From the article:
DULUTH, Minn. — “I was talking to my brother, my dear bro, and he was like, you know the youngest person to go around the world on a motorcycle was 23 and at the time I was 20,” said Motorcyclist, Bridget McCutchen.
16 months ago Wisconsin native Bridget McCutchen set out on her journey to attempt to circumnavigate the world on her motorcycle, and to be the youngest to do so, and the only women to document the record.
“The reason I actually left was not the reason I kept going,” said McCutchen.
McCutchen was 21 years old when she left from Ashland Wisconsin. She had never been outside the U.S before
Now she returns after visiting 45 countries and four continents and with plenty of stories to tell.
“I was like, I have to go over this river crossing, fell over and got my motorcycle on the other side and then some very nice locals came over and they were like, you know there’s a bridge right there,” said McCutchen.
McCutchen made her journey down to South America and then shipped her trusty bike overseas to continue her adventure, before eventually returning to the states.
Her bike saw five tire changes, but stayed reliable the whole trip.
“As I grew my reasons changed, you know, at first it was just because I hadn’t really felt like I had seen much of the world. Leaving here, which don’t get me wrong, it’s great, but I felt like I was missing a lot. And the chance to see the world first hand was pretty incredible,” said McCutchen.
McCutchen said she couldn’t chose the top country she visited.
But Peru, Argentina and Norway were some of her favorites.
The Motorcyclist said it was an incredible experience meeting new people from all across the world.
“It’s like if someone came into your house and took a picture sitting at the front table and they were like, this is all of you, and this is all you are. And there’s you whole house, there’s your whole life behind that, that’s one moment in your life. And that’s what I found for most of the world is the things we see are one moment in people’s lives,” said McCutchen.
Bridget had a lot of support behind her from friends, family, and even strangers.
Her best friend Kiva even joined her on her trip to South America and part of Europe.
“I got my motorcycle license like two weeks maybe before we left for the trip, so now it’s been over a year. When I met Bridget McCutchen, I did not have a motorcycle license, or a motorcycle, or any idea what was going on,” said Kiva Carman-Frank.
After over a year on the road, McCutchen made her last stop in Duluth, then road with a group back to her starting point in Ashland.
