“Well, I am today going to make my own exciting and sometimes moving tribute to that great TV show with my own working from home Long Way Round,” he says in the video.

Being a motorcycling fanatic himself, Richard was inspired to do his own Long Way Round journey but limited by ‘Stay at Home’ ordinances, he would be constrained to his own yard. Although that worked out to be more entertaining than you would expect, because housed on the premises is a collection of old rare cars and motorcycles that would make any museum proud. 

Richard’s ride of choice for his Long Way Round (the yard) tribute would fittingly be a 1929 BMW R52 – a top touring bike of its day, which is also powered by an air-cooled flat twin engine just like the R1150GS Adventures Ewan and Charlie rode. The 90-year-old machine’s 486cc, 12-horsepower engine is capable of 62 mph but he wouldn’t reach anything close to those speeds during this lap around the yard.

Beyond a BMW Motorrad history lesson, some highlights of Richard’s ‘daring’ journey include a stop to check out a 1969 Porsche 911T, a 1920’s Sunbeam motorcycle that features a candle for a headlight, and even a motorcycle crash. Throughout this slow-motion adventure, Richard entertains with his familiar humorous commentary which even draws chuckles from his young daughter who tries to maintain composure while working the camera for dad. And that may be the subtle message that hits home the most in this video. While Richard is entertaining the stuck-at-home masses with his hilarious antics, maybe more importantly he’s building a connection with his daughter by incorporating her into his little creative home project.

Richard Hammond’s brilliant video is well worth seven minutes of your time if you are looking for a quick distraction to keep you occupied. But it’s also a reminder that while we may be stuck indoors, without our normal range of entertainment options, these times force us to get more creative and explore new ways to stimulate our senses. And while we may not have a menagerie of old cars and motorcycles sitting in our garage to play with, maybe we’ll discover a new interest we didn’t know we had and hopefully we’ll develop even stronger bonds with our family members by recruiting them to join us in our next creative endeavor.

So thanks Richard for giving us a little lockdown inspiration, along with a reminder for us to all stay home, stay safe and get creative. If this video gets you a little nostalgic for the old Top Gear like it did us, you can still catch Richard, Jeremy and James on their new show called The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video.

Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.