Back in May of 2006 Cynthia and I went to England and Scotland for a business/pleasure trip. Before we left we stopped into Half-Price Books to get a couple of new books to read while we were away. I didn’t really know what I wanted to get, but I had heard of the book “Long Way Round” by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman and so when I found a copy I figured I’d check it out.
I devoured the book.
The book tells the journey of McGregor and Boorman as they circumvented the globe (heading east from London and ending in London) on their motorcycles in 2004. Both actors are motorcycle enthusiasts and become very good friends after meeting on a movie set several years ago. The idea for the trip started when Ewan visited a map store and discovered that it was possible to make a roundtrip around the globe on a motorcycle with only having to take a handful of trips across the water. He pitched the idea to Charley and they put the trip in motion. I love to travel and have often had the desire to take off for a few months and travel the world, so reading a book like this definitely resounded with me. Plus the fact that these are both celebrities who are out of their professional element and pursuing personal passions also made for an interesting read. You were able to get an idea of who these people really are instead of viewing them through the distorted lens of the media.
Another element of the book that greatly appealed to me is how they did it. I don’t own or ride motorcycles, but the idea of packing up your supplies and hitting the open road on a motorcycle sounds invigorating. Often the pair (along with a small support crew) would simply stop off on the side of the road and make camp. Even though both of these guys are well off, they didn’t use their monetary means to live it up on their trip. To them the purpose was to experience the countries and cultures they passed through and to soak up their surroundings as much as possible. There are stories of them pulling into a town and having to find a place to stay at the last minute. There are countless run-ins with immigration officers and locals that make for some tense moments. Plus the times that people recognize Ewan are pretty entertaining and actually happened less often than I thought.
In addition to the book a TV documentary was produced and aired on BBC television. The documentary was then distributed on DVD, so after I finished the book I Netflixed the set. Cynthia watched the episodes with me and we had a blast viewing them. The episodes were a great compliment to the books and those paired together offered the most complete picture of their entire journey.
So it was with great excitement that I found out a few months back that in 2007 Ewan and Charley did “Long Way Down“. On this trip they went south from the northern tip of Scotland to Cape Town. I’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of the book and just a couple of days ago Amazon delivered it fresh to my doorstop. I have no doubt that I’ll devour this one just like I did the first and as soon as the DVD set is ready for the US it’ll be in my Netflix queue. If any of you have the Fox Reality Channel, the series will be shown starting August 2nd.
The “Fox Reality Channel”….really?
If you’re looking for a good casual read or something to fill your Netflix queue, check out Long Way Round. If any of you have already read the book or seen the documentary, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
