A 32-year-old Minnesota man, Ian Andersen, who had embarked on a dream of cycling across all seven continents, found his journey significantly disrupted when Israeli airstrikes began raining down near Iran, forcing him to flee to Azerbaijan for safety.
According to the Associated Press, Andersen was caught in the crossfire of the conflict as he was traveling through Iran, which had been a key part of his mission to bike across all seven continents. The airstrikes, reportedly targeting Iran’s military leaders and nuclear facilities, created an urgent need to find shelter.
“The bombs started falling,” Andersen told the Associated Press on Zoom from Baku, “it was extremely scary.” He was in Iran with a local guide and had been sharing his adventure with tens of thousands of social media followers since June. However, the bombing incident forced a sudden change of plans as Andersen and his guide had to seek refuge.
Andersen was riding on the Casp, the day the bombs started falling was on Friday. On that day, he and his guide were heading south along the Caspian Sea coast from Chalus toward Tehran. He had hoped to apply for a visa to Afghanistan in Tehran, with ambitions of continuing his journey into Central Asia and onto Russia. However, the situation turned critical when the bombings began.
Andersen and his guide took shelter and spoke Spanish to avoid being suspected of being American. The U.S. State Department had advised him to leave for Azerbaijan or Turkey. A friend in Los Angeles had applied for a visa to Azerbaijan on his behalf, which was ultimately granted by the U.S. Embassy in Baku.
Despite the setback, Andersen said he had no regrets about taking on the journey, and he has always known that there is risk involved. He mentioned that he had previously faced a brush with death when a tribesman in northern Kenya threatened to throw a spear at him while biking through the area.
Now that he is out of Iran, Andersen is planning to cross the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, then head east into Uzbekistan. But from there, he said, he does not know where to go next. The Associated Press reported that the bombs in Iran were not his only challenge, and he acknowledged that there is always risk involved in the journey. However, he is determined to continue his adventure and has no regrets about taking on the challenge of cycling across all seven continents.