When it's extremely cold, you know, the batteries don't perform as well. Now, a decade after the Long Way Down entry, it looks like the third installment is underway with electric mobility at the core of the concept. And that happens regularly. (Charley crashed on a Triumph launch in Spain a couple of years ago.). Ahead of that, The Drive had a chance to talk to McGregor and Boorman about their trip. Charley Boorman suffered a serious injury after coming off his motorbike in Portugal It has now been over a year since the horror scene, which happened on his way to a media launch of the new Triumph Explorer. The 50-year-old added: It has been a long journey to get here. This one: Ewan McGregor (aka the young Obi-Wan in the Star Wars prequels and soon a new back-story Disney series) and his wingman, Brit TV personality Charley Boorman, have reportedly begun production of the third entry in their popular Long Way motorcycle road trip TV series, and are set to travel from the southern reaches of South America and ride the long way up to the United States. Once youve been around the world and down its length on a motorcycle, there really isnt anywhere left to go but up. I taped him on the shoulder and said, I dont think my wife wants to go to Australia with you but I do. He looked me up and down and simply said No and then walked off. I really thought, 'S***, he's going to kill us'. Enter your email address below we'll keep you up to date with everything that's happening in the world of adventure motorcycling. You've got apps that let you know as soon as you get three-quarters empty, you just hit a button and it takes you to an EV charger you can fast-charge easily. For other uses, see, "Ewan McGregor secures sponsorship deal for South American road trip", "Long Way Up is go! I broke both my legs, broke and dislocated my right ankle and smashed my left tibia and fibula. Long Way Up, takes the two best friends and their returning crew on a slightly truncated trip north following a route along the fabled Pan-American Highway. Moped narrowly avoids 70mph train at level crossing, Tom Sizemore: The Hollywood hardman who fell from grace, Calm weekend will turn to freezing as snow and ice warnings issued, Hong Kong activists convicted over failure to comply with security law, Actor Tom Sizemore dies after career tarnished by scandals. But we just picked up from where we left off, and we're just having a laugh again and then, of course, we started talking about motorbikes and then we started thinking, well, what about that long way up? I got clipped and the bad thing is I hit a wall. The Mayor of London is not doing bikes any favours. Charley Boorman's South African Adventure (TV Series 2013-2013) The Movie Database (TMDB) Join Adventurer Charley Boorman as he sets off once more on an epic motorbike adventure, this time making his way through the stunning, rugged and often unknown South Africa. Charley Boorman is riding again after his major motorcycle crash in 2016 and ready for his big African adventure later this year. They also decided to travel with medic Dai Jones, cameraman and security officer Jim Foster, and various "fixers"local guides and interpreters. Whatever is happening in north Africa has nothing to do with whats happening in southern Africa. Let me just say that this trip exceeded every one of my expectations. ), We sort of looked at each other, and walked away, and thought if were quiet, theyd keep on charging. This kind of thing happens a lot in a Long Way Up. . Ewan McGregor and his wingman, Brit TV personality Charley Boorman, have reportedly begun production of the third entry in their popular Long Way motorcycle road Thankfully because of Charley's accident, that meant he was housebound for some time, so whenever I was in London, that meant I was able to see him. Here's What Ewan McGregor And Charley Boorman Are Up To Today, all 3 of which you can watch on Apple TV+, Youve Never Seen A Harley-Davidson LiveWire Like This, Charley met with a serious accident when test riding with motorbike journalists in Portugal. I thought Id broken my hip just for the sake of going down the shops! WebEwan McGregor and Charley Boorman are getting back on their motorcycles for a new adventure in Apple TV+'s "Long Way Up". How did you persevere and decide, I'm going to do this? Both McGregor and Boorman had visited such centres in Africa previously. The Perito Moreno glacier in Argentinas Los Glaciares National Park, which rises above turquoise glacial waters. And so we found each other again and decided to do this trip.. Once youve been around the world and down its length on a motorcycle, there really isnt anywhere left to go but up.So it goes with Ewan McGregor and Charley You know, helmet on and no one knows who you are. He also did a follow-up to the show in 2009 called 