I salute them and condemn their killers enslaved as they are to an evil ideology.
24
“In all, four people were killed: Mr. Austin, Ms. Geoghegan and cyclists from Switzerland and the Netherlands.”
Why weren’t the other two cyclists named? Don’t the deaths of non-Americans also matter?
49
So many beautiful and safe places to go, why go to a country like this?
41
I think that showing a picture of the men who took responsibility for killing the couple (and others) just helps to give them the recognition that are seeking.
44
These people could have been riding their bikes through many parts of the American South or anywhere else in this or any country on Earth for that matter. They could have been asleep in their beds. If the wrong person at the wrong time comes into your home or you come into theirs, there will be nothing that you can do.
The same thing goes if you are trying to live with grizzly bears, swim with stingrays, or catch cobras by the neck. As I told my kids growing up-- it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when" and "to whom".
This is why I lock me doors and keep defensive weapons handy even in a small town where crime is very low. And having been injured enough times by domestic livestock growing up, I give most wild animals a wide berth.
Sadly, I saw the beginnings of the descent of the Islamic world into madness more than 40 years ago, from afar, in the friendships I developed at college with Muslim and former Muslim students from many parts of the Ummah. I would not visit any Islamic country today anymore than I would ride a bike in most parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Chicago, LA, or most any major US city.
Interestingly, at about the same time, I saw they US begin our descent into this current madness under Reagan. Violence does in fact beget violence, but rarely does peace beget peace.
26
Lovely couple and a sad reminder some places in the world outside the United States may seem dangerous but that these folks could have easily been killed here in the states as well.
But that becoming scared and not getting out and seeing the world beyond our comfort zone, would be a sad memorial to Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan and the cyclists from Switzerland and the Netherlands.
21
So agree with those who admired this couple and are like this couple. Cocoons may seem cozy but challenging yourself and your values by exposure to different peoples, cultures and thought are mind boggling in the gifts you get.
Also thanks to pointing out that ISIS teachings are evil---the followers just badly misled--sort of like with our Liar in Chief's base today
12
The result of fantasy meeting reality.
33
SADLY I ADMIRE THIS PAEAN TO THE MEMORIES OF The worldwide bicyclists whose lives were snuffed out by ISIS. Their murderers, in their bloodthirsty frenzy, believed that they were fulfilling the more than 160 versus of the Qu'ran that describe making war against the disbelievers. Right! Like 5 people on bicycles represented a threat to a religion that has more than one billion followers globally!
22
It’s funny, or sad really that the language used by the Islamists is almost identical to the language I hear used on christian radio stations here in Texas. Daily there is talk of a war with secularism, with liberalism, in the name of “freedom” and in the name of god’s laws. The calm talk of battles being waged is not unique to Islam, but is at home right here in the USA.
I’ve listened to these stations this Spring and Summer because I wanted to know what was unsettling my neighbors and friends. And what they are saying and being prompted to say by the Christian Right IS unsettling.
That said, being run down by radical thinkers is bad luck, but the kind of bad luck that is being invited by our president and too many in his radical party.
It seems like these two were on their own “Hero’s Journey”. More power to them and to those on similar paths.
35
I love the positive comments. Not one against Isis. Wow.
14
The world needs more people like this young couple, and it needs none of the hate-filled murderers who ran them down. ISIS completely skews their interpretation of religion, using it as an excuse to control, torture and murder innocent victims in order to gain power, just as the Nazis made up insane rationals to murder millions of innocents. I abhor violence, but it is now clear that ISIS will not be stopped by any other means, and they must be stopped once and for all.
11
And what of the kind, beautiful young immigrants to this country who meet a violent death on the streets of America, the land of guns? Chicago or Tajikistan - it's not just a Third World problem. We own it in spades.
34
Liberal westerners, most particularly women, best recognize that their values are in mortal conflict with MAINSTREAM Islam. If they don't want to end up wrapped in a burka or raped or worse, they best WAKE UP from their tragic naivete.
46
Chilling. The very evil they rejected and refused to believe in, got them. Because to kill someone simply bc they appear to be from another faith is pure evil - even in Islam.
What a disappointing story of two wonderful people, who tried to embrace the good in the world, but were instead met with the most depraved form of evil and ignorance.
13
RIP.
6
We don't have enough information in this article to ascribe any idealism to the killers. I see them, in the picture, as aimless young goons -- just a step more cruel than the driver in Spain who sandwiched Austin -- wanton goons not unlike our own who harm first, then shop for an excuse after the fact.
17
Here are some articles that would make any sane person without military training concerned about bicycling on remote Tajikistan roads: From 3 years ago -
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/02/isis-defection-gulmurod-kh.... From 1.5 years ago - https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-deadly-export-islamic-state-suicide-b.... I can only hope that the senseless deaths of these 4 people remind others that delusions about kindness of people can end badly and that the romanticization of this incident is foolish.
53
Thank you NYT for including the photo of the five cowardly thug murderers. Hopefully it will lead to bringing them to justice, though my impulse is to reach into my screen and throttle them all.
18
Sad story here. Two good people trying to live their lives murdered by a few brainwashed psychopaths (yes, psychopaths) whose only concerns are murdering people that don't share their religious beliefs and the wonderful afterlife that allah has promised them. why doesn't allah help them in this life? or maybe permit them to move themselves (and only themselves) to the next life and leave the rest of us alone?
16
“We indeed belong to God, and to him is our final return”, is the phrase commonly recited by the hearer of news-of-death. I do that for the 4 innocent people killed by deluded band who knew not the sanctity bestowed on LIFE by Islam. Furthermore the <sanctity of life> applies to all humans irrespective of be they Muslims od non-Muslims.
Thus, the band who killed these innocent people committed a crime against Islam.
7
hmm ...
sit in your tiny narrow worldview in your little hole-in-the-wall place ... ... ... meet all sorts of interesting people who have different perspectives and outlooks than yourself, .... and kill them.
7
In many parts of the world, human life is cheap. People don’t expect to have luxuries constantly in front of them, and they don’t expect to be treated fairly, nor to have rights that will be respected. You get attacked, or your husband beats you or you get cheated out of your property or savings – well, too bad. What did you expect, roses and champagne? In most places, the government and law enforcement will do nothing to help you, or will make it worse. Although it is disappearing rapidly, the idea that America offered this respect and these protections was a major reason people from everywhere flocked here.
So when you have these ideals and to a certain extent, these expectations, and you go to other places, trouble awaits. The hospitals don’t work, the police don’t care, and women are way, way down on the pecking order.
Most Americans abroad experience these hassles/ crimes/degradation, and, horribly, some are killed.
15
my admiration to both lauren and jay
for their courage, determination and optimism.
may that spirit prevail!
i spent several years in tajikistan and experienced
hospitality to degrees almost unfathomable.
people i worked for & with became my second family.
[as to the young men who feel so compelled to kill:
we still have very much work ahead of us - to undo
what centuries of warmongering have brought us.]
5
Beautiful people living a great life. It is sad what happened to them, very terrible luck. I bet they would have chosen to do it again had they the choice.
2
I have no issues with Mr. Austin's journey. He was doing exactly what he wanted. He died as he lived. The issue I have is that Ms. Geoghegan was pressured into going, that Mr. Austin didn't seriously take her health and well-being into consideration, and that she ended up dead. She died doing what HE wanted. She might have enjoyed riding along on his dream, but it was his dream, not hers.
22
I recognize these people as members of a group who want to broaden their humanity. Their death was just as wasteful as the death of other animals by trophy shooters or people who just hate or blame the lack in their lives on others. The human species has yet to recognize what it is and maximize on that gelatinous grey matter and embrace all the wonder that is still available on this planet. No. I do not push for leaving home and striking out to points unknown. As simple as stepping outside on a clear night and looking at the sky of stars and constellations. Ever take time for a meteor shower?
4
I don’t blame people for taking risks in travel or sports and accepting in a clear headed way that risk. These two come off immaturely like they dont get the risk. They are presumptuous thinking they are so special and exude so much goodness that they will be treated differently than the regular people.
31
I walked Spain last summer for 30 days - 500 miles and also biked 120 miles on bike with my backpack. It’s a safe pilgrimage called “El Camino de Santiago Compostela”. On the path I met many amazing people that each touched my soul along the way. But also along the way there were signs saying where to go, where to eat, etc. my body fell apart. Biking was much harder than walking ! I am in grief for what has happened to this lovely couple. They didn’t have my comfort that I had and did this for one year. Driving a car takes a few minutes with no pain. It’s an act of complete cowardice and disregard for the “deep values” of this couple putting themselves through what they did. They should have tried to do what this lovely couple was doing for a few days and see if they felt the same ! I am jealous of their experience! I know that what they did was worth every moment of the people’s hearts they met ! Gave them strength! A new life perspective. Humanity ! I wish I would be one of those people that met them! Condolences to their families! Be proud - always! - A Pilgrim.
4
Dear Rukmini Callimachi,
I have not been as moved by this kind of story since reading Anne Frank who like Jay Austin believed in the goodness of people. Thank you for bringing these two bicyclists to life.
8
This is the kind of bike trip the aspirational me always dreamed of doing. The joyful optimism of this young couple that propelled them in the face of challenges is the kind of gritty hopefulness I see daily in the young people I work with. Such positivity generally inspires others to be generous with help. Yet the complex hatred that permeates our world won, and sadly silenced their voices. May these lovely young travelers Rest In Peace...
9
It is important to be tuned in to your intuition and also to be informed. Going to Tajikistan for any reason is ignoring giant red flags. It sounds like Mr. Austin put his girlfriend at great risk and that had unfortunate consequences. A very sad account.
15
I hold Trump and his supporters responsible. The Republicans have elected a nihilistic narcissist as their leader. Trump's behavior respects no spiritual code or set of ethics except that which enriches him and his family. Republicans follow Trump in violating their oaths of office and by the time they are done they may succeed in breaking apart our nation. Similar nihilistic characters to Trump throughout the world are emboldened to inflict maximum damage and take others lives or property when the opportunity presents itself. Trump's disrespect and vulgarity has engendered hatred against America throughout the world and have exposed our citizens to retaliatory actions such as this young couple tragically experienced. Condolences and prayers for their families.
3
Isn't there a difference between thinking
a) there is a lot of good and kindness is the world
b) there is no evil in the world. it's a construct.
I believe a) but not b).
This couple seemed bent on proving b). To me, that's almost narcissistic. It implies that they are so nice and likable that nobody would want to hurt them.
I can see devoting one's life to trying to make the world a more compassionate place. I can't see risking one's life to prove that it, despite appearances to the contrary, already is an entirely compassionate place. That's what evangelical martyrs do.
22
This is undeniably a tragic end for a well-intentioned couple. However, it does highlight the dangers of white privilege, the idea that because one is white, they are "invisible," that they will not be perceived as a threat to others, that others will see them as "good," and the assumption that they are safe. I doubt many people of color would dare to go on such an adventure, because they do not have the privilege of believing they will be received that way. It's something that's not spoken about enough, but maybe this can begin a more public discourse.
May they rest in peace.
13
@Ellie People of color in the countries this couple visited took the risk of stopping to offer the two ice cream or music or a room in their home. According to the words I read, this couple was trying to approach life with an open-heart. Hearts are all the same color.
6
Enjoyable read. Rose colored glasses do not exist in today's world.
An admirable choice this couple made, but not a wise one in this time of terrorism.
14
These two wonderful people died in the process of doing what they found enlightening and fun. If we all could enjoy life as these two did, it is just possible that we would die happy, as well.
The terrible ideas that killed them are to be found everywhere in the world. There are those who think they have the answers - and they think they have the right to impose those answers on everyone else. While the countries with mainly radical Islam idealists tend to be this way more than others, every country in the world has some component of hate - some more than others. The US is gradually becoming that way - perhaps not entirely from religious idealism, but certainly from political. Religious or political, it is all wrong.
Only when the human race learns to live and let live will we extricate ourselves from this cycle of hatred.
8
Two remarkable individuals came face to face with humanity in many of its' presentations...but the missing element here may have been their inadequate concern about some parts of the world, forces operative there, and the inherent dangers thereof. That, and a smidgen of excess innocence accompanied by genuine goodheartedness. What a tragedy. This is "not the season" for such trust.
Condolences to all who knew and loved them.
