Long Way Down. BBC2 9pm Sundays. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman hit the road south.

As a biker I looked forward to the new adventure of 'Long Way Down', I had enjoyed the first trip with Ewan and Charley greatly; I even bought the DVD, having travelled quite a bit by motorcycle myself I could relate to their trials, troubles, breakdowns and most of all the sheer joy of riding in a new, strange and dangerous land, so my anticipation was great; but by the end of the first episode I felt strangely let down and disappointed.

I can't really pin down why, a few reasons maybe, the excitement of following them on their previous trip 'Long Way Round' had maybe got me expecting something more from the initial episode, and I felt this one seemed to be trying too hard to engage the viewer and just became a bit lost. Preparations for the trip appeared to involve a lot of just waiting around for visas, it was not as if the researchers wouldn't know about the problems with Libya, it just got boring constantly returning to it, and waiting to see if Ewan's leg healed ok was stretched out a bit to much. Most of us know there is a lot more involved in a trip like this, I was expecting more about the equipment they were taking and how it was packed and maybe more detail on the bikes although they could be saving that for later episodes, the experts they consulted just made it feel to me like they were discussing a weeks holiday in a rough part of Bradford! Africa can be a scary place and I didn't feel that this came across very well. Was that just bad editing though or did I miss something?

The whole thing felt rushed and partly wanted to concentrate on dramatising the relationships between Ewan, Charley and their respective partners. I felt this was unfair, I like Charley and Ewan, they work well together when on the road and the little snipes by Charley at Ewan, about his wife coming on the trip even for a few days, were a little too personal and possibly out of context, Charley was obviously put out by the fact that Eve told Ewan she wanted to come, if it was my missus I would have told her she could not come as a rider, but that I would be quite happy for her to travel with backup team, but the ride itself is a totally different matter and I certainly would not allow someone with a new licence to ride on such a trip.

The impression I get is that Charley believes that with Ewan he has a bond that is related to their love of bikes and allowing Eve to intrude in on this trip somehow alters the special nature of it. It made me wonder why two really good mates could not have talked about it when the subject first came up and discussed it off camera until it was sorted, unless it was felt that a bit of drama was needed? Unfortunately for me this made Charley look jealous and Ewan selfish, we shall see as the series progresses as to how this works out. Having not met them personally I can only go by what I see on the screen, and I felt in this first episode that the relationship between them had changed somewhat, I was worried about how that might turn out, then they both climbed on bikes and the world was right again, the change in the two of them when they ride together is so obvious but I wonder if someone who has not experienced that same feeling can see and understand it.

When Ewan got back on his Guzzi after his leg healed, his obvious joy at getting back on the bike was wonderful, I know exactly what he felt like because I broke my leg in the same place, I hated not being able to ride for 7 weeks and he is certainly right about the novelty of crutches!

I did enjoy the banter between Ewan and Charley on their previous trip, it reminds me of the banter between my mates, sometimes we forget that film stars are ordinary people as well and have lives with their families and friends, watching two blokes messing with bikes gives me great pleasure especially as the enjoyment they get from riding really shows through, this is where the program is at its best in my opinion, when they are working on or riding the bikes and commenting on what's going on around them.

Just from the evidence of this episode 'Long Way Down' was more like a soap‑opera that was trying to appeal to a different market other than bikers, so I hope it will improve. You can't blame them for that as everyone wants to increase their market share and the more people who get into bikes the better, but I found it hard to warm to them this time, maybe it's still jealously on my part that makes me feel that way, as I have mentioned in an earlier article some of us can't afford to take 3 months off to travel around on an adventure. That may sound like sour grapes but its true, Jamie and I do have a few plans in that respect for the future, though nowhere near the scale of 'Long Way Down' as we can't afford it… Unless… KTM fancies another go…

By talking about my disappointment with the first episode I am not trying to downgrade their achievement, this sort of trip is very hard work and can take a big toll on the body. I admire what they have done and don't think all the hardship comes across to the armchair public, riding across a desert, for instance, is not only hard, it is boring; watching sand go by for hour after hour and boredom brings its own dangers. I am glad they are back safe and I hope that future episodes will grab my attention again as the programme goes on.