Ashland motorcyclist earns Guinness World Record after global journey

– Bridget McCutcheon: I grew up on a farm in northern Wisconsin.
I like to joke I was raised in a field by cows and a dog.
Part of it’s a joke and part of it is reality.
– Angela Fitzgerald: In August 2022, Bridget McCutchen set out from Ashland… – Jeff McCutchen: Goodbye, Bridget!
– Angela: …attempting to set a world record as the youngest person to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle.
[bright guitar music] – Bridget: I mean, it’s a beautiful world, and I wanna go see it.
That’s a big part of it, is just wanting to go see the world.
– Angela: Bridget took with her an abundance of curiosity and ambition.
– Bridget: Riding a motorcycle, to me, is the best thing in the world.
And it gives you a sense of freedom and independence.
– Angela: Fourteen months later, [motorcycle revving] with her newfound freedom and independence, Bridget throttled back into the town where the journey began.
[people applauding and cheering] – And we’re so happy you’re here to celebrate Bridget’s return.
– Oh, my goodness!
Okay, well, I’m alive, I’m fine.
I’m excited to rest, and honestly, eat food that is very familiar.
– Angela: At the starting line, no one could have predicted the outcome.
Least of all Bridget, who rewatched the interview she recorded just prior to leaving.
– I think it’s going to start out with completing the trip and getting the record, and I would not be surprised by the end of it if it is completely different, because I guarantee you, I will not be the same person when I come back, and my values would have changed.
So, that’s gonna change.
[chuckling] Wow!
[upbeat electronic music] – Angela: After logging about 50,000 miles and traversing 45 countries, Bridget did come back a changed person.
– Bridget: The riding for long hours gave me a lot of time to think.
I think I’ve become a lot calmer.
I think a lot of things don’t bother me the same way they used to.
I am in the desert.
This is the desert I am in.
I feel way more certain of myself than I did previously, and I think that’s a big, big deal.
So I’ve stopped for the night, and this is my camp spot.
– Angela: That’s not to say she wasn’t uncertain or frightened during the trip.
– There were times when I was scared.
I think fear is very healthy.
It tells you when your situations are dangerous.
– Angela: When asked the driving factor that got her through it all… [Bridget grunting] – Bridget: Stubbornness, mostly.
[laughing] I think that was a huge part of it, is once I get ahold of something, I’m a hold of it and it’s not going anywhere.
So, I think just holding onto that idea really kept me going.
[laughing] – Angela: The gravity of her accomplishment is still setting in.
I just thought about that.
Um…
Pretty cool.
Y’know, I’m very happy I’m going home, but I’m gonna miss this.
I am going to miss this a whole bunch!
And that I did that was pretty awesome.
I am in Nepal!
For the rest of the winter, sort of be figuring out what I’m doing next.
And, y’know, sort of getting things done.
I wanna go back to working on boats and, like, doing other stuff like that.
I’m not exactly sure, but I have some things in mind.
No big adventures planned yet.
– Angela: Driven to succeed on an adventure that took her to all corners of the world.
– I am in the forest in Germany.
And I really want to inspire other young women like myself to ride motorcycles.
– Angela: Mission accomplished, Bridget!
With an inspiring story that landed her in the Guinness Book of World Records.
[motorcycle engine roaring]