'Right To The Edge: By Any Means' where he traveled from Sydney to Tokyo following the Pacific Rim. McGregor and von Planta also came off and damaged their bikes' bodywork, with von Planta involved in the more serious incident on a motorway in South Africa. Im not a big fan of regrets. It is a follow-up to the Long Way Round of 2004, when the pair rode east from London to New York via Eurasia and North America. His German mother, Christel, died a few years ago. We turned the corner on this hairpin and just hit black ice. However, American producer David Alexanian and cameraman Jimmy Simak were unable to obtain the necessary entry visas and were forced to fly from Tunisia to Egypt. there really isnt anywhere left to go but up, and a pair of Rivian RT1 electric pickup trucks. They put in these charges all the way down our route with our partners at Enel. Send him yor best. Nite!. 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But once you were able to charge the bikes with the Rivians, that seemed to be a total game-changer for the trip. WebCharley Boorman, adventurer, motorbike enthusiast and no. Hope Charley is doing OK. Id love to see Tiffany Coates standing in for him rather than his engagements having to be cancelled. Please send Charley your best wishes via Twitter. This path of chargers on the route still exists, and its our Long Way Up legacy. Ive ridden quite a few and a friend came along on the recent (Compass Expeditions) Tassie tour on a Zero (electric motorcycle). The son of renowned film director John Boorman, he grew up on a farm in Ireland and used to ride through the fields on his first motorbike and took part in schoolboy motor cross and Enduro races. Our reviews are hands-on, detailed, and unbiased. Which is fitting, because according to numerous reports, the pair have ditched their all-conquering BMW GS Adventure dual-sport machines for something a bit more radical: Harley-Davidsons new all-electric Livewire motorcycles. I just recently completed a 5000 km ride through South Africa, Namibia, and Zambia with Charley Boorman. When he came to rest, as he casually puts it, my leg was all flippy-floppy, bending in the wrong places and Were also starting to do short tours to Spain with The Bike Shed, mianly on hipster bikes like the T120s and Thruxtons. The book abounds with bikes trashed and accidents endured, including the time Boorman rode 400km in the Dakar Rally with broken hands. His motorcycle was substantially damaged, and the footage of the rest of the journey to Cape Agulhas appears only to include support vehicle and helmet cam footage, suggesting that Von Planta's motorcycle was no longer used. But they arrived in Ushuaia after we did. Somehow, we slid into a ditch and the car stopped. ", "The latest accident in Portugal was pretty scary. Billy writes on his Twitter account: CB had accident today in Portugal @ Global launch of Triumph Explorer.In hospital but OK. The two pals are back for their third globe-spanning motorcycle adventureand we sat down with them to talk about it. Click here to read more about his African tours. TV presenter and adventurer Charley Boorman, who motorbiked around the world with his pal Ewan McGregor for the series Long Way Round and Long Way Down, has had plenty of scrapes in his time. I fell off that as well. The journey started on 12 May and finished on 4 August 2007. When he came to rest, as he casually puts it, my leg was all flippy-floppy, bending in the wrong places and in the wrong direction. I just love it as a way of life. With equity release you could access a lump-sum of tax-free cash which can be used to enhance your retirement income, make home improvements, or even enjoy a memorable holiday. The title song was performed by Welsh group Stereophonics and is identical to the Long Way Round theme, with the lyric "round" replaced with "down". Boorman broke both legs after colliding with a wall whilst avoiding a car that pulled out in front of him. Africa gets a really bad rub as a dangerous place, usually by people who havent been. You can watch a snippet of my interview with Charley below, and you can read it in full in issue 59 ofAdventure Bike Rider magazine, out now and available to buy from our online store with free UK shipping. Here are some facts about the 'Long Way' series and what Ewan and Charley are up to today. They went from there to Tanzania and then into Malawi, where they were joined by Ewan McGregor's wife Eve. We chatted to Jody Ocker who is currently traversing Africa with Charley! He was last seen starring as Obi Wan Kenobi in Disney+ original series Obi Wan Kenobi in 2022. The riding I like most is a mountainous bit of tarmac through the forest. You might think the gods are trying to tell the Boormans something about hazardous pursuits, but when we meet, Charleys leg is nearly