If there ever was a cultural touchstone that got more folks into adventure riding, it was Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's original Long Way 'Round documentary. It was, and still is, one of the most fun motorcycling pieces of art to ever be put to film, as the two friends took two BMW GS on a grand adventure circumnavigating the globe.
I still watch it every so often, and I can still recall the budding sense of "I want to do that one day" that it gave me when it launched nearly two decades ago.
And in the interim years, the two friends have rejoined for a handful of other adventures. They've done the Long Way Down which saw them leave Scotland for South Africa, and the Long Way Up, where the pair used a couple of prototype and heavily modified Harley-Davidson LiveWires—and a prototype Rivian—to travel from the southern tip of Argentina to the United States.
Now they're back again for another adventure, though it's considerably less of a trek than any of their previous treks. But there's a twist: they're doing a cross-European tour on vintage bikes. Here's the trailer.
The new series will involve 10 episodes and will premiere May 9th, just in time for most folks to get hyped about their own summer riding adventures. Boorman and McGregor are producing the show, too, and will see them take a pair of vintage bikes on a 17-country tour through Europe to explore their own backyards after decades of exploring the rest of the world.
According to Apple TV's release, which has become the documentary series' home, "Long Way Home follows Ewan and Charley as they ride refurbished vintage motorbikes from Ewan’s home in Scotland to Charley’s in England — but rather than take the shortest route, they go the long way! They head across the North Sea to Scandinavia, all the way up to the Arctic Circle and then down to the Baltics and through continental Europe, before eventually hopping back over the English Channel two months later. It’s an adventure that will take them to more than 15 countries, through spectacular scenery and along some of the greatest driving roads in the world. Along the way they’ll immerse themselves in each country’s culture, meet the locals and try their hand at unique and eclectic activities."
The pair only have 9 weeks to accomplish the journey, which sounds like a lot. But then you look at the two motorcycles they've picked: a Moto Guzzi and BMW from what appear to be the 1970s. Yeah, those are going to be temperamental. Crashes occur, too. All in all, however, it looks exactly like the series I fell in love with all those years ago.
I can't wait.
