Long Way Round
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Long Way Round |
| Original title | Long Way Round |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| year | 2004 |
| length | 44 minutes |
| production | David Alexanian , Russ Malkin |
| music | Rupert Gregson-Williams |
| occupation | |
Long Way Round is the title of a ten-part documentary series by director David Alexanian (shot in 2004) and a book by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman .
content
TV series, DVD and book document the motorcycle journey started by McGregor and Boorman in April 2004 in 115 days and 30,395 km around the world. The main points of the route were:
London (United Kingdom), Brussels (Belgium), Germany, Prague (Czech Republic), Kiev (Ukraine), Volgograd (Russia), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Yakutsk (Russia, Siberia), Magadan (Russia, Siberia ), Anchorage (USA, Alaska), White Horse (Canada), Calgary (Canada), Chicago (USA), New York (USA).
The idea for this trip came from the book "Jupiter's Travels" by Ted Simon , a well-known motorcyclist who McGregor and Boorman met in Mongolia.
McGregor and Boorman were accompanied by cameraman Claudio von Planta on his own BMW for most of the trip. In addition, a full crew with equipment and supplies drove in two off-road vehicles. The team in the support vehicles included producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, cameraman Jim Simak, temporarily the Russian advisor Sergey and the doctor Vasily. It was planned that the three motorcyclists should drive most of the journey on their own. It was agreed that the main actors and support crew should only meet at the state borders in order to cross them together. The so-called “bone road” between Yakutsk and the Russian Pacific coast, however, was conquered almost entirely together.
McGregor and Boorman used the trip to raise awareness of UNICEF . The series was broadcast via satellite and cable television in many countries around the world.
A sequel " Long Way Down " from Scotland to Cape Town was carried out from May to August 2007. For this project, Charley Boorman undertook test drives in southern Africa in October 2006 with a BMW R 1200 GS Adventure K255 , which, with a full tank of 256 kg, is 29 kg lighter than the previous model.
film records
McGregor and Boorman were equipped with cameras specially designed for this trip by Sonic Communications. The camera installed in the helmet enabled a wide-angle view, a second detachable camera was used for handheld photography. Both drivers also kept a video diary in which they recorded their impressions and thoughts on the trip. Von Planta carried more camera equipment and drove ahead or stayed behind to take pictures of McGregor and Boorman while they were driving. All three were also equipped with microphones that allowed them to talk to each other while driving.
DVD
The DVD was released on April 27, 2006. Two DVDs contain seven episodes (each about 45 minutes); the third DVD offers various extras such as unused scenes (Unseen material) and numerous interviews (Exclusive Post Trip Interviews, Interviews with the Series Creators), which, however, overlapped with the episodes. The individual episodes are not titled; they describe the following sections of the journey
- Episode 1: Preparations
- Episode 2: London to Volgograd
- Episode 3: Kazakhstan
- Episode 4: Barnaul to Western Mongolia
- Episode 5: Western Mongolia to Yakutsk
- Episode 6: Yakutsk to Magadan (the "bone road")
- Episode 7: Anchorage to New York
The footage was not synchronized. Subtitles are available in German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish. The broadcaster DMAX showed a German dubbed version of the series in which McGregor is spoken by Philipp Moog . According to the broadcaster DMAX, this synchronized version is currently not available on DVD.
The motorcycle sponsors
Boorman and McGregor initially considered BMW , KTM and Honda motorcycles , with the Hondas eventually falling out of the shortlist.
The models KTM 950 Adventure and BMW R 1150 GS Adventure came into question for the trip, which , along with smaller models from the manufacturers of Boorman and McGregor, were tested on corresponding test sites.
McGregor preferred BMW motorcycles while Boorman tended towards KTM machines. Boorman prevailed with his wish. As a condition for sponsorship, KTM reserved the right to have the travel planning evaluated by an expert. Thomas Junker, who had failed on a similar route in Siberia, had concerns after a meeting and feared that McGregor and Boorman's trip could also be a failure. KTM then rejected the sponsorship. Thereupon BMW provided three R 1150 GS.
Weight
The weight of a ready-to-drive and fully fueled BMW R 1150 GS Adventure is 285 kg. The weight of the mounted engine crash bars , fog lights and various other attachments is not included, nor is the weight of the luggage rack system, aluminum suitcases, top cases , video systems and packing rolls as well as the entire luggage. During the trip, McGregor and Boorman discovered that it was very difficult for them to move the motorcycles with the high payload in rough terrain, mainly with McGregor's lack of experience in the terrain. They then sorted out unimportant luggage to save weight.
Mishaps
In a collision with a boulder in Mongolia, the frame of Claudio von Planta's machine broke. After the frame was welded without first disconnecting the power supply, the integral ABS failed. Ewan McGregor notes that the brakes in the “Restbrake” mode either do not work at all (“ you don't have any brakes at all ”) or block (“ otherwise the front wheel wouldn't unlock ”), i.e. handling / Dosing of the residual brake was not possible. The motorcycle was shipped from Ulaangom (Mongolia) to Ulaan Baatar (Mongolia) and repaired there. There was also an abnormality on the Integral ABS on the McGregor machine, the "ABS" warning light glowing; the cause and solution are not explained in detail. Also in Russia, the frame on Ewan McGregor's machine broke on both sides. His luggage was taken to the nearest town on a stopped truck while the three of them drove after it to have the frame welded in town.
In retrospect, Ewan McGregor described his BMW GS as “amazing”. Although she had to take a lot of blows and had been given poor quality 76-octane gasoline for two weeks, she was "just chugging on".
Charley Boorman, on the other hand, said that the stage in Mongolia was "weeping", that one or the other time they "preferred to leave the heavily loaded motorcycles in the mud out of sheer desperation". He also refers to the river crossings in Siberia.
Web links
- Long Way Round in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website
- Illustrated review of the corresponding DVD
Individual evidence
- ↑ The BMW off-road bike on the manufacturer's website, retrieval date: June 16, 2008 ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Long Way Round (Special Edition, 3DVDs) EMI Music Germany GmbH & Co.KG DVD 2, Episode 5, Chapter 2, Position 2.14 - 3.56
- ↑ Ewan McGregor et al. a .: Long Way Round - The wild ride around the world. Frederking & Thaler. 1st edition. P. 224. ISBN 3-89405-680-0
- ↑ Michael Schröter: Namibia and South Africa. Man's dreams. In: MOTORCYCLE . 24/2006. November 10, 2006. pp. 124-126.
