Long Way Up: How two broken legs and a BBQ reunited Charley and Ewan

Drifting apart from your mates can be a sad fact of life as you get older. But when you and your best friend are the two most recognisable faces in adventure biking, people start to ask questions when you haven’t been seen together in a while.

That was the case for Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, who ended their last biking adventure 13 years ago at the end of the Long Way Down television series.

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So, why has it taken more than a decade for the pair to reunite for a motorcycle adventure?

I put the question to Charley during the making of the latest issue of Adventure Bike Rider magazine (issue 59). The answer was the pair drifted apart over the past decade and it’s only thanks to two broken legs and a barbecue that they reunited for their latest adventure, Long Way Up.

Charley also gave us the inside scoop on what it was like to travel from the tip of South America to Los Angeles on electric Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and what plans he and Ewan have for their next adventure.

You can watch a snippet of my interview with Charley below, and you can read it in full in issue 59 of Adventure Bike Rider magazine, out now and available to buy from our online store with free UK shipping.

Buy your copy of ABR HERE.

Long Way Up premieres on Apple TV on Friday 18 September.