READY FOR ADVENTURE
Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor, this one is all on you.
When Matt Balestrieri first saw an episode of Long Way Round, he knew his dad, Jim, would love the 2004 adventure where Charley and Ewan essentially circumnavigate the globe from London to New York City aboard a pair of BMW R1150GS motorcycles. Matt bought his dad the series on DVD, and Jim binge-watched the episodes.
“You know, it was winter in Wisconsin,” Jim laughs, and adds, “so I watched them again. It was just great stuff.”
He followed this up by watching Charley Boorman’s attempt to race in the 2005 edition of the Dakar Rally and then took in the 2007 series Long Way Down — another Charley and Ewan adventure.
Jim later bought himself a 2010 BMW R1200GS at auction and says he was amazed by the riding experience. He became seriously intrigued by the motorcycles he saw Charley and Ewan punish in some rather grueling off-road conditions — but were stable and comfortable on long stretches of good pavement. He wanted to understand the background of these adventure bikes and dove deep
