Long Way Up

Long Way Up is a British television series which debuted on 18 September 2020, documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2019 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America to Los Angeles in the United States.

[1] The journey covered a 13,000-mile (21,000 km) route, through 13 countries, over 100 days from 5 September 2019 to 14 December 2019, using prototype Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles that had been converted into adventure bikes.

After discovering that the range of even the best off-road electric motorbike is limited to 72 miles, doubts start to creep in as they intend to travel 150-mile (240 km) per day, which would need a lengthy charging session, placing the entire fourteen-week schedule in jeopardy.

Rivian agrees to supply two hand-built pre-production R1T pick-up trucks and install 150 fast chargers along the 13,000-mile (21,000 km) route to keep both them and the electric motorbikes charged.

During the initial leg, Charley and Ewan make the first of several border crossings and detour down Ruta Y-85 to Pinguino Rey Natural Reserve on Inútil Bay, to see the only colony of King penguins in South America.

After jump starting both motorbikes, it appears they have enough range in the traction batteries to make it to the border with Argentina, but once across, again they have to use a diesel generator for recharging before the 100-mile (160 km) section to El Calafate in Santa Cruz province.

Whilst Charley and Ewan head along the Pan-American highway toward another border crossing, and into the Argentinian province of Neuquén, the production team, off-grid and running low on charge, co-opt a semi-truck driver to give them a tow-charge.

After adjusting their route to visit the Bajada del Rahue switchbacks on RP46, Charley and Ewan face another delay in Zapala whilst they wait for cameraman Claudio, who is riding a petrol Harley-Davidson Sportster XL1200, to refuel.

After some confusion, the team pay for a visa and they enter the altiplano to head through the Siloli Desert on gravel tracks, during which Ewan falls off his bike.

Having set off against the advice of Rivian, without a fully functional braking system, David finds his R1T rolling back on an incline and wedging on a rock with a hydraulic oil leak.

Near Challapata, Charley and Ewan visit the UNICEF backed Challamayu School for indigenous Quechua children, where they are taught in both Spanish and their native tongue, helping to preserve the Quechuan language and cultural identity.

At Lake Titicaca, after another challenging day of riding, Ewan and Taylor start to feel the effects of altitude sickness, culminating in a visit by the team doctor.

In Ayacucho, they leave the motorbikes and travel the final 90-mile (140 km) into the rainforest by helicopter to meet the Asháninka people who are trying to reduce deforestation and promote sustainability with the assistance of the NGO Cool Earth.

In Montecristi they see Panama hats being made by hand in a local factory, and then head to what's left of the coastal rainforest to visit a reforesting initiative led by the Third Millennium Alliance (TMA).

The boat stops at several isolated coastal villages in the Chocó region to trade supplies, and the team takes the opportunity to explore one called Nuquí.

News arrives that the parts for Ewan's bike will be shipped to Costa Rica, so he decides to rush ahead there, leaving Charley to navigate Panama alone.

As the cargo plane is not permitted to take cross-border passengers, they alight in Medellín, but Ewan is granted crew status so he can stay on board to Panama.

While Ewan accompanies the bikes, Charley explores Medellín, visiting Comuna 13 (San Javier) and meeting local street artist Yesgraff.

In Honduras, Charley and Ewan visit a UNICEF project at the Centro de Alcance Juvenil Japón, which helps children escape from the cycle of gang violence.

At San Cristóbal de las Casas, Charley and Ewan head to the Pacific coast towards Chahuites, whilst some of the support team go ahead to Oaxaca to look for a suitable bus.

The team on the bus gets lost en route, but eventually everyone reaches the border crossing, to find they need to be at different gateways into the US some twenty miles apart due to the separation of commercial and non-commercial traffic.

In Palm Springs, reunited with their families, they form a convoy to ride into Los Angeles with the trip coming to an end at the Bike Shed Moto Co. in the L.A. Arts District.

[10] Other artists to feature include: Jhony Rojas (two songs under Astronauta, two with Passto and four with Últimos Glaciares), Totó la Momposina, Aurelio, Sidestepper, Los de Abajo and Charlie Winston.

After being made UK ambassadors, the pair embarked on their second adventure, Long Way Down, and saw UNICEF’s work with child soldiers in Uganda and land-mine awareness programmes in Ethiopia.

[18] In Bolivia, Ewan and Charley visit the UNICEF supported Quechua indigenous Challamayu School and attend a bilingual lesson taught in Spanish and traditional Quechuan.

[20] In Peru the pair visit a Venezuelan refugee camp in Tumbes, close to the Ecuadorian border, where UNICEF is helping to identify and assist vulnerable or at-risk children, particularly those separated from family or unaccompanied by an adult.