healed (he invites me to feel a screw that has worked loose beneath the skin) and hes planning to resume his bike safaris in Africa in August, go on a speaking tour to promote the book, then try to put the Darien Gap TV project back together. Can you do this, that and the other?" Didn't think you were that famous? The book and TV show enabled me to do the Dakar and the other tours and books and shows, so it really changed my life. Horror crash: Charley is back on his bike after a horror smash last year Wed 19 Jul 2017 at 01:41 TV presenter and adventurer Charley Boorman, who motorbiked See our review policies for more information. My waterproofs because, you know, London and my Arai adventure helmet and my injection-moulded earplugs. Weve joined selected affiliate programs which will allow us to place advertisements for select motorcycle and motorcycle-related product retailers on the site. Ewan McGregor, besides being an actor, has been an activist and the ambassador for UNICEF UK since 2004. ", "Being in trouble with the wife [he has been married to Olivia for 27 years, with whom he has two daughters] is always scary. I've crashed a lot in the past. Jon Alain Guzik: Youve been around and down, why decide to go up this time? Electric bikes are brilliant. Im too stupid to be anything other than open about my life. Once it became a little warmer, the batteries became much more friendly and we got more distance out of it. Boormans first thought when he was told he might lose his leg was: Well, at least I can still ride he knows an amputee stunt rider who uses a magnet to keep his artificial limb on his bikes foot peg, you see. EW: It'd been over 12 years since we did The Long Way Down, our trip down through the African continent back in 2007. Every time we found somewhere to plug that bike in was like a little mini-triumph, said McGregor. I really hope Charley and Ewan do ride together soon in another adventure. Or if you live in Europe, pop over to Morocco for some of the best off-road riding. Weve had our share of spills and thrills (riding, all our lives), but this is -pretty- unbelievable; so unfortunate! He also has a penchant for all things F1, occasionally catching up on WRC. All Rights Reserved. Each bike weighed about 505 pounds. Im self-employed so getting a job is my biggest challenge. In Ethiopia, they visited a land mine awareness project and met children injured by mines. The TV journeyman and professional biker tells Hannah Stephenson about some of his most hair-raising moments, Horror crash: Charley is back on his bike after a horror smash last year. Re-watching By Any Means for the 20th time at the moment. This documentary series follows actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on a motorcycle trip around the world. Half of the road stays in the shade. Youre sort of ready for it to end. And those beginning few weeks were super cold. In a video interview with CNN Travel, McGregor explained, We drifted apart somewhat. So it goes with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman and their third globe-trotting adventure, a follow-up to the epic journeys documented in 2004s The Long Way Round and 2007s The Long Way Down. We took their LiveWire bike and we said Look, can you make it into a dual sports bike for us? She was cooking every meal, and bathing me, which would do my head in, Boorman says, but she is a saint, my wife, incredibly practical, and just gets on with it.. It really is close now. He is still close to his father, who is 84 and walks with sticks: when Charley was on crutches, they looked like twins, he says. He didnt see the funny side. Its really touching me, and what I was looking for in terms of feeling closer to the world, the Earth, appreciating the beauty of it as we ride along.. I did a movie wth my father called The Emerald Forest in South America, but thats the only time Ive been. charley boorman accident south africa 2018 You can unsubscribe at any time. Then this big truck came round the corner and it put them off. So we had to sort of do all of our testing and learning on how to manage that battery system while we were doing the trip in sub-zero temperatures. With Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman, David Alexanian, Russ Malkin. In hospital but OK. WebFind many great new & used options and get the best deals for Long Way Round - Complete TV Series DVD Ewan McGregor Charley Boorman at the best online prices at eBay! How the Rivian pickups are involved is unclear, but they would certainly jibe nicely with the EV theme of the new show. As with their previous trip, and Boorman's Race to Dakar, Russ Malkin's company Big Earth produced the series. You can plug the bike in and it's going to give you more than 100 miles in town and you just have a go. However, although delays of a few hours