Electric dreams become reality: 13 years after Long Way Down, Long Way Up is here!

Electric dreams become reality: 13 years after Long Way Down, Long Way Up is here!

Covid-19 has put the brakes on most travel plans this year, meaning most of us have had to satisfy our wanderlust virtually. Fortunately, adventure motorcycling legends Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor hit the road long before corona was anything other than beer, and the long wait for their latest instalment in their Long Way series is over!

Long Way Up, which chronicles the pair’s trip from Ushuaia to Los Angeles, hits Apple TV+ screens TODAY (Friday, 18th September). For this journey, they left their fossil-fuelled BMW GSs behind and opted instead for the electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire, which has a range of around 100 miles from a full charge, taking almost 13 hours to achieve from empty. So, not only did they have to contend with all the landscapes South and Central America could throw at them, they also had to find ways of charging the bikes en route, in some of the world’s most remote areas. The 13,000-mile trip through Patagonian winters, Andean altitudes and Central American jungles is the longest ever taken on electric bikes. Bikes aren’t the only electric vehicles on this trip though; the original support crew are with them in all-electric Rivian pick-ups.

The band are back together!

Commenting on the differences between petrol and electric bikes, Ewan said of the latter, “you feel the road in a brand-new way, through the tyres. You feel more connected to the road. There’s a stress that comes from the engine noise and vibration [with petrol engines] that isn’t there with electric bikes”.

Details about modifications to the bikes, the route, and their experiences have largely been kept secret, so it will be interesting to see how electric Harleys – and their riders – cope with the unforgiving terrain.

The first three episodes will be available from tonight, with the remaining 8 episodes being released each following Friday.

Exciting times! If you’re looking for a bit of background on the cast and crew why not check out Charley Boorman and Claudio von Planta’s interviews at the last Armchair Adventure Festival. There’s a couple of hints in there of what to expect for tonight and a load more details on what it’s like to be part of the Long Way team!

You can watch the interviews below or on our YouTube channel here. Don’t forget to grab your free front row seat to the next Armchair Adventure Festival when you’ll be able to watch more live interviews and presentations with adventurers like Charley and Claudio from the 27th -29th November – just sign up for free here.

Contributor: Victoria Levitt

Vic’s an Armchair Adventurer when she can’t be on the road and loves overland adventures with either four or two wheeled vehicles (why not 3 Vic?!).