11
Beautiful people gone far too soon. I am inspired by how they lead their lives and deeply touched by it. I still believe that people are for the most part good and are well intentioned, but evil exists. It's tragic how their lives came to an end.
3
This is a heart wrenching and moving story of two beautiful and amazing people. I am thankful to NYT for spotlighting them, and helping us see how much they offered the world. It's just agonizing to think that people living in harmony and kindness with the world could be run down and killed in seconds by such terrible hate. Most of the people in this world and good and kind. But sadly, Jay Austin was wrong. There is evil - pure evil - in the hearts of enough people to cause chaos, terror and unspeakable sorrow around the globe. It is so unfair that these beautiful souls had to die from it. My heart goes out to all of their family and friends who mourn their loss.
5
Lauren and Jay acted on their authentic yearnings. They made deliberate decisions about how they want to live. They were cognizant of how they wanted to view the world. On the physical level, I’m saddened that their more highly evolved genes have been removed from the gene pool. They were and are role models, encouraging each of us to think about how we want to spend our time on the planet. Some people (many people) abdicate that responsibility, choosing to go with the flow and lead conventional lives in exchange for some illusion of security. I applaud thei authenticity of this young couple. I applaud their courage. I hope that on a higher plane, their souls have taught the souls of their killers some profound lesson.
6
Two deaths, innocent tourists, very sad story.
But it may be important to point to the 245,000 tourists in 2012 who visited a beatutiful country and who presumably did not die.
(UN World Tourism Organization data)
6
So sad for this couple and the poor twisted souls that needlessly took their lives. Only admiration for these two brave young voyagers who loved and trusted the world. They were doing what I sometimes imagine is one of our highest callings-traveling and observing our marvelous planet. Just as one finds extreme danger crossing a lion preserve, this area apparently has its own predatory creatures that attack unarmed humans.
4
"“With that vulnerability comes immense generosity: good folks who will recognize your helplessness and recognize that you need assistance in one form or another and offer it in spades,” he wrote."
That's good to know, but purposely making yourself "helpless" and putting yourself in a position in which you need to be saved to survive in order to prove to yourself that most people are good and kind seems dangerously naive.
"They shouldered on through upset stomachs and sore throats."
And an ear infection and pink eye... Having to soldier on despite being sick seems a couple of sunsets short of an ideal vacation to me. I guess I'm not that adventurous.
15
Religious extremists of all flavors (Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and so on) are a nightmare for humanity. This is beyond sad.
8
“No greater revelation has come from our journey than this,” he wrote. Except one. And it killed them.
3
Thank you Ms. Callimachi - this beautiful but tragic story shows the stark difference in the goodness prevailing in the majority of mankind and the evil that rules the lives of the perverted few!
3
The world needs more people like Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan, not less. The world needs to rid itself entirely of the murdering animals who hated and killed them without conscience. I pray for the young couple who provided an outstanding example of what goodness should look like, and I pray for their loved ones, that they will some day heal from the tragic and unbearable loss of this remarkable couple.
5
I cannot imagine the grief and sadness they left behind. But as many commentators have said they should be remembered for the courageous lives they lived not how they died. ISIS will be ISIS but most of the world is just waiting for us to explore. What is statistically more dangerous...traveling the world on paths less taken or living in a country with more gun violence and deaths than any other?
3
99% of people are kind. The other 1% look for power, and can do disproportionate evil.
1
Some adults transfer all the hate and frustrations to younger generations. Looking at the “men” on the ISIS photo... I see only one adult male, the others in the picture appeared very young, possibly teenagers. Sad, that as a result of the U.S.A.’s actions abroad American citizens are never going to be entirely safe. One thing though, the couple possibly had the best year of their lives together. My heart goes to the families.
7
Sad how testosterone poisoning isn't addressed....the cause of 98% of violence throughout history.
13
We made such trips in Africa, Central America and Asia some 20-30 years ago and it was all safe.
The Islam rose as danger in some areas and the situation changed.
I feel sorry for the kids today, they will never learn how good it was to do these trips free of fear.
11
Live and let Live. Not always the case.
I can't help but wonder whether these two kindhearted daredevils appreciated the fact that without those of us sitting in front of screens, crafting bike tires, and inventing new forms of camping gear their journey couldn't happen. We can't all afford to ditch responsibilities to play in a sandbox. There seems to be a smug air about travel junkies and at times a very unrealistic view of survival. Wariness, caution, and street smarts aren't dispensable.
10
@Whole Cloth From what I read, Austin was motivated to live an authentic life and he figured out what that would mean for himself and then did it. Others of us, doing the same, might discover that our most authentic, happiest self would come from designing bicycle wheels or sitting at computers. Like you said: Live and Let Live.
3
I wish the USA would require all 18-year-olds to complete two years of service (not military). Close exposure to different cultures, religions, politics, and life stories expands our worldview and values. Just like a Peace Corps or Teach For America stint, these two travelers were getting a deep and rich education that most people simply don't understand.
Most of the world is relatively safe, but much of it isn't. Personal encounters with "different" people enrich our lives. It makes us better world citizens. It demolishes stereotypes and prejudices while at the same time increases our understanding of the dangers of narrow and strict cultures, religions, and politics.
Optimism and faith in human kindness should be tempered with realism.
4
In the late 80s-early 90s, under the auspices of REI Adventures I organized trekking and cycling trips through Tajikistan and the neighboring republics, they were very safe (though rugged) places to travel. People were poor but lived in stable communities. Now, violent extremism draws young men who have little economic opportunity. It's not about religion -- it's about social breakdown. This is a beautifully-written tribute to these travelers. Heartbreaking.
7
Grieve the loss of all that these two people were and what they could have continued to share with the world. In some ways, their journey reminded me of that told of a two year bike journey around the world by Barbara Savage in the book Miles from Nowhere many decades before. My condolences to their family and friends.
2
We have all heard the comments about people who take risks and who meet their end as "dying doing what they loved to do." That sounds great on paper, and this young couple certainly would fall into that premise, but the bottom line is that they are dead.
They will no longer experience the joys (and sorrows) of life, have children and see them grow up, experience other pleasures of this world.
I am not against adventure, but the risks have to be calculated in the world we are living today. There is enough danger out there even when one takes pains to mitigate it. Why these two adventurers felt compelled to bicycle through a remote mountain region in a third world country alone is a question that has to be asked.
8
Thank you for writing this story. As someone who recently shed a large house and most of my possessions for a more minimalist, connected life, I am beyond inspired by their story. The world is a great big beautiful place and the vast majority of people are good and care about others. Jay and Lauren's openheartedness will not be forgotten.
4
It's an inspiring story, to read about two people who set out on an adventure that for most of us will only be something we read about.
It's a truly tragic ending.
I look at the picture of the 5 men, and I see only some are older men, so while I see men who chose to kill, I question the level of culpability of the younger men. If the younger men aren't yet fully mature, that can result in them being susceptible to influence to behave in ways they many embrace OR they may deplore later in life. NOT that any of the 5 men are off the hook for murder, just that the younger men's life-long path, as much as this act of violence is horrific, may be something different in the future.
The travelers were riding bikes, so not a physical threat to anyone. A bike is a choice that shows vulnerability, but in Kyrgyzstan, it's not hard for me to see how their bikes and gear could also be seen as an advertisement of their wealth and Western Culture, and they may not have realized the impact that this could have in some areas.
Some in the US don't seem to grasp that US citizens are not welcome everywhere, and are in danger in some places, and while these travelers were clearly not responsible for all the reasons that this is true, they may not have realized how much they would be carrying that with them, everywhere they go.
Truly a tragic ending.
2
Agree with every thought on this page commending this young couple’s bravery and passion. Admire their strength, tenacity and loving outlook. Maybe this comes with getting older, but I do wish they had taken the politics of the region into consideration. The world has drastically changed since ISIS came into existence in 2013. Even Turkey with its One Man rule, is not as safe as it used to be. Being a political fiend, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan are two countries I’ve never wanted to visit - because of their cruel autocratic Presidents who have lived off the backs of others, not caring about the general population. Some prudence and caution needs to be exercised when traveling around the world. Wish this young couple had never taken the turn into Tajikistan. Very sad.
3
Absolutely haunting. Thanks again to this wonderful writer for illuminating this story.
Religion in all its forms is the basis for creating division. It is the basis for creating violence. It is the basis for creating evil in our world. One day humanity will either reject religion or will die from its consequences. For these innocent young people, religion was the cause of their deaths.
3
Sad, but very stupid area to choose to bike. Of all of the beautiful (safer) places to choose, they go here's?....
I have to point the finger, as least in part, at the couple.
Do you go into a tigers cage and then wonder why you got mauled?
9
I hold Trump and his supporters responsible. The Republicans have elected a nihilistic narcissist as their leader. Trump's behavior respects no spiritual code or set of ethics except that which enriches him and his family. Republicans follow Trump in violating their oaths of office and by the time they are done they may succeed in breaking apart our nation. Similar nihilistic characters to Trump throughout the world are emboldened to inflict maximum damage and take others lives or property when the opportunity presents itself. Trump's disrespect and vulgarity has engendered hatred against America throughout the world and have exposed our citizens to retaliatory actions such as this young couple tragically experienced. Condolences and prayers for their families.
2
Radical Islam and its ideas must not be tolerated in this country and the citizens of this country should not be misled, as they have been in the past, that Radical Islamists don’t exist.
2
I have travelled to unstable and severely under-developed countries, including some facing Islamic disturbances, as have many of my colleagues. The fact is there is a difference between ‘risky’ and ‘stupid’. These two people clearly crossed that line multiple times and it finally caught up with them.
5
As an American backpacking through Tajikistan at the time of the attack, news of the incident outside Dangara hit home. The four cyclists who were killed had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was not difficult to imagine being in their place.
For a variety of reasons, Tajikistan remains fertile grounds for ISIS recruitment. Nonetheless, this tragic and viscous attack was an anomaly. There is a perception that Tajikistan is a dangerous country, but this attack was shocking to the world and the people of Tajikistan alike because it was without precedent.
From the earnest Tajik Army captain at a checkpoint along the Pamir highway to the man in Dushanbe who felt compelled to apologize upon meeting Americans, the people we met in Tajikistan overwhelming sought to emphasize their dismay upon learning of the attack and that is was not representative of the country as a whole.
I can only hope that this attack remains an aberration rather than the first of many.
9
“You read the papers and you’re led to believe that the world is a big, scary place,” Mr. Austin wrote. “People, the narrative goes, are not to be trusted. People are bad. People are evil.'
No, the narrative is that SOME people are not to be trusted, are bad, or are evil. That is the reality of the matter, which this young couple in their youthful idealism chose to see as false.
It sounds as if this couple was a wonderful pair with an idealism not all that uncommon in younger folks - and something the world certainly needs. I'm truly sorry for their loss. It sounds like they lived their short lives to the fullest.
7
"They died doing what they loved most."
2
In this photo of the killers, I can't see evil men. I see boys: children who were sent off to fight with childish ferver and single-mindedness because the adults of our world have not grown up enough themselves to solve problems with people whom they disagree and share this planet. Frankly, anyone who resorts to using children for violence to solve their petty problems while this planet dies for all of us is just spitting into the wind and calling it a monsoon.
1
A lot of admiration has been expressed for these two brave, good souls. And rightly deserved. But there are a lot of misguided, ignorant people out there. So unfortunate and unnecessary, the loss of these two amazing young people as well as the other two cyclists who were probably the same sort of good souls as Jay and Lauren. They will be missed.
1
Don’t go where you are not wanted. It is a matter of respect.
5
This story is a touchstone for whatever readers wish to make of it: boundless idealism, youthful folly, American/Western arrogance, universal evil, etc. I personally would not take these risks and do not feel it is noble to do so. But, they were FAR more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident than by murder. Risk is relative. I blame Mr. Rogers for the idea that evil is just a concept that exists only in our minds. I think it’s real, but most Americans just live in such an insulated society that we are unprepared to face it. I’m sad for them and their families.
4
Unfortunately, 99 of 100 people on such a journey can be kind. And the 100th murderous.
5
Tragic. Most people are decent---and I think this is almost universally true for all ethnicities--but there are always evil people in any group, even those whose members are kind, thoughtful, and empathic. Unfortunately, most people are passive, too many are apathetic (the old unproven American Revolution statistic--1/3 Tories, 1/3 Rebels, 1/3 apathetic). This I fear is also true of American politics today. And because humanity contains a core of active extreme evil--it is foolhardy to go where more of these active people are found.
