Charley Boorman has completed an epic ten-week adventure, crisscrossing the United States of America on a BMW R 1200 GS adventure-sports motorcycle while filming his exciting new series Extreme Frontiers: USA.
Along the way, Charley’s adventures included braving the frozen Alaskan wilderness for hostile environment training with the US Army, diving in Pearl Harbor to see the wrecks and flying a replica of the Wright Brothers’ fabric and string glider at Kitty Hawk.
“Extreme Frontiers: USA,” the third in Boorman’s new series, saw the BMW-riding adventurer and travel-writer make his way from Hawaii to Alaska, via New York, Utah, Montana and California – and many more states and cities across the length and breadth of America.
Charley and his producer/fellow adventurer Russ Malkin traveled around the USA on a pair of new 2013 R 1200 GS motorcycles, the same model Charley has back in the UK. The duo rode over 5,000 miles on tarmac, desert, gravel and dirt, putting the adventure bikes to the test in some of the most challenging – and spectacular – locations in North America.
Charley’s knowledge and skills earned from over a decade of motorcycle adventures, including the Long Way Round and his Dakar race experiences, proved to be invaluable as he battled through swamps, rivers and sand dunes.
The duo’s trip was made even more memorable by once-in-a-lifetime events, including flash flooding in the driest place in the world (Death Valley), being battered by squalls and storms while sailing a tall ship out of Boston Harbor, even flying high above the New Mexico deserts in a hot air balloon. Charley also ticked one off his personal ‘bucket list’ by racing along the beautiful and vast Bonneville Salt Flats, home to countless land speed records through history. Here Charley and Russ got to meet and ride with the racers who call the Salt Flats home.
Towards the end of the epic journey, the pair were joined by a huge convoy of over 100 motorcycles and riders for the final stretch. Friendly local bikers escorted Charley and Russ on the last few miles to the famous Venice Beach, wrapping up an amazing ten-week adventure.
Charley Boorman says: “Extreme Frontiers: USA was an amazing trip and I had the most incredible adventures along the way. Once again, I had the opportunity to ride a BMW R 1200 GS which made the trip even more enjoyable. The bikes coped with everything from deserts to floods, ice to mud and they made our journey that bit easier. I can’t wait for everyone to be able to see the new Extreme Frontiers series on TV – I hope they have as much fun watching it as Russ and I had filming!”
Russ Malkin said: “Having just finished extreme frontiers USA – both BMW 1200 GS bikes went faultlessly over 7,000 miles, which meant we could enjoy the trip and adventures, as we knew they wouldn’t let us down. They are engineered to perfection.”
The Extreme Frontiers: USA program will be broadcast on Channel Five later this year.
To see photos, videos and read the daily blog updates from the trip, click here.
Images courtesy of Leopold Hughes.
