The Best Motorcycle Movies to Watch During Winter - Part 1

For motorcyclists living in Canada, winter is a bit like purgatory. While our beautiful two wheeled machines are in hibernation underneath a warm blanket, we are in a state of temporary suffering. Is there anything that can ease the pain? Yes there is!

In addition to going to a local motorcycle show during the off-season, I like to host motorcycle movie nights and invite my riding friends over. It's guaranteed good times ... until someone loses an eye. Then it's a sport :) Over the years my friends and I consumed dozens of chicken wings while watching hours and hours of great and not-so-great movies. Here is a list of my favourite motorcycle movies that I personally guarantee that you will love (this is not a guarantee).

Riding Solo To The Top of the World (2006)
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IMDB Link
Link to Trailer

By far this is my favourite. What Ewan and Charley do with a film crew and a support vehicle in Long Way Round and Long Way Down, Gaurav does by himself. Gaurav travels from Mumbai, India to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. He captures amazing footage and is given access to places and cultures that even National Geographic haven't. If you watch it, please buy the original DVD from his website to support Gaurav's courageous and costly efforts. Or if you're in the GTA, I'll lend it to you.

On Any Sunday (1971)
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Link to Trailer

This movie captures the fun of riding motorcycles and sucks you in with the opening scene of a five year old kid doing a massive wheelie. Being made in 1971, I thought the movie would seem dated. However, the "dated" feel is charming and added to my overall enjoyment. It's also cool to see what people could do with 40 year old technology, albeit new at the time. This movie is impossible to watch without having a smile on your face.

(More after the jump)

Long Way Round  (2004)
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This is a 7 episode TV miniseries, so you'll have to watch this over a few nights or have a LWR marathon. Each episode is about 1 hour. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman take the long way around the world to travel from London to New York on motorcycles taking them through, Europe and Asia, Alaska and Canada. I loved living vicariously through them on this adventure. I tended to like Ewan's dialogues more than Charley's but Charley was the better rider. I wish they had more footage in Canada, but there wasn't much adventure in our native land.

One Week (2008)
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Link to Trailer
Even though this was a hollywood movie, I enjoyed this one a lot. It stars Pacey, I mean Joshua Jackson. The protagonist, Ben, decides to take a cross country trip across Canada from Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia to find himself after he discovers he has cancer. I loved this not for the plot or acting, but for it's Canadian content (Joshua Jackson is also a Canadian born in Vancouver). I don't know how many times my friends and I screamed, "I know that place!" or "I've been there!" from the couch while watching it. Oh and don't forget to look for the cameo appearance of Gordon Downey, front man for the Juno Award-winning band, Tragically Hip.

Arctic Clutch (2009)
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Steve Corke self-documents his adventure from Toronto, Ontario to the Arctic Circle on his Suzuki "Wee strom" DL650. As it turns out, he's a funny guy but doesn't have much motorcycle touring experience. Who brings canned food on a motorcycle road trip?! This is an honest account of this trip where he shows his shortcomings and doesn't try to make things happen just for the camera. Well, except maybe the part with the speedo. The production quality is excellent and I also liked the Canadian content. This is only viewable online.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of  The Best Motorcycle Movies to Watch During Winter!