3/25/2025

ASHLAND - An Ashland woman has set a world record as the youngest person to travel around the world on a motorcycle. Bridget McCutchen grew up on a farm in northern Wisconsin, but has always had an adventurous spirit. She was homeschooled and traveled across the country on her motorcycle at 19, to find work on a tall ship called the Lady Washington. She’s worked on the movie sets for Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Trek. And then at 21 she set out to break a record. To claim the record and be certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, she had to travel 24,900 miles, cross the equator at least once and do it on a motorcycle. Fourteen months,45 countries and 50K miles later McCutchen motored back into Ashland. She says not much bothers her now, that learning to trust your gut can get you through almost anything and that she is proud to have set an example for other young people that if you set your mind to something, you can do it. A short film on her journey just aired on PBS’s “Wisconsin Life”. If you’d like to watch it, it’s season 11, episode 11 of that series.