Long Way Up

The first two episodes had me worried. Ewan no longer felt like a normal down to earth bloke. Instead of cussing, cigarette smoking, dirt-bike riding dude with a huge love for his family we saw in the 2000s shows... we now seemed like this clean, scarf wearing, EV-pushing rich Californian type who lives alone (he left his wife of 20+ years by then) in a mansion somewhere tryng to be the next mix of Bono and Elon Musk. Thankfully, Ewan still has his charm. Once him and Charlie kick the dirt and there's nothing but road ahead it really feels like the good old days. Charlie is still awesome. It was a pleasure to see Claudio, Russ and David back. The show really wouldn't be the same without them. Additionally, the team really had a reality check early in the show where they basically end up stranded as the EV technology is just too raw. So the show doesn't feel like an advertisement for Harley and Rivian as things do fall apart. Ewan and Charlie are basically shadowed by the diesel van and EV trucks just in case. The show isn't about doing the whole trip on EV-bikes without any help, but rather about testing the feasibility of the concept. So while the whole "the bikes will be on their own" thing is mis-advertisement, I had no issues with it (the EV trucks themselves ran into a lot issues anyway). I really want to see another show from the team before they retire, where they go to places they haven't visited Brazil, Canadian Maritimes, Greenland, Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Australia, etc. My only complaint would be is that 11 episodes is just not enough. It doesn't feel as rushed as LWR, but it does feel like they brush through towns way too quick. I could understand that being a limit in the 2000s due to everything being done on film + BBC scheduling, but this day and age you could easily make a few more.

The world of Travel Vlogging has changed since A Long Way Round/Down. I have a lot more fun watching people on Youtube like C90Adventures for example. This just feels overproduced, rushed, no soul.... just a marketing campaign for Electric. Which isn't really effective as it's clear Electric Motorbikes are not up to the task. They're constantly out of juice, with nowhere to charge, even when they do it's 7 hours charge time... which never works out because the Bikes complain they're too cold. What is really funny though is they have a few backup Vans that run on Diesel, and have two spare Electric Bikes in them. I didn't know watching the program, but then searching for information afterwards, you rewatch and see them in the background hidden. Some edits where they go"Only 47 mile range" and somehow they did 100+ miles that day.... well they obviously switched Bikes and didn't tell you. The whole Journey is about these Bikes that end up using more Diesel and Petrol due to the support they need. They could have used a lot less just taking the BMWs with no support Diesel Vans, without the need of flying emergency parts over just so they can charge. The journey would have been about the journey, rather than where to charge the whole time. Electric vehicles like the Rivian's are almost there, they have the range because they're so big. However Electric Bikes cannot carry a big enough battery... they're never going to work. That's fine, we don't need a world with only one technology, we can have a mix, Motorbikes can stay using Petrol. They brought the original cameraman back, but he never speaks in the whole thing. They never really mix with the locals... just a few seconds of footage of them shaking their hand, then they cannot wait to ignore them. Youtube has given us people who can do it 24/7 and make a living, these people are more compelling.