Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World 
It started as a daydream. Poring over a map of the world at home one quiet Saturday afternoon, Ewan McGregor - actor and self-confessed bike nut - noticed that it was possible to ride all the way round the world, with just one short hop across the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska. It was a revelation he couldn't get out of his head. So he picked up the phone and called Charley Boorman, his best friend, fellow actor and bike enthusiast. 'Charley,' he said. 'I think you ought to come over for dinner...'
From London to New York, Ewan and Charley chased their shadows through Europe, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia, across the Pacific to Alaska, then down through Canada and America. But as the miles slipped beneath the tyres of their big BMWs, their troubles started. Exhaustion, injury and accidents tested their strength. Treacherous roads, unpredictable weather and turbulent politics challenged their stamina. They were chased by paparazzi in Kazakhstan, courted by men with very large guns in the Ukraine, hassled by the police, and given bulls' testicles for supper by Mongolian nomads.
And yet despite all these obstacles they managed to ride over 20,000 miles in four months, changing their lives forever in the process. As they travelled they documented their trip, taking photographs, and writing diaries by the campfire. Long Way Round is the result of their adventures - a fascinating, frank and highly entertaining travel book about two friends riding round the world together and, against all the odds, realising their dream.
Reviews
Why do you call them whiny? I didn't see that at all. They did explain, right from the start, why they went for a TV deal. Not the best option for their personal objective, but the most practical solution under the circumstances. They weren't crazy about having all those people along, it was simply a necessary evil. I'd go nuts if I'd ever had to travel with a three-ring circus following me--but to be fair, I can go where I want when I want. My work is wherever I happen to be. Working actors don't have that luxury. Time was definitely a factor in their case.
I'm sure their respective handlers lobbied for the support team, TV series or no. There are always risks involved in adventure travel--I've had more than one serious injury myself (one required major surgery, the other resulted in temporal lobe epilepsy). For two guys who make their living in front of the cameras, well....
As to the criticism regarding their homesickness and/or concern for their families: we have here two healthy young men, away from their wives for almost four months. You'd better believe they were homesick!!!!
Just because they chose to realize a dream and make this journey does not mean they don't love their families or miss them. It might sound a bit selfish, but the heart wants what it wants, and fulfilling certain longings can make all the difference between being able to be a good spouse and parent, and ending up bitter and resentful, always wondering what might have been. To their credit, Eve McGregor and Olly Boorman seem to realize this.
There were several comments here criticizing them for using the trip for publicity. One could hardly call them publicity hounds, especially those of us who are American, natives of the bizarro world of publicity hounds. These two are flying way under the radar compared to Tom Cruise's high profile midlife crisis (now that he's head of UA, we'll never get rid of him) and Anna Nicole Smith's paternity dispute (Who's the daddy? Don't know, don't care! Note to Entertainment Tonight: video of her C-section does NOT qualify as entertainment!).
There was at least one comment regarding the British slang being a distraction. They are British, after all. If it had been edited out, then they would have been accused of not writing their own stuff!
And a final note I'm sure will elicit a few snickers: there's no such thing as coincidence, folks. From the beginning, it's Ewan who's obsessed with making this trip. He was very moved by the little girl they encountered in Mongolia. Last year, he and his wife adopted that child. He was being compelled, not knowing why, to make that trip at that time because he had to find her. Later might have been too late.
Problem is, I'll probably never find anyone who wants to ride from NY to London with me now that these guys have done such a great job of documenting all their trials and tribulations! Really amazing!