Long Way Round (LWR) is a British television series and book documenting the 19,000-mile (31,000 km) journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York City on motorcycles.
From 14 April to 29 July 2004, Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and cinematographer Claudio von Planta travelled eastwards from London to New York City.
The journey passed through twelve countries, starting in the UK and riding across France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Canada, and the US over a cumulative distance of 18,887 miles (30,396 km).
They arrived in New York on schedule and rode into the city accompanied by a phalanx of bikers, including McGregor's father Jim and the Orange County Choppers crew.
In addition to McGregor, Boorman, and von Planta, the team had a support crew of producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, and cinematographer Jimmy Simak.
The crew travelled in two Mitsubishi off-road vehicles – a red L200 Animal LWB 4x4 pick-up (which overturned in Mongolia and was exchanged for a Ford Excursion in Alaska) and a black Shogun Warrior DI-D automatic estate.
McGregor advocated riding BMW motorcycles, while Boorman preferred KTM (a specialist Austrian motocross and off-road bike manufacturer).
A similar problem occurred when crossing into Ukraine: border officials insisted on seeing original copies of the vehicle registration certificates, while the team only had photocopies.
After an incident when a passenger in a passing car pointed a handgun at them on a deserted stretch of highway, the team realised the value of police protection and were glad to see the authorities when they reached the next town.
Von Planta and Jimmy Simak both carried more sophisticated camera equipment to capture story, scenery and action shots of the two principal stars.
[1] McGregor also showed his badly bitten rear in Far East Russia and revealed that his penis had become swollen and painful, again due to mosquito bites.
Cameraman Claudio von Planta had an opportunist thief steal his tent and personal effects whilst left unattended in Siberia.
Von Planta's bike suffered a broken frame after a bad fall in Mongolia, and only a bodge-job by Boorman using tire levers and cable-ties enabled them to get to the next town, where it could be welded.
Afterward, they realized that the anti-lock braking system no longer worked (due to the battery not being disconnected prior to the electric arc welder being used to repair the frame), and the entire bike had to be shipped to Ulaanbaatar and sent home.
The next part of the route was especially wet and muddy, making the heavy BMW bikes undrivable and forcing McGregor and Boorman to man-handle them for long distances, whilst von Planta on the much lighter Planeta had no trouble riding.
The music in Long Way Round was picked by McGregor and Boorman and includes tracks from Stereophonics, Blur, Coldplay, Orbital, Massive Attack, and Radiohead.
McGregor, Boorman and the LWR team undertook a second journey known as Long Way Down, riding from John o' Groats in northern Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa in 2007.