Ewan McGregor Recounts the Long Way Down
Reliving the Trip from Scotland to South Africa
May 27, 2009
McGregor had the help of “the force” when he was playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first three episodes of the Star Wars saga, but on his trip through Aftica he had to rely on skill, and his back-up crew. McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman traveled to South Africa on their BMW motorcycles.
Preparing for the 85 Day Trip
At the Television Critics Association press tour to publicize the trip which was documented on the Fox Reality Channel, McGregor said, “I think all through our preparations for doing the trip through Africa we came across a great many negative people. We tried to go out and cover all the bases in terms of our preparation, and we met experts and survival experts, and everybody.” Ewan stated there were months of preparation that went into the enormous undertaking. They had several countries to cross, which meant getting all kinds of visas and approval from everywhere they were to go.
The actor/motorcyclist recounted warnings they received about Africa. “Some of them were quite shockingly negative about Africa, and there's a huge amount of kind of fear-mongering about Africa as a continent. And it just didn't ring true to our experience of being there.” But in the end, McGregor said, “We had an incredible time.”
To plan their trip Ewan and Charley visited the Royal Geographical Society in London and they got advice from UNICEF about the countries through which they would be traveling. “We got advice from UNICEF in meeting with UNICEF because they have such incredible knowledge and local knowledge of what's going on in each of the different countries in Africa. And then we picked our route. It's a fairly well-established path down through the eastern side of Africa.”
Riding 15,000 Miles in 85 Days
This ultimate motorcycle trip raised over a million dollars for various charities in the 85 days it took to ride the 15,000 miles from Scotland to South Africa. “All the countries are beautiful to travel through, and they change. Being on a motorcycle, the landscape changes roundabout you in a way that really makes you feel that you belong there, and I certainly never wanted it to end. It was such a shame we had to do it so quickly.” As if 85 days was quickly.
Ewan McGregor and His Love of Motorcycles
“I left home when I was 16,” Ewan explained. “But when I was 19 and just about finished drama school in London, I bought my first bike, and I had it parked outside my apartment, and every time my parents came down to visit, I would hide all my bike stuff, my helmet and my gloves and jacket up in (a) girl’s flat upstairs. Until, a year or two went by, and then I went, ‘Mom, Dad, look. You know that bike there?’ And they went, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘That's my bike and it's been my bike for about three years.’” That was a shock to his parents.
“I love it,” the actor exclaimed about riding on motorcycles. “And I believe traveling on them is very different than traveling in a car. I think when you meet people, first of all there's a kind of novelty factor in Mongolia or Ethiopia and the Highlands of Ethiopia when you rock up on a big old bike. People aren't used to seeing them. So there's an interaction with the people, which is quite different from the way they treat you in a car.” He makes a great spokesperson for motorcycles because he loves them dearly and is excited about describing his experiences.
Being an experienced rider does not come without its share of difficulties. “You can't fall off a car,” he said with a laugh. “And you can, take it from me, fall off a bike, a lot.”
For McGregor, “the worst thing of all about the trips is being away from my family. There's no question about that. The first trip was three and a half months long, and that was an awful long time not to see your kids and your wife. And then the second trip was shorter, as I promised them it would be, and it was, only by a few weeks.”
Eve McGregor Joins the Ride through Africa
Ewan was surprised when his wife suddenly announced that she wanted to join him for a bit on this trip. And she wanted to do it on a motorcycle! Eve had never driven a motorcycle in her life. "I'm going to learn," she told him, and he told the press that he was thrilled about it. “I just thought it was the most exciting thing.” Unfortunately, the others in the group were not quite as excited, but it turns out Eve only joined them for a few days, which made everyone happy.
While his long trips across continents are exciting, his family trips are quite different. The family loves to go skiing and spend time at the beach. “But now that they're of an age where you think ‘we could hire an RV and take off around Alaska or we could go and hire a four-by-four in Iceland.’ There are amazing things that you can do with young kids that are really exciting and quite adventurous.”
Long Way Down is available on DVD as is the book which was co-authored by Ewan and Charley.
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