this as I spent two years trying to attract sponsorship (www.worldtour.org.uk) and then gave up. In the early days I was really annoyed at not being able to attract anything DESPITE the uniqueness of my own journey; and it was unique. Then I realised I was simply jealous of them in some ways. Nothing wrong with that I suppose. But I also realised it served no purpose for me personally. So I shouted 'good on ya' from that point onwards to anybody who was lucky enough to live their dream and have gear given to them for whatever reason. I also came to understand - watching their series - that nothing is truly for free - the commercial pressures of time and work ruined their experience of Long Way Down. I operated under no such pressures and could go where I wanted, when I wanted, and for as long as my money held out. Just a thought! Best wishes to everybody out there and no disrespect intended to any other person's views!

I'd like to see them do a trip totally unsupported, except for a maybe a cameraman on another bike. Plenty of people do these trips unsupported, even on bicycles. I think the slight reduction in film quality would be more than made up with, by the increase in a sense of adventure. Something a bit like their first trip or Mondo Enduro would be more entertaining. I've not prefence in the route - there are pretty much no untravelled routes these days, although down the west coast of Africa, central asia or crossing the Darien gap would be interesting.

America, north to south... has to be

As long as McGregor's wife doesn't gate crash it it should be good!

Anywhere but lets see if they can do it without the support vehicles and the annoying producer(s) and definitely without the winging wife in tow!

How about "The Long Way Up"? Cape Horn to Barrow Alaska?

It will be - if they do it - Long Way up. They've been talking about it for ages. The only thing that stopped them was Ewan's work commitments which kept stalling it - so people say.

Howabout thinking about your own mini adventure rather than living your life through others?
Just get on your bike and ride. You don't need to cross continents or have corporate sponsorship to enjoy your bike and the road. From a long weekend to an epic ride...whatever fits.

best wishes
Paul

Interesting responses so far... all of them... and I'll throw in my 2 cents.. or pence here...

I can pick apart the flaws and rag on the negatives very easily... But I take the position that a number of others here have... and that it shows motorcycling in a positive light... and that is a good thing...

Plus, I think that Ewan, Charlie and Claudio have a pretty good screen presence and chemistry that is entertaining...

I watch the "Long Ways" more in the vein as a motorcycle based adventure travelog rather than a "us in the cuds blazing new trails" film... and yes, I have both series and I've watched them more than once, as I see something new each time I watch them.

For me, they have shown me places that I have (obviously) never been and in some cases, never seen any film/TV on before. And they have opened my eyes in any number of ways to the various geographies and cultures out there...

Watching the cultural and economic transitions as they head east from the UK and W. Europe on into eastern Europe, to Mongolia and then on to Siberia was and still is, really cool on the "Round" trip... And who knew that Ethiopia was such a beautiful and mountainous country... Heck, my previous impressions were based on and around the famine of years back...

As another endorsement... my ex wife, who is anti motorcycle and hates it when I take our daughters on rides... enjoys watching it... and has begun to understand, somewhat, what the appeal of motorcycle travel is... And that effect on her and anyone else like her in the general public, especially here in the States, where "biker" is a dirty word, is invaluable...

Plus, watching the movies just makes me want to get out and ride... go travel... dream of an extended trip somewhere... and that IS a good thing...

It's easy to knock Ewan and (especially) Charlie... but I'd rather applaud them... Good on them for doing the trips and letting me see some really great places and experiences..

B. Smith 2, sorry that you haven't been able to get your trip funded yet... great attitude and insight about it mate...

What about "Real Way Down/Up/Across" where they do the same journeys as before but with a massively reduced number of support crew? Perhaps do the Americas, but with just the two of them and a camera bike?

Or maybe they could do it against a limited budget, trying to do a similar journey with barely enough for fuel etc?

I dunno, something that would make it more worth watching for bikers?

I don't understand the hate thing myself. My biggest criticism is that their inability to avoid foul language makes it a massive no no for watching with my kid, which is a shame because he loves bike programs like the Dakar, BSB, WSB, Moto GP etc.

I liked their programmes & Long Way Round spurred me on to get my licence....

I'd like to see them do the "Motorcycle Diaries" route, I think cirumnavigating South America would be far more interesting than the good ol US of A...

Oh, and if they can keep Russ etc. off camera the programme will improve immensely IMO