Saga of Motorcycle Adventure . Review on Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World - Evan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Long Way Round – Chasing Shadows across the World by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman; TimeWarner books; 312 pp The motorcycle scene in India has undergone more transformation in the past decade than ever before. There were no modern, reliable and fast motorcycles in the market till about 1985 when the Japanese automobile major Suzuki collaborated with TVS to bring out the Ind-Suzuki. Since then lot of things have changed and now in the post-liberalisation era almost all Japanese and Korean motorcycle manufacturers including Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Hyuosung have set up shops in the country. These fast and fancy motorcycles constantly jostle for space on already jam-packed roads in the country. Not surprisingly the availability of different models of vrooming nexgen motorcycles has incubated the phenomenon of biking holidays and spurred the growing popularity of biking as a passion and adventure sport. There are a large and growing number of bike enthusiasts who regularly strap up their saddlebags and hit the highways to exotic, off-the-beaten-track destinations ranging from the freezing heights of the Himalayas to the golden beaches of the Indian Ocean. Cashing in on this new fashion are smart two-wheeler marketers who have promoted motorcycle clubs in major cities across the country. These clubs with evocative names such as Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, Bangalore; Indi Thumpers, Pune; Madras Bulls, Chennai, among others, are thronged by leather-clad, greasy-handed motorcycle buffs. In terms of books and journals there are no recallable works by Indian authors on the subject and most automobile magazines devote their columns to techno mumbo jumbo. Against this backdrop Long Way Round (LWR) by UK-based Hollywood actors and motorcycle enthusiasts Ewan McGregor of Star Wars fame and Charaley Boorman, is a boon even to sub-continental bike enthusiasts. The book is a first-hand account of an ambitious motorcycle journey across the world from London to New York across Europe, Asia and North America. The entire adventure starts off with McGregor casually going through a world map realising that one can actually ride all the way round the world with only a short flight across the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska. This revelation led him to seriously plan on riding the road not taken and with him goes his best friend and fellow actor who shares McGregor’s passion for bikes. Comprising of 12 chapters, two appendices and a page describing their experience as they met boys under risk in homes run by the Unicef in Mongolia, Ukraine and Kazakhasthan the book is all about the epic journey the biker duo undertake from London to New York. Their experiences, feelings and exotic destinations they pass through on their way across Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and across the Pacific Ocean to Alaska, then down through Canada and finally ending in America. The duo has vividly recorded their troubles, frustrations, exhaustion, accidents and injuries, apprehensions and high points even as the big BMW motorcycles eat miles of road and off-road tracks in unpredictable weather and turbulent political scenarios. Some of the notable experiences according to the authors include being chased by paparazzi in Kazakhstan, accosted by gun toting militia in Ukraine, harassed by the police and given bulls'' testicles for supper by Mongolian nomads. And yet despite all these obstacles they manage to cover over 20,000 miles (30,000 kms) in four months. A journey which according to the authors changed their lives forever. LWR is a result of the authors meticulous documentation of their experiences during the trip and is a riveting, frank and highly entertaining travelogue about two friends riding round the world together and realising their dream against all odds. Though the writing tends to be cringingly amateurish at some places, the scope and interest of the adventure makes up for it. And one certainly can''t help but appreciate the writers for their honesty, in spite of their less-than-adept prose talents or perhaps because of them the reader gets a definite feel of them as people. I am sure this book wouldn''t rank among the pantheon of great travelogues, but for those who are susceptible to a bit of wanderlust and have a passion for motorcycles, LWR will certainly get you in the mood to hit the road. If the book were to be written by some unknown biker I don’t think it may have become so popular. But being written as it is by Ewan McGregor the famous actor whose role in Star Wars, I suppose the book is still doing well on the stands with most fans buying. Though the journey is interesting and keeps you reading, it would really take an effort not to skip some pages and go ahead at times when the narrative turns rather boring and prosaic. One has to admit that despite all its flaws and boring pages, the book is presented in a style quite different from regular travelogues and this scores brownie points with its nice technique of interplaying both stars varying experiences and feelings as they ride road around the world. The best parts of the book however are the descriptions of the exotic landscapes of Eastern Europe and their experiences in Mongolia. McGregors endless whining about being away from his family gets annoying at times. It is quite common that on a journey like this anyone is bound to miss their family and loved ones, but there is no need to mention it in almost every chapter of the book. Moreover they had a satellite phone which made them as close as a call with their family. The constant whining adds no value to the book other than to make it appear very self-indulging and distracting. The book is quite invigorating especially for those dyed-in-the-wool biking enthusiasts in India like this writer who dream of hitting the road and riding around the world. The authors’ tireless effort in getting their bikes to move across whatever tarmac, stones, mud, water, or any mere semblance of a road to see them through their mission is admirable. It drives home a message clearly that all great journeys involve substantial amounts of perseverance, determination and hard work. Though the actor duo detail their humbling experiences even as they meet common folk who generously help them even without being asked. It simply restores faith in humanity and brotherhood.