Just got it from there and am watching it now. Seems very like the last series.... not a bad thing....

Regards

Nigel in NZ

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Hi All, Well spoted John! I was hoping that you and i wern''t the only ones to see the benefits of this motorcycling publicity, what ever way and how they did their jurney.......it's got to be good news for us, It may even stop a few idle bigits (in govenments etc) from helping to put a "hang mans noose" around our motorcycling necks, to see some good come from riding two wheels anyweres in the world, with added benefit to charitys
Afterall there's more to life than reading about it
Cheers all TDMalcolm

Trans-Africa was always one of the great overland adventures for the pioneering 'little guy'.

It's kind of depressing to see something like this branded, 'celebritised' and shrink-wrapped next to Jamie Oliver in HMV.

Good for adventure travel? It'll get the masses in that's for sure!

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

So the next guy to offer you loads-a-money to do what you like doing best, will get a kick up the arse and be shown the door. Yes?

Send 'im round my house, I wouldn't mind a pit of prostitution

I think it's good TV and I'm with all the others that see it as positive. Mind you, I would have been as pissed-off as Charlie if my mates missus had said she wanted to ride with us!!! He looked gutted.

In Kazakhstan this summer, we had a guy chase us down 'cos he said he had seen us on Discovery Channel Must have been the BM's

John

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

Not knocking anyone – who's going to turn down £3.3million to pez around on a free bike and open a couple of beemer outlets?

Good telly I'm sure and cash in pocket for the production company and a positive impact on the 'adventure bike' industry.

It's just a bit sad to see Trans-Africa barcoded for the Xmas market Couldn't tell you exactly why.

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

You have my empathy Richard - but I don't like Christmas anyway!

Nor may such publicity be a wholly positive thing for RTW/Adventure/Dual sport (call it whatever) riding. Time will tell.

Do they have the copyright on that "Long way down/round" logo? Whatever next?

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Dave

Like the show hate Charlie BORE'MAN wanna kill the gimp, in our house we still think he bailed off the bike in the Dakar as you could see he didn't want to do anymore, Beer with Euan tho seems like a great guy. And why doesnt Claudio show us the footage of him crashing all the time, I want to see fit from the Helmet Cam.

If they do South America next time I will kill em both as that's the only thing they haven't done yet I haven't just given them the Idea have I?


I think Kev and Julias Pan American films were just as good as Long way Around if not better for doing it all themselves, just as funny and informative with great views and full of larger then life NUDE people running about. But even that didn't compare to Kev falling off of that huge beast of his at the horizons bash,

YA HEAR THAT KEV YOU FELL OFF AND I WAS P*SSING MYSELF

God I love that guy but I can never let him forget that day he was revving that huge throbbing adventure engine with all of the fanboys watching him in absolute complete awe, and then the huge wheel span up huge chunck of sunny ripley earth as the tire didn't bite and gracefull topple to the soakinh wet earth of man and machine in perfect harmony.


Oh I forgot to say today I am mosty here

Seems to be a bit elitist, or are you (I hope) voicing the opinion that it's a good thing.

After watching the latest and greatest of adventure motorcyclist (Ewan and Charley... snigger!) I have to agree with one persons reply saying that I'm a bit annoyed with them not mentioning any other people who have done the same and more, alone and unsupported.
I was en route to Morocco last Feb when asked at a petrol station "Are you doing the Ewan thing? Where's your support vehicle?" Good on 'em for highlighting Adventure motorcycling to the masses (Like me!) but it does take the shine off my RTW for next year when it's highlighted to the world that I'm supposed to have loads of cash, a support vehicle or two, 'Stereophonics' playing in the background and a camera man hiding in my panniers.
Was it really an adventure for them..? I mean when they broke down they had a fully equipped support crew on their RTW, a new bike for the cameraman, trucks etc for the Zilov Gap and a doctor for christ-sake!! I'd be lucky to get sponsorship from my local chip-shop! But they did teach me what bike NOT to get! Thanks Ewan!!

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Geoffshing

'Security is a product of one's own imagination, it does not exist in nature as a rule, life is either a daring adventure or nothing.'

I agree with Geoff about doing it all YOURSELF, those that have visited my site know that I've not done to badly with the sponsorship side as people have been very generous and have not asked for anything in return for their kit. Even tho I do reviews and pimp the kit, but I have never asked for a peice of kit that wasn't of 100% benefit to my trip, so I absolutly needed it either for a price saving in the long run or as protection for me or the bike. I have purchased nearly all of the other kit, except things that have been donated by family and friends, nothing has been given to me without me activly pursuing any single item.

You wouldn't believe the begging and haggeling I had to do with BMW to get a small 15% cost reduction on a Rally 2 Pro suit (even with review and telling them that I'd be wearing the suit in all of my pictures, pimping it etc), but you have to ask yourself why this time E&C have gone with Belstaff and not BMW suits I mean they are both free in the end, if you know the answer to that one then post it here!

I think you can do a world trip with any bike by yourself you just have to know the basics of how they work and how to fix them, this should be learned in the preperation stage of any trip. E said it best during the LWR with all the people standing laughing at them when they had EVERY tool that BMW supplied but didn't know how to use them on the bike.

More tourists a good thing or a bad thing? No idea. Depends on who for I suppose.

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Pictures, Mauritania 2011

When people see my on my travel bike or hear about my travels, they always say to me:

"Oh your copying that Ewan Mcgreggor arnt you. That sounds fun, id do that"

Like no one did this before them........... People think were trying to be trendy like the celebs

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Wow,
So many comments, i thought that i just as well had to put my own.
I have only got three trips of any note under my belt, but even so, will never stop my passion for more. Be it by bike or car, solo or with friends, now i have the whole street ready and waiting for 9pm on Sunday.
My missus's best mate wants to do it, two friends of mine want to do it, and even my Aunt would have had a crack if she was still here!
Yes, it is a shame they travel with almost as much support as a mini Dakar rally, but good on the guys for getting it on the telly for everyone to see!
We all bring back fantastic memories, (sometimes not so fantastic), good photo's and blurred ones, even video. But the point is, they are the ones who make it what it is!
And those memories, will stay with them forever!

Nick.

P.S. Glad the are raising charitable causes too!!!

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www.discovery-touring.co.uk

I was iffy about it but then my mum rang me up having watched it raving about the joys of adventure and why not do it and all of that. Now before everytime I mentioned driving Fiat Pandas to Beijing she kind of shut down on me and didn't want to hear about her baby (hey I'm only 38) driving off into the cuds. Now, she's all interested. So hey it gets people watching.

As for the support, well without it would we have the TV series? I doubt it, you do need those two cars to lug round those camera people and tape stock and all that lot in order to get a TV quality show out of it. We know every travel show we watch on TV has them, it's just this time we actually get to see them.

And what sealed it for me was accidentally stumbling across an adventure CYCLIST's blog who bumped into this lot in Namibia or somewhere very remote. Apparently they were as surprised as he was and stopped for a chat. Then before they left they dug into their emergency fund and gave the guy £1000 for the charity he's riding for.

So not so bad after all (says the man attempting to sell his soul to the same devil as E&C)

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Alex,

Moto Mundo managed to make a far better product without the hangers on/professional camera crew etc; this is judging from the first episode of the LWD & the whole of LWR - Moto M was real reality TV, to use some jargon.
Those school teachers must be cringing at the antics of this lot.

I wonder if Claudio will be the star of LWD, as he was in LWR?

Oh yes, a donation to charity: £1000 - pocket money from the BBC expense account, and LWR made how many millions?
Surprised to find someone else out there? - my my.

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Dave