The Ride Of Our Lives

THE RIDE OF OUR LIVES explores how the history and development of motorcycles mirrors the evolution and extinction of life on Earth. Yes. Really.

Authentic and affable, John Long is known around the world for his discoveries of fossil sex, the first air breathing and the earliest development of hands. These extraordinary discoveries, like advances in motorcycle design, were the result of environmental and behavioural changes. Long breaks down the complex and facinating components of evolution using comparable examples found in or on motorcycles, dismantling myths and misunderstandings about how life evolved, and where it may be heading. 

Currently in development in South Australia, this six part series is the result of Long’s passion for motorbikes colliding with his academic rigour and science communication skills as one of the world’s leading palaeontologists.

Equal parts road trip adventure and thrilling fossil hunt, Long demonstrates his extraordinary hypothesis using examples from both cultural and natural history, visiting the great motorcycle museums, private collections and expert curators. He will also visit spectacular fossil sites encountering bizarre dinosaurs, archaic early animal life, and monstrous predatory fishes. 

This creative transdisciplinary narrative appeals to fans of fossils, natural history and motorcycling alike, exploring the patterns observed in organic evolution over the past 3.5 billion years, how bikes are part of this process and can contribute to the future survival of our species. 

Come with us. This will be the Ride of Our Lives.