(CNN) — Born right into a household of motorcyclists, Bridget McCutchen was capable of witness firsthand the fun that using a bike might convey from a really early age.
The 22-year-old, who grew up in Northern Wisconsin, received her first bike when she was round 19 and shortly started heading off on journeys to the likes of Baltimore and New York.
However the notion of using all over the world hadn’t ever occurred to her till her older brother identified that she was nonetheless younger sufficient to beat the report for the youngest individual to circumnavigate the globe on a motorbike.
McCutchen, whose longest highway journey had been from Wisconsin to Washington, says she dismissed the concept at first, but it surely stored coming again into her thoughts.
“After some time, I used to be like, ‘why not?’ The one cause I did not suppose I used to be going to do it was as a result of I used to be fearful of it,” she tells CNN Journey. “I used to be telling myself, ‘no.’ After which I made a decision to inform myself, ‘Sure.’ So right here we’re.”
Report problem
Bridget McCutchen is making an attempt to beat the report for the youngest individual to circumnavigate the globe on a motorbike.
Courtesy Bridget McCutchen
As a way to change into the brand new report holder, McCutchen is required to stick to a listing of specs, together with utilizing the identical motorbike for your entire journey and avoiding staying in a single location for over two weeks.
McCutchen may even have to trip overland throughout the Equator not less than as soon as, whereas the journey have to be a minimal of 24,900 miles (40,075 kilometers) with a purpose to qualify.
After saving as a lot cash as she might, McCutchen set off in August, spending her first few weeks “bouncing across the States,” earlier than heading over to Baja and crossing over to mainland Mexico by ferry.
She’s touring with a using associate, Kiva, who she met just a few months in the past, throughout this part of the journey, and says they usually trigger a stir once they arrive in a brand new place and pull off their helmets.
“A variety of the time individuals are very stunned,” she says. “Like they count on males to be using these bikes.”
“In a automotive, you are in a bubble shifting by means of the world,” she says. “However on a motorbike, you’re subjected to all the pieces, for higher or worse. Sights, smells, sounds. All the pieces issues to you extra.
“You’re uncovered to all the pieces, and it is a lot extra partaking. It is extra intimate.”
Difficult passage
McCutcheon is at the moment using from Mexico to South America as a part of the primary leg of her journey.
Courtesy Bridget McCutchen
McCutchen, who has simply left Mexico Metropolis, plans to slowly make her solution to South America, touring by means of Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay earlier than flying to Europe.
“That is the place there’s much less of a plan,” she explains. “As a result of I’ve to seek out someplace to ship my motorbike to by way of boat, which goes to take round two months.”
As soon as each McCutchen and her bike have reached Europe, ideally by way of Spain, McCutchen hopes to journey by means of the UK, Eire, and over to Turkey, which straddles Europe and Asia, and “arising subsequent to the Caspian Sea.”
At this stage, she has a restricted variety of route choices for going additional into Asia, every of which include fairly main challenges.
McCutchen had initially deliberate to enter Russia, however this might not be doable as a result of ongoing warfare in Ukraine.
“The scenario may be very difficult,” she says. “I nonetheless consider Russia to be my most suitable choice.”
As soon as, or if, she’s capable of efficiently full the Asia leg of her journey, McCutchen goals to have her bike shipped again to Mexico, the place she’ll trip again to the US.
In the intervening time, she’s centered on making it by means of the primary leg, and was thrilled to be in Mexico for Día de los Muertos, also called Day of the Lifeless, which extends over the primary two days of November.
In fact, touring by motorbike on unfamiliar roads, comes with its hazards, and McCutchen has discovered it robust to navigate some off highway sections of the nation at occasions.
She’s fallen from her bike onto the sand on just a few events and has had some “shut calls with vans round blind corners.”
“Essentially the most tough factor up to now has been mountain passes,” she says. “As a result of we have been avoiding the toll roads.”
McCutchen says she’s needed to study to decelerate and revel in her environment moderately than dashing from place to position.
Dialog starter
McCutchen with biker group the Los Renecidos in Mexican village Bernal.
Courtesy Bridget McCutchen
“Sometimes, once I was on a motorbike journey, I used to be going someplace and did not have a whole lot of time,” she explains. “And now I’ve a ton of time.”
McCutchen has opted to dump a few of her gear alongside the best way with a purpose to maintain issues as manageable as doable, and is at the moment carrying two pairs of trousers, two shirts, a tiny air compressor, an additional gas bottle, a tenting range, a tent, a sleeping bag, digicam tools and a laptop computer.
“A few of it may be heavy, but it surely’s actually simply tremendous primary stuff,” she says.
Though she had saved some cash earlier than starting the journey, she shortly realized that it could not be almost sufficient to cowl all of her bills.
“At first I used to be like, ‘how am I going to pay for it?'” she admits. “As a result of not having the ability to keep wherever for greater than two weeks sort of limits my means to work on the highway.”
McCutchen is massively grateful to those that’ve supplied their assist and/or donated to her fund, acknowledging that the generosity of others has been “just about the principle cause I have been in a position to do that.”
She’s been significantly having fun with interacting with locals whereas on the highway, explaining that the motorbike, a Kawasaki Versys X 300, has proved to be an awesome dialog starter.
“Individuals suppose bikes are cool, they usually come as much as speak to you,” she says. “It is like a bridge to extra folks. You change into extra accessible.”
Overcoming obstacles
McCutchen, who comes from a household of motorcyclists, received her first bike when she was 19.
Courtesy Bridget McCutchen
Whereas she was cautious of the hazards she might doubtlessly face whereas using a bike in unfamiliar international locations earlier than starting the journey, McCutchen says her experiences up to now have helped to place her thoughts comfy.
“You hear a whole lot of stuff about how the world may be very harmful, and it is best to keep the place you are protected,” she says.
“A part of that’s true. There is not any getting round that I am placing my life in danger by doing this. However there’s additionally a lot of the world that may be very variety and wonderful. And I believe that far outweighs the very scary bits.”
Though the journey has gone comparatively easily up to now, McCutchen is not taking something as a right, and says she’s properly conscious that her problem try might be thwarted for causes past her management.
“I am undoubtedly a bit apprehensive about not having the ability to proceed due to one thing taking place,” she admits. “Just like the bike breaking, or issues on the planet getting worse.”
In fact, if she is profitable in breaking this explicit report, the chances are high that somebody even youthful will come alongside and set a brand new report someday.
Nonetheless, McCutchen is not frightened about this in any respect. The truth is, she says she’ll gladly assist anybody who’s eager to take action, even when it signifies that they beat her to it.
“I need to get different folks to do issues like this,” she says. “Possibly not essentially to this talent, as a result of not everyone has the time.
“But when somebody got here to me now and was like, ‘I need to break this report,’ they usually broke it earlier than me. That may be fantastic.”