were common, there were few significant problems at crossing points as they travelled further south. Riding a prototype electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire through the Calchaqu Valley in northwest Argentina, the actor and avid motorcyclist Ewan McGregor waxes poetic into a microphone inside his helmet. I was overtaking a car on my motorbike when it clipped me, sending me careering into a wall. Not just get on a bike again, but go basically 13,000 miles on an electric motorcycle? Forbes.com has reached out to Harley-Davidson for comment on the news. Then I was in a wheelchair for ages. 1:41 PM EDT, Thu September 17, 2020, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman take on a 13,000-mile e-bike journey in the Apple TV+ series, "Long Way Up.". Charley had a terrible accident and was very badly injured. When James isnt riding motorbikes, he can usually be found reading or writing about them. JAG: When it comes to the electric bikes, there seemed to be a lot of range anxiety at the beginning of the trip for you two. Can you raise it? So far, theres no word on when the new series will be released. He was in a wheelchair for a while before recuperating and getting back on the motorbike. Weve joined selected affiliate programs which will allow us to place advertisements for select motorcycle and motorcycle-related product retailers on the site. Motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman has bared all for Motorbike Writer readers, including his backside! I understand why they ride bikes: One, because they love it and two because it gives them anonymity. Series 6, Episode 4. The support team with the production crew followed them in custom-built Rivian R1S all-electric SUVs. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman reunite to ride 13,000 miles from Tierra del Fuego to Los Angeles in the Apple TV+ show "Long Way Up" -- the third journey You're looking at your GPS for the actual mileage left and you're looking at your bike which is telling you the projected mileage based on within the parameters that it's experiencing at that point in time and you're trying to keep those fingers together, so it adds a certain element of artistry to it. I would hate to sit there at 90 and think I wished Id done more. McGregor and Boorman gave the adventure or ADV riding segment a huge boost in 2004 with their original series Long Way Round, in which the pair rode heavily loaded BMW GS adventure bikes around the world the long way from England through Russia, including Siberia, capturing their adventures on video using action cameras, and by including Swiss photographer (and rider), Claudio von Planta, who also rode a kitted BMW during the project. Its also a handy guide to the world of motorcycling, where everyone knows everyone, and they all obsess about cylinders and paint jobs and regard broken bones as part of the ride. That was a dodgy one. Theyre already talking about making it harder. EW: Well, that's never happened before. :) Really, its a -big- shock and so, just to drop a comment; & once again, all the best!! You may opt-out by. It appears he will be tagging along on this ride as well as he appears with McGregor in one Facebook image. You could get a quiet little electric trials bike and ride around in your back yard and no would would know until they saw your head pop up above the fence when you did a jump. How long did it really take for you two to become comfortable with the EV element of the trip in real-time, as opposed to episode time? They crossed 13 countries, namely Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S.A. After visiting the pyramids, they boarded a ferry to Sudan, continued into Ethiopia and then into Kenya, where they crossed the equator. In 2016, Charley met with a serious accident when test riding with motorbike journalists in Portugal where he broke both his legs. This form collects your contact information. The visuals satisfy an increasingly unbearable wanderlust that has become more acute during this year of coronavirus lockdown. They took the Channel Tunnel to France and rode south to Italy. Olivia matches lonely elderly people with tenants who provide company or help, and suddenly found herself also dealing with a husband who couldnt manage the lavatory alone. I was just unlucky because if you break one leg you can continue to walk on the other one, but I broke both and I was in bed for five months. We have just heard that well-known and loved motorcycle traveller. In 2016, Charley met with a serious accident when test riding with motorbike journalists in Portugal where he broke both his legs. From abseiling down Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain, to learning how to rodeo in Canada, prepare for a non WebWild at Heart Season 6 Episode 4. JAG: Ewan, you're a big movie star, as I was pointing out to my daughter when we were watching the show. Details area bit vague at the momentandthere is no word on whether he was riding or driving. