Cathy Birchall (c. 1957–2013) was a long-distance motorcyclist credited as the first blind woman to circumnavigate the world.
[1] Her circumnavigation on a 1990 BMW R100RT motorcycle was accomplished in one year, beginning in August 2008.
[1] While on this journey she also became the first blind person to reach the summit of Wayna Picchu.
[4] Birchall has been completely blind since her late twenties due to retinitis pigmentosa and was in her fifties during the trip.
[4][1] Birchall and her partner both kept journals during the trip and eventually wrote a book about their journey titled Touching The World: A Blind Woman, Two Wheels and 25,000 Miles.