Friday, January 2, 2009

Six Thoughts on Long Way Down

I just watched Long Way Down on the long bus ride from Ottawa to North Bay. (Sam and I rang in the New Year with great friends and about three years worth of South African wine). I thought I would share six thoughts.

1.) I make jokes now and again (read: all the time) about what it's like to make a trip with a doctor, two trucks, and a full support team. But the ride those guys made was awesome. And they certainly dealt with more dirt than Sam and me.
2.) I think Charlie Boorman would make a terrible anthropologist.
3.) Why did they choose 1200 GSs for that ride? They are such huge bikes. I would have traded the 650 for a 400 on several instances. I can't imagine pushing 800 pounds of bike through the fesh fesh.
4.) Sam and I rode the piece from Marsabit to Archer's Post in a day, me with a broken bike. I am most proud of our push through this section. Charlie and Ewan chose some crazy alternate route! I still don't understand why!
5.) They pushed through Egypt like a couple of champions.
6.) They did more in three months than many riders do in a lifetime. So, if you're looking for inspiration, grab the DVDs and give it a go! It's worth the watch.

1 comment:

lsn said...

I think Charlie Boorman would make a terrible anthropologist.

In total agreement. I liked the show, but it still felt like it could have been better if someone who was also more interested in the people and places they were riding through than the actual riding had been doing it. The show he does alone is fairly meh, for that reason.

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