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. When I was getting a little bit better, and Ewan came to London to stay with me we started chatting about that third trip that we really wanted to do. I love to show people that they can have a great tour in Africa and there is some great food, great wine and the people are so lovely. They just got back in the car and drove off. My agent said why dont you use your recovery time to start writing a book about your life, your bikes and your crash, starting where youre sitting on the tarmac thinking what has just happened?. Given their experiences on the Long Way Round, which included problems with Russian visas, a "fine" for a missing stamp in their carnet, and delays of up to twelve hours, major preparation and planning went into the transit between countries. We were lucky because we were right at the crest of that adventure travel wave. He did lose a lot of work: a planned TV show about a bike trip through the perilous Darien Gap in Central America that had taken a year to plan, and commercial tours with bike fans in Australia and Africa, a lucrative offshoot of his celebrity. It's the longest trip ever attempted on an electric motorcycle, one that required Rivian to install a new string of fast-chargers along the planned routea rural charging network that will now serve the people of the region, as McGregor pointed out to me. The answer was the pair drifted apart over the past decade and its only thanks to two broken legs and a barbecue that they reunited for their latest adventure, Can you put an off-road suspension on it? Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor stop in Bolivia on their electric Harley- Davidson LiveWires. "I did the Dakar Rally (10,000km from Lisbon to Dakar, Senegal) in 2006, which is one of the most dangerous off-road races in the world and broke both my hands. Last year, he was involved in a horrific accident in Portugal, in which he nearly lost his leg, when he was clipped on his motorbike by a car and ended up slamming into a wall. The television series began broadcast on BBC Two on 28 October 2007,[3] with clips also shown online. See our review policies for more information. (Photo by Michelly Rall/WireImage). A Warner Bros. Overview: For his first big project as state vet, Danny oversees the relocation of an animal. We had this little toilet underneath the stairs, so I got on my wheelchair and swung myself on to the landing and scuttled down the stairs to the bottom. Motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman has bared all for Motorbike Writer readers, including his backside! And because the Long Way Up route terminates in Los Angeles, where McGregor lives, his 13,000 mile journey ended on his own driveway. You join the family theyve created under these particular conditions, and you feel how much they all mean to one another. WebBoorman hit a wall and then bounced along the pavement three times. WebCharley Boorman, adventurer, motorbike enthusiast and no. WebDoubleTree by Hilton Cape Town, Upper Eastside Hotel will once again host Charley Boorman for this years Motorcycle Adventure that begins and ends in Cape Town, South Africa. Boorman, who hit the road with Ewan McGregor in the Long Way Down and the Long Way Round, was left in a wheelchair after a horrific crash in Portugal in February last year. During the trip, the pair visited three UNICEF facilities to promote the work done by the organisation. After many years as a BMW ambassador, I was approached about five years ago by Triumph Motorcycles. You really feel the ground because there's no mechanical vibration between you and the ground - there's no mechanical movement, other than this the electric engine which is spinning around and so you can really feel the road. That was a one-off, because of Star Wars. This time around, Ewan and Charley ride their upgraded BMW R1200GS Adventure bikes from John o'Groats, Scotland over 15,000-miles all the way to Cape Town, South Africa. They let us in and let us plug in our bikes as they showed us around and explained how everything worked. Revealed: First photos and premiere date of Long Way Up. By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 04: Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman mark the finish line of The [+] Long Way Down at the Lagoon Beach Hotel on August 4, 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa. A year ago, the 50-year-old who started out as a child actor in his father Johns films and gained a second bite at stardom on television as Ewan McGregors motorcycling partner in the Long Way adventure travel series suffered a horrific bike crash.