2
An earlier commenter remarked that the Pamir Highway is now a destination "touring route for cyclists from all over the world". Another way to characterize it is a bunch of rich (comparatively speaking) tourists descending on an extremely poor country that is steeped in tribal culture, with limited freedoms. You are what you look, and it apparently doesn't occur to some adventure seekers that they're insulting their culture and and for all practical purposes walking around with a target on their backs for those elements disinclined to tolerate their cultural presumptiveness.
When Sir Richard Francis Burton traveled in Muslim countries, he took great pains to blend in. When he didn't try to blend in (Africa), he went armed. There's a big difference between "tourists" and "travelers", as Tom Robbins once pointed out. But in the 21st century, some think good intentions will get you through anything, anywhere. Sadly, the truth is in some places, you're the Ugly American, (or Westerner), no matter what.
12
It is certainly true that many people are good, and most people are benign. Yet there are cultures which by their very nature produce a critical mass of truly violent and mendacious people who recognize no boundaries and are ready to behave in a horrifyingly violent manner while the silent majority chooses to remain either quiescent or quietly supportive. This is where today's terrorism comes from. It is tragic that this fine young couple would not recognize this reality. If nothing else the first hint of this should be the dehumanizing security search to which we are all subjected before boarding a flight.
2
May they rest in peace, heartbreaking end. So sad.
I hope they didn't have time to realice it was not an accident but I suspect they fully grasped what was happening.
They didn't deserve that.
2
I have led a traveller's life for more than 50 years and I took some crazy risks in my younger days. Crossing the Sahara Desert on the back of local trucks in 1971. Travelling by land through Zaire (Democratic Reublic of the Congo) in 1982. Trekking the magnificent circuit hike of the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda during a civil war in 1984. Later came four safe if challenging months doing four different long treks in the Himalayas in 2014, celebrating my 66th birthday. I was deeply moved by this story and greatly admire this wonderful young couple. I know well what called to them and am deeply saddened by their fate. Tajikstan was a gamble, for sure, but I do not criticize them for taking a chance. They jammed a great deal of life and adventure into a relatively short period of time. The world is a poorer place without them.
3
As an American cycling around the world right now, I want to share how I experienced Tajikistan when I cycled there last year. One time, my partner and I were eating lunch and were invited to drink tea in a man’s house. We refused because we were in a hurry. Yet, five minutes later as we sat on the road eating our cookies his daughters came out carrying a pot of tea and bread for us. He essentially refused to accept our refusal of his hospitality. Another time, my partner and I stopped to have lunch. When a car drove by us, it turned around and stopped. Out jumped two men, who ran over and gave us half a dozen apples, and then just as quickly hopped into their car and drove off. One evening we asked in a village if there was anywhere nearby we could pitch a tent, and quickly found ourselves sharing a meal with a family. Another day a woman vigorously waved us over as we passed her house. We went over only for her to fill our entire front bags with walnuts from her tree. I kept finding walnuts scattered throughout my stuff for the next few months. Another time a man waved us over and invited us to stay with his family. We spent the evening talking with them and eating food and then slept in their living room, as they insisted it was much too cold for us to sleep outside.
This story breaks my heart, but I still believe what I wrote last year, the warmth and the generosity of the people we met in Tajikistan cannot be overstated.
11
What strike me is the contrast: a young couple with warm hearts traveling in-spite of all challenges and discovering so many goods in people everywhere that humans are decent and good on the other side cold blooded murderers with outdated bankrupt ideology trying to survive here and there like a disease that is just before total eradication from the face of the earth. I take my hat off to these young Americans for bravery doing what they wanted
2
"Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own."
Sad when idealism is so utterly wrong.
8
“Humans are kind and evil is a make-believe concept.” Well, they were wrong. A lot of humans may be kind, but evil is real, evil is out there; the evil warned them, and they arrogantly dismissed it as make believe, choosing to pursue their vagabond life. Depending on the kindness of strangers is not only unsustainable but irresponsible; bored with jobs in which they actually contributed to society, they became global moochers who expected the world to welcome and support them. It — call it evil, maybe call it resentment of their cultural interloping — finally caught up with them and wiped it all away. This is a lesson in the ultimate consequences of blind idealism mixed with a sense of moral superiority and entitlement. At least the vagrants who stand at highway intersections with signs “please help” dont think theyre better than the people in cars.
6
As a long-time, experienced and passionate cyclist all I can say is Jay and Lauren could just as easily have been run down by many of the jerks who drive the streets of Seattle (a town incorrectly labeled as "bicycle friendly"). The cruel excuse here would be far less existential religion. Here it would be something petty like "why don't those cyclists get off the road," or, "cyclists are just freeloaders who don't follow the traffic laws."
I believe the best most of us can hope for is to meet our fate doing something we love rather than let others prefabricate our lives in their image. There's something sublime in taking time away from the craziness of our regular lives and find pleasure in simple things.
When you're on a bicycle adventure, you will often find most people to be kind and generous, but there is always a possibility you're going to run into the wrong folk. This can also happen to you in your own neighborhood.
6
The human animal is at its core, primitive, but DNA, religion, and society often allow males to commit horrific acts of violence, against women, and children, and those it deems lesser because they don't have the same beliefs. Real freedom, is respecting each other, and living in decency. It is sad, that religion, drug dealers, and theft, seem to cause the most murders of people, not only in this case, but around the world, and on a daily basis.
2
This is a profoundly sad story. The explanation, such as there can be one, is timeless and infects every culture. Angry young men, provoked by internet trash talk in this case, abandon their humanity and commit a senseless act of violence. I have seen it in war fighting and felt the pull toward it myself. We are a fallen species and these random events cannot be extinguished by any known social intervention. God rest the souls of these victims.
1
"Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity." - Xun Kuang
1
Might want to stick to Buddhist countries...good rule of thumb.
2
It would be a very boring world if there were only people like me out there.
To Lauren and Jay thanks for the inspiration. To your fellow travelers, keep on rolling and exploring. This world needs more people like you.
3
Deeply tragic, as any attack on civilians!
But do not forget the US role in bombing schools, health clinics, i.e. civilians, in Yemen at this very moment. As well as the US siding with dictators all over the world.
Even as the world is full of kind and friendly people traveling is no longer safe
3
These people died real Americans, following their hearts and interests and backing them up with vigor and courage. You don't have to do something physically bold or dangerous, but certainly, the country was not built by playing small ball. I am grateful there are still young Americans willing to give it a go.
2
Could have happened anywhere. But there are sunsets everywhere, even in the U.S. and relatively dull Iceland. God bless.
1
Even in death, they’re still right. The world is full of overwhelmingly kind, graceful, and happy people. Five people with a car can end their lives but they can’t change that fact. They will be hunted down in due time, or they will live the rest of their lives in squalor and in fear of the world they built for themselves. For us, we should remember that death can come quickly (and you should take precautions), but there is a world out there for you to drink in and explore, and we should never let the bad outweigh the good.
2
I agree, we should all be able to explore our world peacefully. Unfortunately, not all have this vision of the world. These two young people took a tremendous chance to enjoy a tremendous opportunity. It’s a shame what happened to them.
As many comments suggest, romantic literature and ideas can form our view of travel, but I submit it is a half blind one. This adventurous couple took a romantic view. They opened themselves up to the wonders of foreign peoples and lands or to paraphrase Keats, “Much had (they) traveled in the realms of gold.” Kerouac discovered a new America and self On the Road. Huckleberry Finn and Darwin discovered fresh connections with nature in their voyages. Ken Kesey’s pranksters spread their hippy idea of happiness across America on their psychedelic bus. But long before romanticism Homer had another more cautious, complicated take on voyaging and his view of the world has as much relevance as does the romantics’. Odysseus found not only “loving people” all over the world. He found narcotics pushing lotus eaters, bewitching beauties, cannibals, gracious hosts, man-eating monsters, lovely maidens, etc. Odysseus had a great hunger to travel and know the world, but he hardly went anywhere without feeling susceptible to its unknown realities and dangers. Making Homers work even greater is that though Odysseus wanted to know everything about the world and its peoples, he had a greater drive to return home.
1
I can't help noticing that most of the comments about the experience comes from Jay, the guy. Where are the comments from Lauren, the woman? Did she have an equal voice in sharing what was experienced? Men and women don't always hold the same understanding or perspective, even if doing what looks like the exact same thing.
I believe that their voyage is much like our collective lives. Hardship, ambition, moments of deep experience, luck, kindness, maybe openness, and in really unfortunate moments, tragedy. That this tragedy was man-made isn't surprising (and Jay might be part of the equation), and that it comes from the idiocy of young men who think greatness comes from evil isn't surprising either.
I can hear my own elders/voices: We pick up the trail and carry on with as much of the kindness as we can. We step over, if we can, the hate that these young murderers have generated. Maybe, eventually, good will win. But I wouldn't go looking for it in ISIS territory; there isn't enough good karma/good pedaling for that. Not yet.
4
A sad story about a beautiful young couple.
The bicycle is one of the world's greatest inventions. But this sad story illustrates to me that wherever you go in the world -- be it rural America, Europe, Tajikistan --the bicycle can be a symbol of privilege. This couple apparently felt that they were rejecting materialism and acquisitiveness, but did they consider that, for some, their cycling may have underscored their privileged status? Were they assaulted because they were Americans? No flags flew on the bikes. Or were they assaulted for the same reason that I've occasionally had locals blare horns at me when I'm riding in Eastern Washington? It may be that the latter is the reason and the claimed motive, an afterthought.
5
I’m sure these were wonderful and idealistic people. But the article is tinged with judgement of those living their lives in grey and beige—the dull office workers, satisfied with ordinariness, not the rainbows and unicorns of adventure. Know what’s an adventure? Medical school, cancer research, teaching, nursing, serving in city year, parenting, volunteering as a big brother/big sister, working in the alternative energy industry, etc. We are surrounded by idealistic heros every day, and while it’s nice to look at sunsets, we’d be a lot better off if we could see the human goodness in the workaday actions of ordinary folk. How might these young people’s lives have turned out if they had chosen an adventure in service or vocation instead of far flung, exotic and sometimes dangerous locales? As a culture we tend to glamorize the exotic, the foreign, the physically risky, and to minimize the heroicism or value of community building, hard study, and compassionate work. There are lots of ways to define “adventure”
12
@Ellie I think they would have totally agreed with you and encouraged you and everyone else to thoughtfully and deliberately figure out your most authentic expression of yourself and go be it.
2
I feel bad for them.
All in all, their trip turned out to be a bad idea.
2
What those murderers did to these idealistic Americans is cruel and incomprehensible. I did travel in Central Asia when it was still under the Soviet Republic. I was very young and desperate to travel, which was almost impossible under Communism. I did find quite a inhospitable place then, we didn't have any money, little food, slept in sleeping bags outside, got very sick from bad water.,,(no bottled water then) I do not remember any acts of kindness. People just laughed at us. Behaviour towards women was awful. There were no social media then, no cell phones, no chance to blog on our adventures . It was quiet a cruel, heartless place. I personally have no desire to go back.
5
Any country with a majority from a religion that identifies “unbelievers” and “infidels” is not a place for open-minded, accepting people.
4
What sad and heartless deaths. I wish them and their families God's Peace.
1
It’s extremely foolish to think you can go to any country you like, put yourself into a public space and not be in mortal danger. Americans often launch themselves into countries and onto cultures that do not appreciate the intrusion and will oblige with violence. Their recklessness no doubt caused enormous pain for their families.
5
Sad as their deaths are, here are two people who for their short lives truly lived. May they RIP together.
1
Their life ended prematurely, surely. Yet I ask if perhaps they lived exponentially more than most. Is this a cautionary tale? Or rather is it a call to live your life to the fullest unfolding of all your Devine potential? I prefer see the latter.
3
As we remember the four who were killed and those who were injured, remember too the people from other parts of the world who have been murdered in hate crimes in the United States. Not long ago a Pakistani exchange student was murdered in a mass shooting and an Indian engineer having an after work drink was murdered for no reason other than hate. These are not lone incidents. Tajikistan has people who wish to do others harm, but so do we. It's all too easy to see us as innocents and to tar an entire country with a broad brush.
