Minnesota man cycling through Iran gets caught amid conflict with Israel
For one Minnesota family, the conflict between Israel and Iran is hitting incredibly close to home after their son unintentionally found himself in the middle of it all.
Ian Andersen is what you can only describe as a true adventurer. A Minnesotan through and through, his parents are in Wayzata, but he himself is in the middle of a nine-month bike trek from Portugal to Japan.
It's something he started in February, and just this past week, he found himself in Iran in the middle of a geopolitical conflict, potentially stranded without a place to go.
He posted the update to his TikTok and social media, saying his guide informed him they were running out of options. An encounter with police could at the very least lead to a detainment.
That clip has since been viewed over 1 million times.
Andersen's parents say a viewer was ultimately who helped him secure a visa and passage into Azerbaijan, where he's now safely planning the next leg of his journey.
"We're just so happy when people reach out to him and offer him a place to stay, or a meal, or help with fixing his bike when it's needed," father Mark Andersen said. "It's just really lovely when people reach out and help our son. It's just kind of like, wow, he's really benefited from that."
Ian Andersen's mother said that she's been trying not to focus too much on world news as he makes his journey, even going so far as to turn off the notifications on her phone.
"I still haven't watched that video where he talks about what they went through, because my imagination is only being confirmed. They were in a dicey situation where things are beyond their control, and they got through," Polly Andersen said. "We are just so thankful that there are people out there watching him. It seems to just really bring up the chance of success. The chance he makes it back in one piece."
