is a television series, DVD and book documenting the 19,000 mile journey of
Ewan McGregor and
Charley Boorman from
London to
New York on
Motorcycle s. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew over to Alaska and went by road from there to New York.
From mid-
April to the end of
July 2004 , McGregor, Boorman, their motorcycle riding
Cameraman Claudio Von Planta and their support crew travelled from London to New York, via central
Europe ,
Ukraine ,
Russia ,
Kazakhstan ,
Mongolia ,
Siberia and
Canada , for a cumulative distance of 18,887 miles (30,395 km). The only sections of the trip not undertaken by motorcycle were 580 miles by
Train in Siberia, a 2505 mile flight from
Magadan , Siberia to
Anchorage, Alaska and an impossible section towards the end of their Russian journey. Upon encountering numerous swollen rivers and a serious lack of functioning bridges while travelling along the
Road Of Bones to
Magadan , the riders got their motorbikes through some fairly deep rivers. However, the summer run-off from the Siberian winter was in full flow and after a valiant effort, the bikes eventually had to be loaded into the trucks of passing drivers and ferried across some of the worst rivers.
The journey visited twelve countries, starting in the
UK , then passing through
France ,
Belgium ,
Germany ,
Czech Republic ,
Slovakia ,
Ukraine ,
Russia ,
Kazakhstan ,
Mongolia ,
USA and
Canada , before returning to USA and ending in
New York . In early episodes of the series the narration incorrectly claims they will visit 13 countries, possibly because they enter Russia more than once or counted Alaska or Siberia as a separate country.
In addition to McGregor, Boorman and von Planta, the LWR team also had a support crew which comprised producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, cameraman Jim Simak, Russian "fixer" Sergey and doctor Vassily. The support crew travelled in two
Mitsubishi off-road vehicles - a red L200 Animal LWB 4WD Pick Up and a black Shogun Warrior DI-D Auto Estate - and followed some way behind the bikers, meeting up at border crossings and when circumstances dictated a greater degree of teamwork was necessary, such as at the aforementioned river crossings.
Prior to leaving London the boys also received specialist traning in
First Aid , dealing with hostile and dangerous environments (e.g. illegal checkpoints and gun-toting locals), off-road riding, Russian language and motorbike maintenance. They also took practical advice from experts about the various countries they were to visit. During the First Aid training McGregor decided they would have to take a doctor with them on the trip.
McGregor advocated riding
BMW Motorcycles , while Boorman preferred
KTM , a specialist Austrian moto-cross and off-road bike manufacturer. After off-road tests on both machines and protracted arguments, McGregor acquiesced to Boorman's passion for the KTM. However, after one of their specialist terrain riders met with the LWR team and learned more about their intentions, KTM refused to provide them with their bikes, as the trip seemed too dangerous, or possibly just unlikely to generate the right PR for KTM. BMW then contributed three R1150GS Adventure all-terrain motorcycles. Charley Boorman took the news particularly badly as he had long been desperate to ride a KTM on such a journey. However, he changed his tune during the journey after seeing what the BMW's could deal with.
As well as being built to last, the bikes also featured a range of mod-cons to help the team achieve and document their mission. A customized GPS system with specially mapped points in Mongolia and Siberia was crucial in areas with no roads or signposting, while the bikes were also equipped with cameras, microphones and integrated mobile phone systems with display / viewfinder screens mounted on the dashboards.
The on-board cameras used by Ewan and Charley were designed specifically for the Long Way Round expedition by Sonic Communications. Each rider controlled two cameras, the first of which was built into their helmets and provided panoramic views from the front of the bike. The second camera was removable which allowed Ewan and Charley to hold the cameras or attach them to the front or rear of the bike depending on where they wanted to film. This was especially useful as they could be removed to prevent theft or damage while the bikes were unattended. Ewan and Charley could view what they were filming on a small monitor attached to the handlebars. Claudio carried more sophisticated camera equipment and often went on ahead or stayed behind the others in order to get the desired shots.
During the journey the team took time out to see some of
UNICEF 's work in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The projects included an orphanage housing children affected by the
Chernobyl disaster and an outreach project working with street children who live in the heating systems of apartment blocks.
The trip was inevitably not without accidents and incidents. McGregor's face became swollen around what was suspected to be a
Black Widow Spider bite, and he had petrol sprayed into his (recently laser-corrected) eyes at filling stations on two occasions, one of which required a trip to an optometrist in Ukraine. Russ Malkin and Vassili rolled their off-roader in Mongolia and were lucky to escape with minor injuries. Boorman badly strained the muscles in his left shoulder in Siberia and was unable to ride for several days (fortunately this occurred while they were unable to cross the rivers and were largely riding on local trucks and with their support crew). McGregor was rear-ended by a young driver outside
Calgary and was lucky that his
Pannier s took the brunt of what could have been a very serious incident had the rear wheel taken the full force of the impact. The following day Boorman was bumped while stationary by a Calgarian who reversed into him at slow speed, fortunately without causing injury or major damage.
The bikes also took their fair share of punishment. Cameraman Claudio's bike had a broken frame after a bad fall in Mongolia and only a bodge-job (quick, improvised repair) by Charley using tyre levers and cable-ties enabled them to get the bike to the next town where the frame could be welded. However, after the frame was
Arc Welded , the
Anti-lock Braking System no longer worked and the entire bike had to be shipped to
Ulaanbaatar . A replacement was found locally, a new Russian-made red
IZh Planeta 5, purchased for US$1000. This bike later broke down, but due to a lack of knowledge help had to be obtained from passers-by. The frame of McGregor's bike broke in two places in Siberia leaving them no option but to flag down a passing truck which took them back to
Tynda for more welding. Boorman suffered the only serious puncture of the trip and all the bikes suffered various other bumps, scrapes and cracks. However, some of the impacts the bikes survived would have been enough to destroy lesser bikes and the series became a great testament to the strength and durability of the BMWs.
The music in Long Way Round was picked by Ewan & Charley and features tracks from
Orbital ,
Massive Attack ,
Radiohead ,
Stereophonics , and others. Ewan discussed ideas for the title song with
Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics by text message during the trip and was delighted with the end result. There are two versions of the series on DVD, the first one contains seven episodes while a second special-edition contains ten episodes. The music is slightly different across the two versions.
McGregor and Boorman are planning a sequel of sorts, riding from
John O' Groats in northern Scotland to
Cape Town , South Africa in 2007. Once again visiting and raising awareness for UNICEF projects will be an important part of the journey.