7
Man is not “good. “
The world’s religions recognize that fact and most of us learn it eventually.
It is tragic that this lovely couple had to learn it so soon.
2
I write my comment from a cantonment town in India, as I take a summer break in the Himalayan foothills. Around me is natural beauty and also many posters and banners that celebrate the Indian Army, it's values and it's award winners. As I read this article, a paraphrased slogan comes to mind, that essentially says you live your comfortable lives because rough men are ready to do extreme violence on your behalf.
India has had a long history of interaction with Islam, positive as demonstrated by the Sufi culture, the Qawwali, the Taj Mahal and also negative such as the repeated destruction of the Somnath Temple and others. This carries on to the modern day, and the newspaper this morning carries the photos of four soldiers who lost their lives in an encounter with infiltrators from Pakistan last night.
A world away, this article illustrates in microscopic detail the very same clash of world views and humanizes it. As I sit here reading this story, my mind keeps going back to the poster - even as I envy the attitudes of this couple, I am forced to accept the far more brutal world view of the Indian Army as a necessity as well.
1
Last summer i celebrated 30 years of bike touring by riding from virginia to oregon coast,down to san francisco back home to colorado. 6700 miles,8 days short of 4 months. Yes it was the U.S., but every once in a while there was someone who wasn't bike friendly on the road.i understand and don't understand all at the same time....the joy outweighs the sorrows a million fold.people were great everywhere. People just need to let people be...met amazing folks everywhere,riders and people not riders or riding.its what we do...and fear doesnt really play into our bliss...i'm doing the best i can do and i hope everyone else is as well...if i were to perish on a tour,a day ride,a trip to the store, then i go doing the thing i love the most! Not macho, i'm follow my passion, my bliss. That makes my life really worth living. It gives me hope. hope sees the invisible,feels the intangible,and achieves the impossible.devotion is thr highest form of love.i know the highs this beautiful couple had on their journey,sorry how it ended for them but they had an adventure most people could never fathom. They're off on the next adventure...
2
Let's say the likelihood they will meet someone who will kill them in an Islamic country is about 1 in a hundred thousand. Then there's about a 50 % of dying once they come across 69000 people.
The laws of probability are relentless.
An interesting if not exciting way of finding your way around the globe. Self indulgent, perhaps. Credulous in the extreme in the bonhomie of all people you meet in your quest. A quick awakening when things turn otherwise. Unfortunately, for this young, altruistic couple, the awakening never happened. They were killed in cold blood by stupid, cruel, preprogrammed people. Very sad indeed but not entirely unexpected in certain areas of the world.
1
Life is risky. Very true. At the same time, it is wise not to hike to the top of a mountain peak during a lightning storm, and it is wise to remember where we are at war.
Our country, the USA, is fighting the war on terror in multiple places. Our soldiers have been fighting in 76 countries or 39% of all nations in the world. Most recently, we have been bombing Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and Niger. This past spring, we bombed the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan that runs along the Tajikistan border. Afghan police were forced out of the border area by the Taliban and have been fighting to regain control. Off-road areas in the region are often mined.
Did Jay and Lauren know that they were going into an area next to the nation of Afghanistan (which the US has been bombing since October 2001) and where there are militant Islamic fighters? Or were they oblivious to being AT WAR—just as many Americans have been since the media let the war drift off the front page?
Since 2001, over 111,000 Afghan people and 80,000 Pakistanis and 2.4 million Iraqis have been killed. Millions of people have been displaced into refugee camps. Over 2300 American soldiers have been killed. And more than 20,000 American soldiers have been wounded.
You can’t exactly expect to waltz through or near these nations. Not everyone on the planet is having first world, bubble-dwelling, globe trekker fun.
9
True believers in any religion can persuade themselves that any evil is okay.
Religions say "we" are right. Some religions say all the other people are wrong, and it's okay to kill them.
We should all be more afraid of religions.
4
I wanted to comment yesterday on this article. I am so glad you did this story. What a wonderful couple. Such a waste...... ISIS militants. Keep in mind that's who we have basically sided with ( the Saudis ) in Yemen, Syria & even Iraq with our insane anybody but Iran policy.
1
People can train to have an intuitive mind by detachment of all fulfilled desires in material and emotional needs or wants.
Experiences through repetitive interactions and communication will gain us a wisdom of true character of humane nature in all aspects in life.
However, we cannot predict our fate as in this story of a wonderful couple who has beautiful souls and fulfills their quest of living free from a mundane life and world.
I salute and respect the aspiration of both Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan. Hopefully, the ignorant driver, who intentionally killed four cyclists, will learn and accept God's punishment sooner or later in his current life. Back2basic
My condolences to the family and friends of Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan. What a sad and tragic loss of a young couple who unselfishly began a trip to explore foreign countries not as tourists but respectful visitors. Thank you for sharing their stories in details and not only focusing on the horrible ending of their journey. It hurts so bad to read that they were killed by even younger people who are afraid of differences in the world and reject the other as "disbelievers" - I am very disturbed by the photo of the young men pledging allegiance to ISIS: sitting in circle under a tree as if they were resting during a hike - I wonder if this a photo taken after they ran over and killed Mr. Austin, Ms. Geoghegan and the other cyclists as it is the the image used of the group by the Islamic State Group? If this is the case their look of indifference is as frightening as the cowardice of their murderous acts.
"By and large, humans are kind. Self-interested sometimes, myopic sometimes, but kind. Generous and wonderful and kind.”
We owe it to this couple to remember these words. In the U.S. 96 people a day die from gun violence. Every day. Day in, day out. There is no outcry because this isn't news -- we have accepted the situation as a normal way to live.
The tragedy of Ms. Geoghegan and Mr. Austin's deaths are not due to their being adventurous and bold. It's not due to people "out there" being bad. It is due to the human condition and the inherent risk in being alive, and being mortal. When my son hiked last year from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail, he encountered rattle snakes, deep snow, rushing snow melt, and huge wild fires. And he encountered people from all over the world. It would have been a tragedy if among them he had encountered malicious people, but he didn't. Like Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan he overwhelmingly encountered generosity and hospitality.
During my son's hike, people often asked "don't you hate it that he's doing that?" No. I would have been worried about him -- the person he is -- if he had spent the summer in an office. And as the death toll from guns reflects -- where exactly do we think it is "safe"?
This couple lived life on their own terms. They deserve our admiration and compassion.
3
My son 29 cycled solo from the bottom of Japan to the top of Honshu - 3200kms - over 6 weeks and encountered nothing but kindness and help from Japanese people. He never locked his bike, he slept in a tent and never once felt in danger. Different countries, different outcomes.
4
Same thing happened to foreign tourists on west side bike path in nyc. So stop the victim blaming already
7
If we want to talk about evil, perhaps we should include a government--ours--that uses children for its own political ends and separates them from their parents with no procedure in place to reunite them. But, I guess it's easier to criticize foreign religious zealots in far-off countries that most of us know nothing about than to look at the beam in our own eye.
3
I too am very sorry for their families. And I know from personal experience what it feels like to get that phone call. And the disbelief when it is part of a political situation and the victims are do goods at the wrong place at the wrong time. But the victims are always in their late 20’s to mid 30’s. Because youth never worries about what could go wrong.
My life did change as a result and I am not apologetic for being cautious about where I now travel.
2
This story has touched me so much and I have thought about it through much of the day. I reflect on my own life and taking risks and am posting a second comment. My job requires that I sometimes fly in small, 2 person aircraft at low altitude, circling around looking at things on the ground. I have been doing this for over 20 years in Alaska. There is often a euphoria looking down and all around at this beautiful, wild landscape and I think if this plane crashes and I die, I would be at peace because I am doing something I love. I guess in my mind, the risk is worth the reward.
3
I met an amazing couple of women cyclists from Holland, on a Scottish island, where they were touring. One had a puncture and we stopped to help them, and later invited them for lunch at the house we were renting. They told us they were teachers and spent their long summer vacations touring out of the way places. The previous year they had crossed Iran on their cycles. They said they met friendliness wherever they went. Your Californian correspondent "Mor" has got totally the wrong idea about ISIS. Their goal is to revert back to a medieval caliphate. To this end their goal was to destroy anything which departs from their narrow view of Islam. We have had young men brought up and schooled in England who went to join their fight in Syria. They weren't brought up in a camp in the desert in the 1300s - they were brought up in 21st century Britain. Several happily spent their time beheading helpless captives, including a journalist. Many other ISIL members raped women and also children. The idea that there is no 'good or evil" in the world is total tosh. Hitler & the Nazi regime were totally evil, they needed to be destroyed. Likewise with ISIS. The only way to rid the world of men like these with a completely twisted view of Islam, is quite simply to hunt them down and kill them in great numbers, for they are bad people. "Know the truth and it shall set you free" - emblem on wall inside the entrance to the CIA HQ in Virginia. God Bless these courageous men & women.
2
Bad things happen to good people all the time, everywhere. the seemingly exotic details regarding this particular tragedy is why we are reading about it in the NYT. a very sad story and my thoughts are with their families and friends.
1
We all face the question at some point whether we fully realize it or not: would you rather have a short adventure and risk-filled life, or a life devoid of adventure which lasts twice as long?
What an utterly sad and tragic story. There is real evil in our world and the spirit that fuelled 9/11 lives on. We need to remain diligent about all forms of extremism and hate, and cherish those, like Jay and Lauren, who cared about more than just making money or keeping up with the rat race. They understood life is about enjoying our planet's beauty, and making human connection. In memory of them, I won't let this terrible crime make me hate (although I will pray for justice), or lose my faith in humankind, or in the beauty of the natural world. RIP beautiful travellers, may your journeys continue in a better place.
They lived more on their journey than most ever will.
Consider that a group of bicyclists were run over right here in New York City only a few months ago. It can happen anywhere at any time.
There is evil everywhere in the world and no one place has the monopoly. But I choose to believe we are conquering it. The seeds that couple planted will no doubt bear good fruit in time. Slowly, ever so slowly good will prevail. God bless those bikers as they continue on the next leg of their great journey.
4
This is such an inspiring story. It's sad to see how many people advise only traveling in "safe" countries, where bad things won't happen.
But I live in a mountain community in California, where many bicycle riders come up from the valley to ride 20, 30, 60 mile loops over our foothill and mountain road. A few months ago a local under the influence of drugs or alcohol came around a blind curve at speed, ran over a 50 year old biker, and left him to die in the road. At least others came along and stopped to wait with him while they called 911. He didn't die alone. But he was "safely" in America.
It's well known mountain roads are dangerous, and it's well known that a lot of Americans drive impaired and distracted. Should that man have stayed home and ridden a stationery bike in front of a travel program on television?
Should people stay home from movie theaters, shopping malls, or school?
This young couple was living life. It sounds as if they planned, and thought about where to go. They had amazing adventures, as can be seen from their faces, and their blog and pictures. Life is short, the world is being destroyed by greed and carelessness. There are no guarantees. They lived with great courage.
But however one meets death, those left behind are grieving.
6
I knew Lauren briefly -- we were classmates in the same study abroad program in Beirut. Most students in our cohort would agree that summer was a seminal one. Although we fell out of contact long ago, I would see Lauren's trip posts and envy the vulnerability and richness of her current life. Perhaps a strange accompaniment to the shock and sadness I've felt since hearing of the attack, I've also felt heartened reading about what she experienced up to the end. It's cool to see where people who occupied a certain time in your life end up, how your trajectories parallel and diverge, to think about what you might talk about if you ever crossed paths again. It's a guess of chicken-or-the-egg whether our summer in Beirut sparked or simply stoked what led the two of us (and I'm sure many others in our cohort) to seek out experiences that I'm sure made our parents grimace but fed our hearts and minds. Lauren's adventures reminded me of my own, as a hitchhiker in the U.S. and abroad. Those years of vulnerability and eyes-wide-open spontaneity are my most cherished to this day. I'm optimistically hopeful that Lauren was at the apex of happiness and fulfillment in her life, as I imagine reading her posts! I hope that Lauren's death isn't a lesson for others to turn inward and isolate from fear; the vast majority of people are inherently good and the world is relentlessly beautiful.
4
“And the man was knowledgeable in the things of life, but only the things, not the significances....”
- Jack London
“To build a Fire”
1
“Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own.”
