Two Americans were killed in an ISIS-inspired attack in Tajikistan last month. They’d spent the last year bicycling around the world. And they were my friends.
At first, the media reports seemed wrong, or like they were happening in an alternate reality:
“D.C. Couple Killed In Tajikistan Attack Were Biking Around The World Together” read NPR.
“A Dream Ended on a Mountain Road: The Cyclists and the ISIS Militants” read the New York Times.
Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan quit their jobs and set off to pedal the world in July 2017. The last time I saw them was a few days before they departed on their flight to South Africa. My family — my wife, my daughter and I — had brunch with them in D.C. where we live. We listened to their last-minute plans to lighten their touring loads by the ounce and debated whether they’d need a solar charger to go along with the big batteries they bought to charge their electronic devices. We told them about our recent Barcelona trip, biking around town with a toddler, and they advised what tweaks might allow our commuter bikes to be touring bikes — toddler seat and all.
We knew then that we were saying goodbye for a few years, but the internet allowed us to keep close tabs on Jay and Lauren as they explored. We were excited to see them again; to hear their stories and adventures. And they were just as invested in keeping tabs on us — how our jobs were going, where our daughter would go to daycare, when we’d be able to meet up on their journey.
When we first heard Jay and Lauren describe the idea of the voyage to pedal the planet, it wasn’t a shock. We marveled at their courage, and were envious of their ambition. It would be long, hard, and also beautiful — if anyone could do it, it was Lauren and Jay.
