Long Way Down
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman set off in May this year to ride from John O'Groats to Cape Town with funds being raised for UNICEF and Riders for Health. It's basically the same sort of idea as that behind their Long Way Round run going around the world "horizontally"!If you are familiar with the Long Way Round, you'll know that KTM made one of those "what was I thinking?" decisions and withdrew their support (and bikes) and BMW, who'd basically been second choice, stepped in and the rest, as they say, is history: BMW selling over 100,000 units since. That's a sound commercial decision and a marketing triumph...
Now much as I applaud what the two riders have accomplished in terms of the funds they raised and continue to raise, in terms of their two rides, I wonder how much the effort was diminished by the whole entourage that accompanied them. Charley and Ewan on the BMWs with their cameraman on his and then the support vehicles with tyres, parts, medic, etc.
Compare that with Ted Simon's round the world trip on a Triumph Tiger back in 1973 (ending in 1977), Nick Sanders' seven trips or indeed Sjaak Lucassen's trip around the world on a Yamaha R1.
It's almost as though round the world trips are the latest extreme package holidays, especially as Ewan's wife, Eve, joins them in Malawi.
Maybe there's no real adventure left?
posted by Captain Blue @ 10:30 PM
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