Maybe. But the bullet, club, or blunt weapon that disrupts a human brain destroying all the visions and ideas that it held into oblivion is very very real. When it is done in service to an ideology that demands the destruction of all minds that don’t follow it, I call that evil.
3
Despite the tragic end these are inspiring people, to me as Muslim American and as a fellow human being. The value of their intense travel experience would have informed their lives going forward, allowing for lifelong learning. Instead, those who think they know the truth, but who confuse conspiracy theory with religion, closed the door on that possibility. The rest of us have an obligation to honor the values and virtues on this adventurous couple, and draw solace from their wisdom.
4
I’m from the other aide of the story. I’m from in a middle of nowhere in Africa ( I call myself as “from the bush”). Our elders alway call those western adventurers “crazy”. My mother who barely knew how to write her name always said that they have no better things to do to where they come from. They were going to sell all those pictures they were taking she would say( I had no idea where she learned those, but she was actually right , they either write books or for magazines , tv and so on....it took me more than four decades later to learn, but she is no longer with us). Local people are happy to interact with foreigners but they mostly laugh( behind their backs or in front of them since they don’t understand local languages anyway) at their naïveté or ignorant of the places they are going .
10
Their deaths are horrific and tragic but they do not negate what this courageous couple learned about humanity and the world.
1
In 1985 I planned a month long trip to Greece and Italy with three friends. There were a number of hijackings that year, which caused my friends to bow out for fear of running into trouble. We were 33.
So I went alone to try to see a bit of the world, and return to the towns of my grandparents. The Achille Lauro hijacking took place while I was traveling, though I only learned of it when I returned home. Perhaps my friends took that as a sign they'd made the right choice.
My trip was nothing like the trip of Jay and Lauren, and I've never had the heart for adventure they had. But I learned enough to now appreciate what they were doing, and how they were living more than most people do.
Their lives will undoubtedly be a caution to some, but they will inspire others to accomplish things of greater worth.
2
To anyone criticizing this couple's decision to travel through Tajikistan despite the "obvious risks," I would just like to point out that, before being updated four days ago in response to this very attack, the country maintained a level 1 travel advisory.
That means our own State Department, with it's vast wealth of resources, thought it unnecessary to dissuade travellers in any way from visiting the country.
So before hopping on the wise high horse and presuming the safety of a country based on its general position on the globe, do some research. Sure, said general area may be fairly close to hotbeds of terrorist activity, but it's not as if these two were pedaling along a one-way road into the heart of Kabul. According to the chief source on foreign country safety, from a pure rankings basis, they may as well have been biking through Saskatchewan.
As a young college student looking forward to travelling through this very region in a few years, the loss of these two, who were by all accounts fantastic human beings who deserved far more than their fate, is tragic and undoubtedly sobering. But I won't let the wastes of oxygen who took their lives scare me from exploring the regions of the world they inhabit. I would rather continue to embrace the type of mindset of the people whom they killed, to continue trotting into these places, infidel be dammed.
To choose not to would be to give these men exactly the reaction they saught when they pulled that U-turn.
3
Sad. This reminds me of what minorities face in the US. The police, hate-groups and narrow minded citizens cause us emotional harm, physical injuries and death.
1
It certainly could be said that what they encountered in Tajikistan uniquely defined their trip, making their experience one that stands out from the rest. As far as quests in life goes, their’s is certainly like no others which then should make it a success in the sense of their search. A boring cruise is safe but just that.
The story of the security guard reminds me of a similar experience. I stuck with my bike in hastily sand in the middle of nowhere. One guy with his fiancee stopped their new shiny truck and drove me and my dirt bike around 30 miles to the next road. It appeared to me as were my aides some angel. I like the fact that Lauren and Jay are still alive through their website and their vision of life. ISIS reached the opposite of the intended goal. This beautiful couple and their loving view of the world became through this utterly ruthless immortal.
1
It's great for people to have a once in a life-time adventure, traveling to the most remote places on the planet - as long as they understand they could likely die in the process. I wonder if they really contemplate and weight whether these experiences are worth their lives or not. If they really felt doing this was worth dying form them so be it. I'm not convinced the young lady here really knew what she was getting into. At the end of the day, this is an interesting story that highlights there are dangerous fanatics out there. However, I don't think people like this should be lionized either. They made a conscious decision to wander around to dangerous parts of the world and expose themselves to the risks involved with doing that. I just can't help but wonder if their families think it was worth it . I rather see this as a type of selfishness.
3
Yes, a very sad story. The couple certainly did not deserve the actual ending of their trip.
However, does anyone ever consider the cost to the visited places of these world adventurers - the single hand sailors, the bikers, the hikers and have you? They don't work in the places they pass through, yet use the infrastructure, possibly medical treatment and other services, expect police protection, and often have no adequate provision for emergencies.
I seriously question motivation - when someone who is an avid cyclist dreams up a long trip to "promote" awareness of some cause or publish a sensitive account or blog of the adventure - selfless it isn't.
It is a testament to human kindness that these travelers are so often treated so well. Riding a high tech cycle with modern outdoor gear must evoke odd responses in places where junker bikes and normal clothing constitute a vehicle for persons serving as our autos do. Think of the responses when such travelers ride through places where life is a struggle daily and there are no resources available for free time, travel or entertainment.
A lesson learned long ago showed that first class passengers are not welcomed in the second class lounge. Not mistreated, but ignored and clearly not wanted.
4
Although their idealism may be a sign of naivety to some, I can attest to that same feeling they developed on their journey: that above all there is an undeniable goodness to the human species. It’s more of an essence, an intangible web. But it’s there. And I’ve always felt it most strongly when I’ve traveled out of my comfort zone... whether when I was long distance hiking here in the states, or traveling around the world.
When we are open, vulnerable and trusting, beauty unfolds itself before us, be it in sunsets or the grace of strangers. Evil may fall upon us too. Evil will always exist, but as I believe these two travelers would agree: it’s better to have lost at love than never to have loved at all.
I pray for eventual peace and understanding for their loved ones.
1
Regardless of optimism, cultural sensitivity, some residents will see tourists as invaders of their land, threats to their ideology and values.
How one perceives oneself and how one is perceived can be quite variable.
2
I'm surprised they were killed by religious fanatics rather than by robbers.
There indeed can be life before death. Life can be an adventure if you want it to be so. But "adventure" means you have no idea how things will unfold and does entail risk.
Accept your eventual death and live your life as you wish, accepting your own risk. The world is indeed a large and wonderful place. With predators.
3
While this story is troubling, be aware that bicyclist have been deliberately target by drivers in the United States
4
Reading through the first hundred or so comments was rather discouraging. Too many Americans seem ill-informed about other parts of the world, and many commenting here wondered why this couple would travel to Central Asia which they consider dangerous, lawless and perhaps anti-American. And yet, a bit of research of online travel sites shows that the area where they were biking--along with five other people from The Netherlands, France, and Switzerland--is a popular tourist destination. One site, NOMADASAURUS, has a page entitled "The Ultimate Guide To Travelling The Pamir Highway". The section on cycling the highway is brief but they state:
"Cycle
This is it – the Holy Grail for cycle tourists. The second highest international road in the world and some of the most challenging and beautiful scenery imaginable.
We lost count of the number of cyclists we saw peddling the Pamir Highway, and almost all we had met after they had completed it said it was one of the best experiences of their lives."
The website, crazyguyonabike.com has two pages full of photos of cyclists on the Pamir Highway travelling between Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Osh in Krygystan. Take a look at them at https://tinyurl.com/y7s3xgsp. It is not exactly what many of you are imagining.
You might also find it enlightening to check out the pages on Tajikistan at Lonely Planet at https://www.lonelyplanet.com/tajikistan/the-pamirs/the-pamir-highway.
5
I am so sorry these young people were executed. But I was warned away from traveling the "Stans" over a decade ago - I am a world traveller. It is naive to believe that others will take the time to get to know you and realize that you are different from Trumpites and racists. You come from a country that has been killing Muslims for over a decade.
I learned this lesson many years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer. I was dropped off alone in the middle of northern Nigeria, a fiercely Muslim area. I was not naive - I had grown up in a diverse and at times violent metropolis. My neighbors - rare Christians - immediately warned me and mapped out an escape route for me that the previous Christian resident of my little home had used to save his life. I graciously accepted a group of women into my home to teach me about Islam. I joined my work colleagues a few times a day for prayer - I didn't participate but looked on in and made sure I looked interested. I kept very quiet about my Jewish origins. I survived.
4
Mr Austin, said:“I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own" Guess What? He was wrong! Evil is everywhere. What he should have said is: "There is more kindness than evil in the world." However, when evil strikes you...it really does not matter. Does it?
3
Cycling excursions are may more dangerous than people think, and not just overseas. It seems like every year I read a story about "Skip, tired of the rat-race, quit his job to walk/ride/run across the country. Hit by a car and killed three weeks in."
I'd love to do what they did, but I'm raising kids and working every day instead. You do this right out of college and then get down to being an adult.
I suppose that is your idea of being an adult. It is not everyone's.
3
I looked up the number of annual tourist arrivals to Tajikistan. it's about a quarter-million a year. A million people every 4 years whose dreams don't end this way, whose experiences with the rich culture and friendly, welcoming people of this lovely nation will never be reported in any newspaper or media outlet. Only when someone is killed will a story from there get any attention, which is why some people in the comments section here, having heard nothing else about this country, assume it's a death trap full of people who can't wait to kill Americans.
Next month my wife and I are going to New York City. A few months later we are taking a trip to (ex-Soviet) Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. In the very unlikely event we get killed in the latter, you'll hear all about us in the news. If we get killed in New York, you won't hear a word about us. Americans killed in America? That's too common be even be news (unless it's terrorism or mass shootings). Just something to think about.
8
Some of the comments here are so judgmental and fear-based. I've traveled to 11 countries, which is a lot more than the typical American and a lot less than people who are really committed to traveling (I envy them). Some countries are more dangerous than others. But people can be killed in any country, including the US. Including for simple reasons of hate and prejudice.
I'd rather die younger while traveling, exploring and *living* than fearfully spending all of my days always in one little corner of the world. And we're all gonna die anyway. Might as well live until you do.
4
I have to wonder why anyone would bike through an area known to despise white american priviledge . Whenever i read these stories of wide eyed travel into war torn lands by peace loving hippies , i shudder . I believe Lucy Lius sister, or maybe it was her , was apprehended with her
toe in north korea . Good enough for them! They sacked her ...god bless your loving souls , lauren and jay .
It is so sad that these people had to have such a tragic end to their lives when all they were doing was sharing joyful moments with others. Isis and other extremists will eventually be consumed by their own hatred.
Are these murderer-bandits being sought for prosecution? This country receives approx 50 million in aid annually from the USA.
The world is a big, scary place,indeed. Some people are not to be trusted. Some people are bad. Some people are evil.
“I don’t buy it.” said the one who got assassinated, in a revealing semantic slip: the assassinated victim believed everything was for sale, even ideas… Exactly the sort of mercantile mentality many who are angry against the established order want to destroy.
Evil is not a make-believe concept we’ve invented to “deal” with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own… Evil is not a question of making “deals”, as the naive victim believed, in another semantic slip into emotional mercantilism. There are values and perspectives that are incompatible: an example is literal Islam, as found in Qur’an and Hadith... which is deeply incompatible with human ethology!
Evil also has a neurological facet. Hormones tied to destruction, cruelty, sadism, viciousness, fighting, do exist. By and large, humans are kind, deep down inside. However, not all the time, and not everybody. How many lunatics with a finger on a nuclear holocaust does it take to ruin the planet? Answer: just one. So the question of the evil of the one is paramount.
With the power we have today, a few self-interested plutocrats can own most of everything, and thus can have most of the power. And how many myopic leaders can we take? Even if the majority is kind, generous, and wonderful, it takes just one, or a few myopic ones, to kill us all.
I wish they were still alive. I wish those who seek God find God and are not seduced by Satan's tricks. How often we find the search for pious self-definition conflated with a selfish obsession to persecute others. Do not think for a moment this only occurs in Islam.
"But in the clip, when these men point to the scenery around them, they vow to slaughter the “disbelievers” who have overrun their land."
What did these men mean when they said, "the disbelievers have overrun their lands"?
Do they think that traditionally Judeo-Christian countries should be accepting Muslim immigrants (including refugees) or Muslim visitors? Do they think that Muslims have “overrun” European countries?
