Film star McGregor set for global bike trek

EWAN McGregor is preparing for a 20,000-mile round-the-world motorbike trip which will be made into a TV documentary.

McGregor, and his actor friend Charley Boorman, will be riding BMW R1150GS Adventures on the marathon trek. They plan to set off in mid-April and will spend three months travelling from the UK to New York.

The pair are taking the hardest possible route to their destination. They’ll ride through Europe, the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska and Canada before reaching their final destination in the US.

The Star Wars and Trainspotting star is a regular MCN reader and visited our London Motorcycle Show in January.

The two actors will face sub-zero temperatures on the trip, but are planning to take the bare minimum of kit. They will use the bikes’ GPS systems to keep them on track, and will only be in touch with civilisation via a satellite phone.

McGregor and Boorman will film the trip using small hand-held cameras and bike-mounted units.

They’ll be joined by a cameraman at specific meeting points along the way and all the footage will be edited into a documentary series.

The Long Way Round will be shown on a major UK TV channel on their return. But MCN readers won’t have to wait that long to hear how the trip is going, as we’ll bring you regular updates on the pair’s progress.

Both actors have undergone a rigorous training regime to get them into shape for the trip, including instruction in extreme survival skills, self- defence, first aid and hostile environment training.

The duo have arranged the trip to coincide with local events and festivals along the way.

They’ve been taught the basics of the languages they’ll need to get by and instructed on cultural taboos and etiquette.

Keep an eye on MCN for an update before the pair leave in April.