Minnesota cyclist flees Iran amid airstrikes on a journey across seven continents
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a Minnesota Man After Israel launched a barrage of nuclear collisions near where she was aboard Iranian military leaders and nuclear facilities, she was forced to build a cycling dream across all seven continents.
The Associated Press said Ian Anderson, 32, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, rode a nearby Azerbaijan on Monday as he was scheduled to be stuck in an actual war zone.
“The bombs have begun to fall,” Andersen told Wire Service on Wednesday, on Zoom from his hotel in Baku. “It was very scary.”
Andersen was touring Iran as part of his longtime mission to ride a bike across all seven continents. While you enter IranAndersen has a local guide, and has been sharing videos of his adventures with tens of thousands of followers on social media since the beginning of June.
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This photo, provided by @RideWithian, takes a selfie on Sunday, June 1, 2025 near the border of Turkey and Iran. (@ridewithian via ap)
“The day the bombs began to fall” was Friday, with Andersen and his guide heading south along the Caspian Sea coast from Charus towards the capital of Tehran.
Andersen reportedly wanted to apply for a visa. Afghanistan In Tehran, there is ambition to cross over to Central Asia and Russia.
“It was really the worst time possible,” he told the Associated Press.
As the bomb begins to fall, Andersen and his guide are protected in place, speaking Spanish and avoiding those who suspect he has come from the United States
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The car runs down the highway as smoke rises from the oil storage facility on Monday, June 16, 2025, after appearing to be struck by an Israeli strike on Saturday in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
He also said he saw a long vehicle running away from Tehran, while also seeing his own family, friends and social media followers worry about his safety.
The US State Department notified Andersen via email that they should depart for Azerbaijan or Türkiye.
A friend of Andersen in Los Angeles applied for a visa in Azerbaijan on his behalf.
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A massive plume of smoke and fires from an oil refinery in southern Tehran rose following reports of an overnight Israeli strike targeting the site on June 15, 2025. (Atta Kenne/AFP)
The bike was his dream and escape, and in the past he said he had suffered from addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
And while his dream of cycling the Seven Continent may have hit a speed bump, he has no regrets from continuing Journey.
The Iranian bomb was not his only brush of death. In fact, he said he was in northern Kenya in 2023 when the tribe threatened to chuck his spear while riding his bike through the countryside.
“There’s always a risk and you have to accept it,” he said.
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Now that he has left Iran, Andersen said he plans to take him across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan and head east to Uzbekistan. But from there, Andersen said he didn’t know where to go.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.