Religious fanaticism, such as these murderers practice, is a horrible and ugly thing in this world. Perhaps these 5 boys who committed this senseless act in the name of their "God" will also meet an untimely end at the hands of those they have been so brainwashed by, for that is the level of that path's cruelty and delusion.
What a heartbreaking article! Something about the fragility of beauty deeply moved me and how evil is such a waking slap to the face—an agonized reality check–in turn stuns me. This forced juxtaposition and reconciliation of reality will haunt me for days. Frankly it's this kind of writing that keeps me subscribed to the Times. Keep it up. I'm counting on you guys.
Hundreds of thousands killed in the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Central Asia, by ISIS or one of the other factions, and they are nameless statistics in the American media. An American couple killed during their extended bicycle vacation, and we are treated to an extended profile, laden with praises, on their selfless and courageous...bicycling? We are even treated to their delightful instagram travel photos.
Yeah, you bet I'm sneering and angry about this. I take no pleasure in the couple's violent deaths, but this is a tone-deaf display of first-world privilege. Even if you won't run more profiles on the people who can't get out of dangerous regions even if they wanted to, at least do it for the 100+ NGO aid workers who are killed each year.
6
To travel is to be free.
I spent a year backpacking around the world in the 80s. I never felt freer and I found myself along the way.
I’m sure this young couple were on the same path of self and would have made a better life for themselves if not others they touched
Make no mistake - this story isn't just about ISIS and a bunch of uneducated low-rent Islamic terrorists from the outskirts of civilization like Tajikistan. Every religion is essentially a brainwashing system, which eventually gets people killed over imaginary differences while claiming to be the only truly uniting power in the world.
1
On balance the world is populated by people who will ignore or welcome strangers, but unfortunately, it requires very few alienated, violent believers to change the course of history for the rest of us. Witness Arch Duke Ferdinand, Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot etc.
Travel, hope and be alert for those who would do evil, and in contrast to Mor(CA), yes, those men were evil. Murder of innocents who have done nothing to you is inherently evil.
Reading our State Department travel advisory on Tajikistan, even with this event noted in it, you would think it is safer going there than Jamaica.
1
These vibrant young folks' journey was a clear demonstration and lesson, that where all the good in the world may be found, evil is never too far away, lurking, and waiting for an opportunity to devour its' prey.
You could certainly argue they were in a dangerous area of the world.
What about the tourists run down and killed bicycling a bucolic pathway along the river in New York City on Halloween? Or the dozens of people gunned down at an open air concert in Las Vegas? Or all of the children shot to death in their schools?
The US hardly holds any corner on personal safety.
5
They were in the wrong place at the wrong time; it could happen to any of us. We would all like to think that if we follow certain rules it will protect us, and maybe that's true to an extent, but there are so many things that can kill us... Better to make our brief lives meaningful than to live in fear.
3
Many comments that they were going to a dangerous place but the same thing happened in London. It wasn't naivety or a disregard for their safety, it was just bad luck. If they'd rode down that road the next day they might have gone on to finish their adventure and taught others their ideas and beliefs about the people of the world.
1
How very sad their trip ended with death. I assume they didn't checked in with the US Embassy, which is a good idea in the more remote countries--especially in that part of the world. They would have been strongly warned about the risks of biking around the country.
57
they coukd have easily been killed in Fl
3
Norma...they were on day 369 of their trip pursuing and fulfilling their heart's desires....clinical advice from the US embassy was not part of their joie de vivre and magical mystery tour.
May the rest in peace...and may you enjoy a moment or two of beautiful impulses in your lifetime.
1
@Norma There is nothing in this article that suggests anything about their checking in with the US Embassy. You are making an assumption based on no facts. If you look at the actual State Dept. Advisory for Tajikistan, it's rated as a Level 2 level of danger which is basically "Be careful." It's hardly ranked as a very dangerous place. And keep in mind how many Americans are killed every year by other Americans in this country. Who can we check in with before we travel around our country?
5
Random acts of violence may strike us at any moment, anywhere. This young couple knew there was danger, and that their idealism might never protect them from it. They were never going to change the world, but at every point they touched others, that small point on earth was changed, though for an instant.
77
And imagine if they’d died in a motor accident without ever living their dream! An inspiring story. Get busy with the bucket list—tomorrow is promised to no one.
1
What wonderful people. I have read their blog from South Africa to Asia and their story often brings tears to your eyes reading the amazing warmth and generosity of people everywhere, many who had very little to give. An amazing journey and a tragic end.
The victim-blaming is gross, disrespectful, and wrong. Even today, the U.S. State Department lists Tajikistan as a "Level 2" country, joining such countries as Belgium, Denmark, France, and Germany.
I hope Lauren and Jay are cycling elsewhere in some alternate universe.
136
I can’t believe all the assumptions made in these comments, based on nothing more than people’s own filters - making judgements on these two people who weren’t really asking anyone to take responsibility for their choices. Wre they foolish to be where they were? Sitting on my couch in Wisconsin, I have no idea. I don’t need to judge whether they were foolish or not to regret their deaths.
160
Anyone who has spent any time on the road as a traveler knows that the world is not just beautiful but dangerous at times.
When you are a stranger, you are both vulnerable and a target.
If you are willing to trust in your fellow humans, there are wonderful experiences to be had--far, far in excess of the danger. BUt discounting the danger or forgetting that not everyone is honorable or, just being unlucky once in the wrong place can bring it all to a quick close.
For every horrible story such as this, there are ten million good ones that are never shared publicly.
WE are a dangerous species, sometimes unpredictable and cruel and even truly evil as these fundamentalist cretins obviously are.
77
I've cycled - not around the world, as some of my friends have, but in various parts of the United States. Cycling is, and should be, a way to connect with the world around you. It is incredibly sad and discouraging that these so-called "Islamist" zealots, whose actions would not pass muster for any real religion, took it upon themselves to act in such cowardly fashion by using a vehicle powered by gasoline to kill the beautiful couple and two others, for no reason.
Why do I emphasize "a vehicle powered by gasoline"? Because the zealots could not themselves produce either the vehicle nor the gasoline.
Is there any hope for rehabilitation of such monstrousness?
30
It's heartbreaking that it is not just extremists and fringe groups who use violence and live with and by hatred. We have a movement right here in this country provoked by our own president encouraging hate, anger, derision and divisiveness. It just became cool to hate.
90
@KLJ I was waiting for someone to blame this incident halfway around the world on President Trump. I think you have clearly drawn the wrong conclusion.
Took me about a dozen comments until I found one that drew a parallel to Trump. Well done.
This is tragic and very foretelling about what everyone now has to keep in the back of our minds--there really are people plotting to harm innocent good people. This lovely couple were living authentic peaceful lives, an admirable mindset; they became the realized wished for dream of so many others who are stuck in an office. So incredibly tragic!
All I can say to anyone thinking of doing something like this is: be wise. Plan your route. Remember at all times, We Are Americans. Some people globally, are not okay with that. It's a different kind of world now. This couple were a Beautiful example of Purity and Light. May God be with their families. Such a terrible loss.
35
@Helen The other two people killed were not Americans. It is not just Americans who are singled out but all westerners.
The killers did not know they were Americans.
1
As I write this, I am unexpectedly in Romania after spending three months, often solo, traveling through several countries. My being American has never been seen as a negative and I have been met time and again with the most gracious hosts opening their homes to me. The only negative thing ever said is “how can that person be president”.
I have had many friends and family express worry for me but as I say to them, bad things can happen anywhere. Personally I fear more about some crazy white guy or Christian zealot slaughtering me and others in a mall, theater, concert, clinic etc than I ever do traveling.
The world is inherently good but when your time is up, c’est la vie.
I am sorry to read of their deaths and cant imagine the devastated family and friends of the couple and the other bikers.
However, remember, they lived more in a year than the majority of people do in an entire lifetime. They didn’t deserve this of course but perhaps think not of how they died but how they lived. Oh, how they lived!
1
God Bless Jay Austin, Lauren Geoghegan and those who love them. What a heroic undertaking. I am moved by Jay's words, just before his terrible death, where he shared the same feeling that I have recently come to hold, after interacting with many foreign citizens in my current job; by and large, most humans want health, safety, security, love and success for themselves, and their families. Honoring your God, whomever that may be, by senselessly taking the lives of peaceful travelers, is reprehensible and cowardly.
38
Let us celebrate the sacrifices Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan made to pursue their dreams, the joy they felt when their experiences made it all worthwhile.
They would want to be remembered for embracing new cultures, for making new friends, for discovering the unexpected kindness of people who helped them, for daring to be adventurous, for trying to make the world a better place.
Their journey is the important part of this story.
In one way or another, their murderers will be brought to their knees and held accountable.
27
@dutchiris I'm not sure that self created hardships are sacrifices.
4
Mark Twain once said something to the effect that, "I like progress, its just the change I do not like." Certain people and certain societies have a better ability for adaption while others are very threatened. Humanity has many failings, and acting out against those with particularly different religious beliefs has left millions and millions of dead in its wake. The "other", the "different" arouse our insecurities, especially in these times when change can seem a conflagration to them, change unasked for and unwanted, at least some of it and acts like this are their answer. Beyond this I am at a lose for words...
6
Why do the Americans have names, but not the Europeans? This is scary--America-centrism.
66
@dr. c.c., I live in Seoul, South Korea. When thesevkinds of tragedies happen that involve a multitude of nationalities, the media typically report the names of Koreans only. It isn’t an American-centric issue but typical of nations. In an even more extreme example, I recall Korean college students who couldn’t understand why I irritated with posters in praise of Bin Laden that anti-American groups had put up around town. The students said 9/11 was America’s tragedy, not theirs. Then I pointed out that over 50 Koreans died in the 9/11 attack. Only then were they shocked. They hadn’t even followed the story in their own media, assuming nothing halfway around globe had any connection to them.
@dr. c.c. I can only assume it's because the Europeans' surviving family did not want them named. European privacy laws are much stricter than those in the U.S.
2
When four lives were brutally cut short on that mountain pass, who were the killers, what led them to their crime? The narrative is so incomplete, not just the Swiss and the Dutch victims blinded out but also the perpetrators. Please go deeper, don’t stop there.
This reminded me, somewhat, of the book "Miles From Nowhere," published in 1983 and still one of the greatest bicycle travelogues ever written. It's the story of Barbara and Larry Savage, a couple who quit their jobs to ride their bicycles around the world in the late 1970s, when nobody did such things. It's a love story as much as anything else and, pardon the cliche, a true tribute to the human spirit.
Within a week of writing the final line, Barbara Savage was hit by a car and killed while riding her bike within a mile of her home in California. She and her husband made it all the way around the world, through Egypt and India and all sorts of places that were supposed to be dangerous (the ongoing Iranian hostage crisis did, as I recall, force an alteration to their route), only to meet her maker in her own neighborhood. Sad, of course, but that's not the part that folks remember. They remember the journey. Hopefully, that will be the case with these two.
65
I also thought of Barbara Savage when I read this story. This couple could have met with evil or an accident anywhere in the world. You have to manage risk to the best of your ability and let fate carry the day.
2
@August West- I too read this remarkable book. A similarly incredible tale was told in “The Man Who Walked Around the World: A True Story,” by David Kunst. While the writing there was nowhere near as elegant, the story was every bit as compelling. Kunst and his brother John set out to achieve the feat of the title. They had mostly friendly encounters in various countries until Afghanistan, where bandits killed John. David went home but later returned to the spot where his brother died and completed the journey. The 1979 book is probably difficult to find, but it is a fascinating tale of adventure and courage. He has a website that tells the story, davekunst1.com.
1
There is a good vs. evil story here and it made me sad to read
about it. Young, adventurous people expressing their special sense of discovery and then murdered by those incapable of encompassing the beliefs of others. What a world we're living in - how discouraging for all people who are expressive and want to learn about the world, travel and revel in the beauty of all that newness they see. My condolences to their friends and family as they try to absorb this loss. Their lives will always be a tribute to those who seek adventure and want to see the glories of this world.
11
What an innocent dream by a sweet young American couple Jay and Lauren. Just last week I met in Louisville, KY, two youngsters from Tajiskistan, the first 2 Tajiks, I ever met. They too were shocked that in their beautiful country, Americans should have been killed for no good reason. ISIS was decimated in recent months but it seems ISIS may have been driven out of its cradle in Syria and Iraq but it is obviously not wiped out from the face of the earth.
