Source
r/LongWayUp•
_adam_barker

Last episode was a disaster but I’m still gutted it’s over.

I mean I really thought something was going to come of spending so much time on the bus. That was definitely the oddest part of any of these shows.

They always planned to leave it at the border right?

And Ewan saying they needed to make the back door taller so you could wheel a bike in? Just have a guy on the inside help pull it in. It didn’t need all the over engineering.

And yes, half of America dispensed with in 5 minutes definitely felt wrong. They seriously only met one guy who said “electric bikes are the future”?

Having said all that, I’m still gutted it’s finished. Does anyone else go on real adventures like this anymore? I remember loving the first show so much and watching it back now they’ve aged so much!

I know there are some posts saying these shows are getting worse but I really hope they make another.

Posted Feb 2, 2021, 12:34 AM UTC

3017
snow_fun•

After watching Up I rewatched Round. And wow it was more different than I remembered. They were younger. Dropped an f bomb every few minutes. And were real and open with the audience. Up felt like there was a lot going on behind the scenes they didn’t show. I could be totally wrong. But when more than one Rivian mechanic is just randomly there it makes me wonder. I still liked Up and I hope they make more. There are very few well made adventure shows as good as these.

17
BobRushy•

Doing the same. Round just feels like they switched the cameras on and showed everything. Every single tool that they had, how they trained, behind the scenes goofing etc.

Up definitely felt more like a TV show.

3
Hitler_the_Painter•

I think a lot of it had to do with bbc vs apple tv. They didn't curse at all in Long Way Up

2
markhewitt1978•

I really enjoyed 'Up' but in retrospect I wish they had just said they are going to do South America only. Or even ride up to the Darrien Gap then back down to Ushuaia. After they left South America it ended up terrible.

Having said that it isn't without precedent, Long Way Round stopped being as interesting once they left Russia.

9
PraxisLD•

Check out ADVrider for lots of people roaming the world unsupported.

Amazon Prime Video also has several adventure rider shows and movies for a more visual fix.

Or just get out there and find your own path...

7
buttrumpus•

So at the end, they flexed their privilege and sacrificed their electric ideals to have workers forgo their safety and build them a bus, which was discarded at the border, so they didn’t have to see any of “scary” Mexico? Wtf was that? And why cross the border at Juarez rather than anywhere closer to California? I wouldn’t usually care, but during that same time I was spending nine months traveling up pacific Mexico and into the northern sea of Cortez, and they missed so many amazing places. And I really never felt as if I was in danger. Really missed some amazing opportunities. Didn’t have any mezcal in Oaxaca or anything? Didn’t hold up to the other two shows, to me anyways.

3
kookynurse•

They showed so little of Mexico, but as an Orange County Choppers fan, I appreciated the time they showed how hard it was to modify the bus.

3
framesliders•

And the show how dangerous Mexican culture is.

3
deonteguy•

You can't blame them for being afraid and taking precautions since they were somewhere with such a violent and criminal culture.

3
beejeans13•

I'm late to the party... but... in the Long Way Down they rode through some of the most dangerous countries in the world. They even prepped by doing a hostage survival camp before hitting the road. Mexico is dangerous, but not that dangerous.

1
CanAmSteve•

Should have gone the other way. If they'd started in LA and finished in Patagonia, no-one would even remember that they'd skipped Mexico. The Down South scenery was amazing.
Agreed on the bus back door - made no sense and was a "manufactured" crisis (one of many, of course). I suspect the Rivans were swapped out at times (note how new they look toward the end). And the "crash" onto a boulder? Really? So lame I suspect it was staged

2
_adam_barkerOP•

Indeed would’ve made a much better journey but then arguably couldn’t have been named LWU. It does seem strange to compare the time spent on the America section to the time spent getting out of Ushuaia.

1
Excited_Electrons•

Long Way Up is how I got acquainted with the entire series. Yes the show has its flaws, but when I watched LWA and LWD, they had their own shares of weirdness.

In LWA, as someone said, the moment they left Magadan, it took a turn.

In LWD, for half the show they were bitching about how they were short on time and just kept riding non-stop.

It's fine.

For me, LWU highlighted a really important aspect of transportation in the coming years - how do we go all electric in the Patagonia? The perils of charging in cold weathers. Range anxiety.. Not minding your charge levels, etc. It was a travel show with a very modern twist.

And the show hits different during the pandemic when we've been quarantining for a year, doesn't it?

Anyways, to keep the momentum going, I found the LWU playlist on Spotify. I play it all the time, takes me back. Some great acoustic and Latin music. Try it out!

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
beejeans13•

I'm late to this party, but I have to agree with you! What a miserable end to the show, and for no reason. The pacific coast is much safer, and beautiful - it would have popped them out right at Tijuana instead of El Paso. It felt like they were just trying to rush and really did a disservice to Mexico. Mexico doesn't even land in the top 10 for dangerous/militarized gangs - they just picked the worst route possible. Maybe Ewan had a contract issue that forced them to end early?

The thing that confused me the most is that in the Long Way Down they took a crash course in dealing with hostage situations, and they drove through some of the most dangerous countries in the world. What they did in Mexico made no sense whatsoever. I wish they have just gone around South America in a big circle, it would have been much more entertaining.

2
_adam_barkerOP•

That’s a good point, it would have been. Such an odd end to the season, I can’t imagine it was planned that way.

Maybe Charlie was in a lot of pain towards the end and potentially wanted to end sooner than planned.

A few people have posted similar alternatives to the show but I hope they do another.

1
beejeans13•

Me too, I'd really love to see another trip. I don't know what they'd tackle next, but the highlights of all three shows are when they get off the beaten path. Meeting locals and having things go unexpectedly are the best parts. Even the bus in Mexico could have been fun if they had picked a different route... Imagine if they had parked it on the beaches in the Baja and just woke up to the local scene. So much more fun than "Straight to El Paso".

1
egiance2•

Check out c90adventures!

1
wormholeweapons•

I think they took the “dangerous” path for the drama portion of the show. This is where producers start to fiddle and ruin things. Not realizing the viewers what the ride.

Additionally they glazed over parts of Canada and the US much the same way they did in Africa and Europe where the travel was simply mundane. They think no one wants to see them ride over asphalt and tarmac highways which is really sport touring not adventure riding. Which is just not the case. While viewers don’t necessarily want an entire show about that, some of it is great especially when they stop places!

The next iteration of the series of they want to continue it should be swapping the ADV bikes for sport tourers and doing a road tour through whatever region. Presumably, Europe or North America.

1