THOSE Hairy Bikers are back on the road again with their new TV series and meaty new cookbook.

The slim-line bearded buddies, Dave Myers and Si King were determined to throw themselves into the action while making new BBC Two road trip series Northern Exposure - even if that meant a spot of wife-carrying.

The pair circumnavigated the vast Baltic Sea for the six-part series, which sees them biking and exploring the cuisine of countries including Poland, Sweden, Russia and Finland, where King was persuaded to indulge in a favourite local sport.

''Dave said, 'I think he would like a go at the wife-carrying', and I went, 'Pardon me, WHAT?''' King recalls.

''I disappeared down the boardwalk with this very light and lovely lady attached to my neck going, 'See you later lads, I am not coming back!'''

The trip had been in the pipeline for a few years, but had to be put on hold after King received emergency treatment for a life-threatening brain aneurysm in 2014.

Today, the 47-year-old dad-of-three is recovering well - although he admits he does have to keep an eye on his fatigue levels, given the high-energy nature of the Bikers' work.

Myers, meanwhile, says getting back on the road with his pal (who he met more than 20 years ago when both were crew members on a TV adaptation of Catherine Cookson's The Gambling Man) has been ''magic... like putting on a pair of comfy shoes''.

''It's better than ever really, because we appreciate it a bit more,'' the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant adds.

The pair slimmed down in 2012 after embarking on a healthy eating kick, but admit they are feeling a bit softer around the edges again, after enjoying such delights as strawberry vodka cheesecake and pickled fish during the filming of Northern Exposure.

''After the three months on the road in the Baltics and Sweden, we need to practise what we preach a bit really,'' Myers, 57, confesses. ''We've both put half a stone on and need to shift it.''

The busy pair have also released a new cookbook, The Hairy Bikers' Meat Feasts, in which they celebrate meaty recipes, from shepherd's pie and chilli con carne, to pies and curries.

''It's a big book, with more than 150 recipes,'' says Myers. ''We wanted to write the perfect meat book with everything we've learned.''

According to King - who's particularly partial to a ''proper corned beef, not the tinned stuff'' - the key to a good meat dish is buying the best quality meat you can.

''I'd rather have one piece of fantastic meat that's been subjected to good husbandry, than have 20 bits of the cheapest mince.''

After almost a decade on our screens (the first series of The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook aired in 2006), the pair are still learning about food all the time.

''We're not trained chefs and we haven't got a restaurant, but we've had the most incredible opportunities to experiment with food,'' says Myers.

''I often say we must be the two most over-stimulated human beings on the planet,'' King adds. ''We go from one fantastic thing to another. That's always an enormous privilege.''

Having Myers on the road with him through thick and thin has meant the most of all.

''It transcends friendship, he's like my brother. We love each other's mad foibles,'' says King.

''Life brings surprises on a constant daily basis; those surprises are there to make you stronger. You have big life changes, you do, and we know that if either one of us go through that, we will be there to catch each other.''

The Hairy Bikers' Meat Feasts is out now and the new series will be on BBC Two on Tuesday nights.

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