It seems the collaboration between USA and Russia to corner ISIS has resulted in ISIS fighters finding new safe havens. It was interesting that the Taliban scares the daylights out of ISIS that they preferred to surrender to the Afghan military forces than be swept away or slaughtered by the Taliban.
A multipronged strategy is needed to mop up all the remaining ISIS holdout and sympathizers. As part of a comprehensive peace in Afghanistan, enlisting the Taliban's help to clean out ISIS may be something to consider.
Jay and Lauren's memorable story will live on well after ISIS has been eventually wiped out from the face of the earth. Let bicycles be the new mode of travel to prevent pollution and adverse climate change. Rest in peace fellow Americans you have shown us the scenic parts unknown of our planet that most of us may never adventure to see.
18
I was a classmate of the couple at Georgetown, though I didn't know them personally. Georgetown has always drawn young people who are eager to know the world and its many cultures, religions, and languages. As an undergrad there I developed a curiosity and openness that I carried forward in my personal and professional life in an attempt to make the world a smaller place. Jay and Lauren took these learnings even further, and reading their story here was both inspiring and devastating. I thought about the incredible, life-changing experience they were having and their ability to share it with not only their own friends and family, but with millions of others who might otherwise be inspired to open their minds and hearts to all of humanity. I was devastated reading about their brutal murder at the hands of savages whose hearts and minds have likely been closed shut from a very young age. When people debate about good and evil, let these young explorers' story remind us all that these concepts do not come down to religion, language, politics, culture, gender, or any other attribute. These killers represented the purest form of evil on our planet. When people close their hearts and minds to the world, they lose their link to humanity; in its place grows ignorance, then fear, followed by hatred, culminating finally in violence. I hope others realize that it is only more openness, as painful as that may seem in the face of such horror, that will ever save us from this darkness.
46
No, these killers are driven by a religious fervor that has led religious people all over the world to kill others who do not practice their religions. These young men surely don't look like "savages" and they receive all types of support from their fellow country-people as well as from Muslims all over the world who are not "evil".
The people of Europe have turned upon Jews since the Dark Ages, and gleefully killed them. Europeans were not evil - the religious leaders taught them to hate.
It is exceptionally naive to assume that this group of young men are sociopathic serial killers. They and many of their country people see them as freedom fighters, defending Muslims from Western malevolence.
Adventurousness and initiative are admirable, foolhardiness is another thing. It seems clear which side of the line they were on. They had a number of close escapes well before their fatal encounter that should have made that clear.
Their deaths were tragic. But their story should serve as a cautionary tale rather than an inspiration to others.
51
@ERP Actually their story will serve as a litmus year, with each of us seeing our predilection for viewing the world mirrored back to us.
1
I cannot more closely identify with two strangers, than this lovely couple. My thirst for adventure mirrors theirs and I can attest to their tales of human kindness. 2 years ago I quit my job and took on the less ambitious task of cycling across the United States and know too the well the task of carrying only what you need and finding the smallest and lightest version of those necessities. We all know the risks involved, but the rewards always feel worth the while. I'm so sorry for their cruel and untimely deaths, but thank them for their generosity and quest to share the beauty in human connection. I have never more strongly experienced it than when I was cycling.
26
I admire these two people and just feel a terrible sadness for all the people that loved them. It sounded like 368 days were unbelievably magic (with some exceptions) and like so many others point out, you can have a tragedy stepping out of your house.
Just imagine all the lives they touched during their time on this planet. Clearly cut way too short but it sounds like they lived many lifetimes in their short time on the planet.
My sympathies to their family, friends and colleagues.
24
I wept when I read about what happened to this idealistic young couple and their cycling companions. I really admire their openness and their spirit for adventure. And I am glad that they were able to meet many people across the world who were warm and welcoming before they tragically crossed paths with the worst of humanity. My heart goes out their families and other loved ones. RIP, Jay and Lauren.
36
I agree with the couple that the majority of people in the world are good. I also know there’s a small percentage who will kill people without any qualms... those folks you need to look out. Condolences to their family and friends.
16
In 1973 my wife and I sat on a hillside looking out at the Bosporous in Istanbul. Ahead lay open roads to India, Thailand, and - maybe - South Vietnam. Then Indonesia, Australia and South America before home. We had finished college, had some money saved, had crossed Europe, and were 21. No one spoke English, we had no maps - either ahead or behind us. But we had to choose: grad school or the world. Financially it was either or. We chose grad school and saved the world for another day. But it was safe then. Our friend and classmate Ron had just done it. 45 years later, $6 trillion later, over a million bombs dropped randomly on civilians later, the world is a dangerous place. There are consequences to our nation's decision to murder Muslim civilians by the hundreds of thousands.
63
Oh just stop. The U.S. does not target civilians and goes to great length to avoid collateral damage. There has been no greater force of good in world, no country that has lifted more out of poverty and oppression, than the U.S.
I’m glad that this couple experienced kindness and goodness. They rolled the dice on an adventure and came up short because they met people whose hearts are filled with anger.
17
my thoughts are with the families of those two great travelers. this murder is appalling.
24
Having done some traveling on a bicycle, and experienced the kindness and generosity of strangers, the murder if these two bold adventurers makes me profoundly sad. Years ago I spent three months cycling across the US, and one takeaway from that trip is that there are many wonderful people out there. Of course there are risks to this sort of travel, it's a shame what happened to this couple. The world is a worse place, for their loss.
17
Do people not consider the potential outcomes of their intended actions?
31
I'm sure they did and lost in the roll of the dice.
What Mr. Austin wrote was while he was alive. I wonder if he was thinking "Evil is a make-believe concept" as he and his closest friend were being killed? Anyone willing to take another person's life, because they don't see eye to eye, is evil.
I think this article could have been written with a tone that they saw and did a lot of good things, but they took too much risk and paid for it with their lives.
I don't accept the position that it's ok because they hold values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own. There is black and white in this world.
They died while living their dream. That’s more than many humans can claim.
Consider the consequences of their actions?
This savagery occurs on a daily basis in the US by people whose actions were mundane - going to school, the mall, the theater, a clinic, work... should those people be blamed for doing “what they chose to do”?
People are inherently good and I write this from Romania after another lengthy, often solo and very random world-wide travel.
I have met people from many countries, those from large cities and tiny villages, who honor me by opening up their homes, sharing not only their meals and their family but also their past, present and hopes.
Many had never met an American woman before and so not only did I leave with a better understanding of who they are and their culture, but I left them with a positive experience with a gentle, kind, quiet, curious and funny American, not the obnoxious stereotypical one they often observe on tv or worse, in touristy places.
I consider myself an “undocumented ambassador” for my country and it is kind and good people traveling that breaks down the walls.
I hope you and yours are never killed for “not considering the consequences” of driving that road, buying that loaf of bread, going to that show, attending that night class, standing in front of that window...
That couple lived more in a year than most do in their entire lifetime.
Try compassion. One size fits all.
1
Why not allow other people to pursue their own interests and Life. Save the criticism for someone you actually have met and know.
Most of the Americans I have met have never left the comforts of suburbia,certainly not traveled abroad.
26
I could write for days about all my thoughts and emotions after reading about this couple.
But, I'll just say this:
They are very much alive in every kind heart and every soul who gets a catch in the throat upon learning how they lived and how they acted in this world.
They live in us all if we take a moment to raise ourselves to a higher place occasionally - a place not so deep in our material concerns and things.
I like taking those moments.
I'm certain you do too.
That's life at its best.
All else seems paultry and wanting.
This from the article will end up in large print where I can see it daily.
A gift from a young man I never met but know intimately…who is very much alive in my heart--
“I’ve grown tired of spending the best hours of my day in front of a glowing rectangle, of coloring the best years of my life in swaths of grey and beige,” he wrote. “I’ve missed too many sunsets while my back was turned. Too many thunderstorms went unwatched, too many gentle breezes unnoticed.”
24
@Paul King..so true..or he have taken
an outside job
2
I am astonished by the victim blaming in the comments. These two adventurers were innocent. They died doing what they loved; being together, being outside and being on an adventure. The blame lays squarely on the shoulders of four men who believed in hate as opposed to tolerance. The blame lies in a twisted version of who deserves to live or die. My heart goes out to the victims, their families and friends. What a senseless and infuriating crime.
39
I have sincere sympathy for the families of the dead cyclists. With all do respect, I'll withhold sympathy for the cyclists. The bikers had absolutely nothing to gain by cycling through the region they were run over, and everything to lose.
The country has warnings from North American governments to not travel there. May the bikers tragic deaths convince others to not be so foolish as to follow their path.
27
Tajikistan is not ranked as a dangerous country. You have a greater chance of being killed in a head on collision or a gunshot in Canada. As a Canadian, your comment is particularly offensive. This couple saw more of the world in a year than we will see in a lifetime.
Hats off to them, to their passion, their gumption, their idealism. May they rest on peace. And may the murderers never have moment of it.
20
Hats off to them, to their passion, their gumption, their idealism. May they rest on peace. And may the murderers never have moment of it.
5
Self-interest is not the worst of mankind. There's that place where one believes in harming others. It's a thing. It's been around since people have.
You can say the boys who murdered them are caught up in unpleasant circumstance and misguided self-interest and antipathy. You can say the victims are caught up in something opposite. Misguided self-disinterest and empathy. These are complex ways of describing your classic good/evil dichotomy. However you want to understand it, people are capable of anything they can think of, and this includes evil.
So, these two individuals were naïve. Still, it is not their fault for being good people. They didn't have to die. They were in fact, unlucky. It is an injustice. I am sorry, I am sad to hear about this.
8
@Iron Hamilton "Self-interest is not the worst of mankind." Self interest is not even the "bad" of mankind. As made plain in this story, malevolence is.
Why does this story, as tragic as it is, remind me of so many stories of hipster millennials who think the world is their playground -- or, at worst, like some moderately challenging hike down to the Sonoma Coast?
Why don't these paeans to living an "authentic" (what a horrid word) life through wanderlust ever acknowledge these people have the PRIVILEGE to quite their jobs and trek the globe?
Why the self-righteous assumption, the arrogance, that working a job week in and week out is living in "beige?" There is nothing beige about doing a job well, supporting your family, educating your children, caring for your aging parents and, yes, paying your mortage.
True, none of that is as glamorous (or Instagram-worthy) as roasting heirloom moss in a yurt on the steppes, but it's certainly a life well-lived.
Attention, entitled Americans: The world is vast. Not everyone shares our values. And they don't have to.
147
Yep, someone has to go to med school to be the doctor to take care of them when they get sick or injured, someone has to get an engineering degree to build the factory that built their bikes and other transportation, someone had to get a computer science degree to create the tablet they carried around to document their journeys, Someone, well , i think you get the point - we can't all quit our jobs to travel the world and have no responsibilities to anyone but ourselves.
1
Agreed on the whole world not having to share the same values but surely not too much to ask to not be murdered for no reason.
1
Sad though it is, there are simply some places in this world Westerners, and Americans in particular, simply ought not go.
48
@Coastal Existentialist.... not just for americans, its for anyone. A colored person feels unsafe in a small white town in midwest too. Remembeer 2 indians got shot in a restaurant last year?
1
I don't understand why these people are called "admirable" by so many commentators. They were having fun, they were tourists, certainly of an original kind, goodhearted, I am not questioning that (I would add "silly", but that's not even the point). What on earth is admirable about travelling the earth (and posting selfies)?
57
@JF Brunet. What is admirable is living your life on your terms, even with all the dangers and unknowns. TR said it best. "Far better is it to dare might things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat".
Isn't it admirable to forsake your material possessions and embark to find beauty in the world? It's certainly a romantic idea to most people stuck in our material world, as it is. I don't know how you struggle to see this. Their story is perfectly dramatic. The real irony is, they died. Nobody cares that they took selfies. Why would you? Does that matter more to you? Also, have you ever cycled very far? It may be fun, in a way, but it is still hard.
I took a similar trip, via a TWA/Quantas around-the-world ticket in the 1980s and throughout my 10 months on the road, encountered many kindnesses. It changed my life forever. I am so saddened by these deaths and wish I could express my deepest sympathy to the parents of these extraordinary young people.
12
We go out in the world and take our chances.
