JAMES RAMPTON
Takes a tour of tV show Long way up with ewan Mcgregor and CharLey BoorMan
FOLLOWING on from their previous gargantuan road trips, Long Way Round (2004) and Long Way Down (2007), best friends Ewan McGregor, 49, and Charley Boorman, 54, are leaping on to their motorbikes once again to embark on a third epic journey.
In Long Way Up, a new ten-part series that starts on Apple TV+ tomorrow, they ride specially adapted Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles for 13,000 miles and 100 days. They travel from the Argentinian city of Ushuaia – the climax of the last series of Race Across The World – at the tip of South America, just 700 miles north of Antarctica, all the way up to Los Angeles...
On Long Way Up, your ride takes in 16 border crossings and 13 countries. Is there one place you would love to revisit?
McGREGOR: It’s not fair to pick a favourite but if I had to select one, I saw landscapes I’ll never forget in the Atacama Desert in Chile. You have never seen so many cactuses in your life. They look just beautiful as the sun goes down.
You’re riding through scenery that you just can’t imagine. The colours of the mountains, yellow and then red, change every hour. It was amazing, just drifting along this stunning road.
BOORMAN: The coastal rainforest in South and Central America has all but disappeared. We went to this project in the Chocó rainforest in Ecuador, where they are trying to reintroduce coastal rainforests. They have built this house in the canopy of the jungle, where we spent a couple of nights. They explained what they are doing to regenerate the rainforest and how quickly it can grow back and how many birds and animals will return if you help it. That was one of the most fascinating experiences.
What was your most challenging experience?
McGREGOR: Just a week or two into the trip, we were riding through Patagonia, which is completely remote. It was midwinter and very cold. When we set off in the morning, our electric bikes were fully charged. But we soon learned that the battery life is affected by temperature, so in bitter coldness, the battery performs much less well. We rode straight into a headwind and the battery just went ‘phut!’ We were riding at 20mph to try and get to our destination, but we still thought we weren’t going to make it. Looking back on it, it was quite funny because we both went, ‘Great! It’s only the second week of the trip. How are we meant to ride 13,000 miles? It’s going to take us three years!’ We just lost it!
Where next for your travels?
McGREGOR: We’ve done round the Northern Hemisphere, down the whole African continent and up South and Central America, but there’s lots of the world we haven’t seen yet and I’ve never really explored Scandinavia. I’d also love to do the diagonal route from London down to Australia.
BOORMAN: Yes, we could do Long Way Down Under. It’s important always to have the next trip in your mind. We’re certainly not done. We’re not hanging up our helmets yet!
Long Way Up is on Apple TV+ tomorrow