Fate is just the weight of circumstances.
That's the way that lady luck dances.
Roll the bones.
8
A tragic story written in a beautifull way.
7
I ought to be dead many times over, considering the places I went by myself, an American woman, and especially before I had any familiarity with and understanding of local culture. I was very, very lucky. But it can't be denied that I'd been very, very foolish in my touching faith that nothing bad would happen to me.
32
Such an inspiring, tear inducing tale of two lives that chose a path that so few of us ever take the chance to choose. Their experiences in just that one year of biking around the globe entail more about humanity than most of us can ever imagine. Humanity is kind, understanding, empathetic, selfish, and straight up evil. Though these are just words, their lives embody so much more that neither we, nor them, could ever fully articulate. This is a story of being alive as a human, not a story of tragedy.
9
Several have commented that a lack of common sense doomed this couple—that they should have known there are places in the world unsafe for Americans. Did the scores of people shot in Chicago a few days ago also lack common sense? How about the man shot to death while defending his wife over a parking space in Florida a few weeks ago? What of the over 80 killed and 500 wounded at a country-western concert in Las Vegas? Shouldn’t they have all realized there are places in America unsafe for Americans regardless of how much common sense you have?
60
@Anthony Davis
You're right. America is a dangerous place too. But none of those people went out of their way to got to a part of the world where a significant percentage of the population would like to kill Americans just like them.
24
The whole point of the article is that the MAJORITY of people are good and would show kindness to others, including Americans. These cyclists were killed by the myopic minority who lack the connected perspective the cyclists had cultivated. It is the same myopic view that allows governments to casually bomb other nations.
Nearly everyone shot in Chicago this weekend didn’t have the opportunities that would allow them to travel the world (or even move to a different part of the city). It’s a highly false comparison of people killed in their own neighborhood, who lived under the threat of violence daily, to two extremely privileged people who abandoned safe lives for some idealistic adventure.
Can you imagine a black couple ever attempting this?
2
Overwhelming and great story.
Human race in general is kind and generous. I am sure that is in every religion and ethnicity. However, there are people who have lost their bearings and kindness taught in every religion.
May they live in the yondeland in peace. Thank you for sharing.
4
A fine tribute to these ethical and admirable couple. Thank-you.
10
Jay and Lauren were correct. The world is an overwhelmingly good place. If one of my young adult children decided to travel like Jay and Lauren I would worry all day every day, but I would support them all the way. They were making the world a better place. God bless their families.
43
By and large, humans are kind. Then again, blindly assuming that every human is kind is childishly naïve. If you refuse to pay attention to the world around you by blindly believing every human is kind, you end up like these two.
36
Not true, if that were the case we would not need guns or a military. Liberals are always so naive about human nature which is why you need conservatives since we are realistic about it.
10
@KarlosTJHumans are kind, like children, until warped by the hatred that is often structured within the primeval belief system of organized religion. Hatred occurs outside of religion as well but it is tribal in whatever form. In this tragic instance, it is again as is often the case, one in particular.
7
They went where they don't belong. What's so difficult about this? Americans think the whole world belongs to them and their "journey". Stay away, you're not wanted there.
68
Quote from the comment by Kevin KB who shares some valuable information:
"The Pamir Highway is a very popular cycle touring route that is used daily by cyclists from all over the world in the fair season.
Two friends of mine rode it last year, and were kindly taken in by Tajik people throughout this section of their route.
Of the hundreds (thousands?) of long-distance cyclists who ride this road every year, this is the first known homicide.
It is not mentioned in this piece that intentional homicide rates are higher in the United States than in Tajikistan by a wide margin.
It would be nice for the New York Times to run front-page stories about the joy of international travel by bicycle, which is surely more interesting than the clutch of conventional travel reportage about how to stay in a hotel near a beach or get tapas and wine in Europe.
The victim-blaming in the comments section of this thread is sickening and ignorant, just like the comments in every cyclist death story in this paper."
197
Like it or not, Americans are targets the world over and usually with good reason. I am saying this as an American who has lived many years overseas and have watched how poorly they behave in other countries, how rude, obnoxious and presumptive they are. Other countries and cultures do not appreciate this.
@Kati Cyclists deliberately get in the way of cars. The are an entitled group that would push cars off the road entirely. Im tired of having my own humanity denied whenever urban planners set up the dichotomy of “cars or people.” There are people in those cars, often people who are physically unable to ride a bike. Cyclists also kill people — pedestrians —as they do with regularity in Central Park and other thoroughfares devoted to fast moving bikes. So spare me the cries of victimization — cyclists are privileged, and they are the aggressors.
At lest they did not have children.
17
@Keevin Yes, the children would have been killed as well.
1
This is another example of why we must abandon primeval hatred and superstition and call it for what it is. The evidence has refuted these myths hundreds of times only to be given a pass by mindless rationalizations. What loving God wouldn't want two wonderful and spiritual humans to explore this wonderful world?
7
Many years ago, the story of a Canadian woman backpacking through to mountainous villages of Guatemala who ran into big trouble was reported on PBS. Villagers saw this woman and a rumor spread that she was there to collect body parts for human transplantation. Despite the efforts of the local police to calm things down, including displaying the contents of her pack, the villagers attacked the woman and beat her until they thought she was dead. The police made no effort to protect her. She survived and returned to Canada. She was unwilling to be interviewed about the incident and no villagers apologized. The incident was recorded on video.
Mr. Austin's understanding of people was not beautiful. It was fanciful. People who have no grasp of what they are doing will be surprised by everything that happens.
40
@Casual Observer: Yes, these things can happen. But many of us (Americans and beyond) have traveled to Guatemala and enjoyed our time there, including the people who were mostly very gracious. Tourists have been murdered in the US, too. This type of story, while tragic, is not common. And should not stop people from traveling.
10
@Anne
Indeed, there was a reason that this tourist was victimized. There were corrupt government officials spreading tales of rich Norte Americanos buying poor children to use them as medical donors just to stir up confusion to deflect attention from their own nefarious activities. This tourist did not know that she could be in danger.
The idea that goodness and good intentions provide some kind of spiritual tonic that shoos away fears and misunderstandings that set people at odds with each other is purely magical thinking. Bad things happen to good people and those who behave with indifference or cruelty often live long and satisfying lives.
6
Here, here.
1
Their dreams clashed with reality sad to say. If they were aware of the state of things in that area they would avoided it. They weren't medical or rescue workers who really needed to be in a terrorist region, they were naive dreaming tourists who made a foolish mistake based on their dreams. My condolences to their family. I hope others will wake up to the sad state of affairs that exist in this world and act appropriately.
22
You misunderstand. Tajikistan is not a “terrorist” region; prior to this attack, the most recent act of terrorism was in 2010
20
You cannot will the world to be what you want it to be. It is both a terrible tragedy and a sign of the times. This could just as easily happened in America. Intolerance is a global epidemic.
54
First, I'd like to observe that the murderers don't look like "men" to me. They look like young boys, in a pack, acting on whim and impulse, trying to establish an identity, as self-centered and ignorant as this unfortunate couple.
The thing is, the world is what it is. People are what they are. Change is possible and of course happens, but you don't meander the world in order to change people and places. You don't think you have "the right" to go anywhere because you're a nice, loving person who wants the best for all. You must be realistic and respectful.
As many of the commentators here, I traversed the world--in the early 1970's. Everywhere, there were possible threats and dangers based on people and circumstances. There were some travelers who didn't follow warnings and may have suffered consequences. We heard the "travelers' news" on the route. Nothing digital in those days.
My point is that one mustn't be presumptuous and impose one's own believe system on places and people. (Isn't that what the other side did, too?) Furthermore, you are a guest whenever you aren't at home. You have to respect your host country, its people, and what's going on there. We are still a world of countries and cultures in spite of globalism. It's more dangerous to travel now than when I did. It was hazardous then too. It was hazardous centuries ago. You've got to be extremely realistic about where you are. Think about the viewpoint of the people into whose land you've come!
20
Um...in what way is riding one’s bicycle ‘disrespectful’?
1
My heart is broken, as I read this story. Speechless.
15
I have just one more thing to say about these two people: A person who dies traveling the world, revealing other people and cultures, dies once. A person who sits in a computer chair, munching on Cheetos, spreading conspiracy theories on blogs and arguing with people on social media all night dies a thousand deaths.
162
I would like to know more about your decision to include in the article the image Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan's killers took of themselves to celebrate the murder they had committed. Yes, it shows them to be young men, probably younger than their victims, and the impulse to humanize them in the wake of their crime may be one that Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan would have supported, but at the same time the image risks dignifying their atrocity. Would the image have been included were the young men not slight, t-shirt clad, unarmed, and, dare I say it, light-skinned?
7
@Sarah - they look “light-skinned” to me. They are the alleged murderers; printing their picture is newsworthy and may even result in them having to face consequences of this atrocious act.
15
@Sarah because it is a relevant part of the story.
1
@Sarah. In a just world the drone drivers are homing in on them right now.
1
"“I’ve grown tired of spending the best hours of my day in front of a glowing rectangle, of coloring the best years of my life in swaths of grey and beige."
Who among us hasn't felt this way? But how many do anything about it? Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan had the nerve and grit to walk away from bland security, into a life that for them was imbued with meaning.
41
The world is a beautiful place worth exploring, but you have to set certain limits to minimize the personal risks you are taking. As a aid worker, I'm in war torn areas of the world, but I still rely on the local knowledge and experience of our staff and security specialists. If there is a place where we've seen continuous activity by ISIS, we are not going to put ourselves and our staff into a life threatening situation. To go headfirst into a dangerous region like that with no local support or knowledge, feels like someone who is not embracing life, but is in fact embracing death.
33
@Joshua Zakary - the arrogance of youth and the naivety of being a sheltered American has led this lovely and interesting couple to their death. I dont think they even had the awareness that they were gambling with their lives. If you have never lived outside the strict protection of western culture, it can seem paranoid to be told “dont go there, its dangerous”.
26
such a sad and tragic story. I hesitate to insert politics. But what was the cost of their medical care in France? I remember a friend of mine who took sick in Thailand some years ago and was treated in what we would call "urgent care" here in the States. Her bill came to less than $10.
12
@newyorkerva- in Thailand the average wage based on a 6 day a week, 9 hour day is $5,000 per year. Doctors make about 1/4 the salary of a typical GP here in the states.
4
@lou andrews
And I am certain Thai doctors do not go into debt to the tune of $200,00 - $400,000 for their medical education! And then if you add on debt from 4 years of undergrad...oy!
This is a sad tale and one that illustrates the risks one takes when adventuring abroad. But don't think that the risks were not recognised or carefully weighed, and don't preach caution. The world is a better place when people can roam freely, revel in nature and enjoy the company of strangers. Adventurers such as Jay and Lauren enter the trail knowing the risks and calculating them. People may wonder how climbers, cyclists, skiers, base jumpers and surfers, etc. can take the risks for thrills and survive when the same risks would easily kill others. Just as with explorers of old, it is only through preparation physical and mental, that these adventurers can live their lives fully. A shrewd calculation of risk, and an ever present awareness that random death that can occur through mistake or just plain bad luck are what make adventure is possible. Sometimes your number comes up! Adventure calls to the intrepid.
23
There are snakes in the Garden.
My heart goes out to these innocents and their famileies.
18
When those murderers came upon those cyclists, did they discern that they were infidels because they seemed happy or was it just the color of their skin along with an assumption?
9
@Jim Dennis look at the picture of the people who recently were said to claim allegiance to the terrorists. They're as white as white is in the U.S. It's not skin color, it's hate.
11
@Jim Dennis
What makes you assume they were all "white"?
5
“Men” pledging allegiance to ISIS? Boys, looks more like - mostly teens, maybe. Lost souls before they even started adulthood. Like the kids who fired indiscriminately in Chicago the other day, wounding or killing 30 people in an hour. Probably not much thought, belief or conviction going into any of it- just packs of abandoned boys, stuck in a loop of a testosterone-induced frenzy of disillusionment.
Such a shame those bikers lost their lives.
36
Naivete can be fatal. They should not have died. But ISIS doesn't CARE how goodhearted one is. It's a real risk they knowingly took.
22
I don't know. Is this just bad luck or stupidity? My guess is that even if they had survived this "trip" they would have run out of luck eventually. Don't want to believe there is evil in this world. Then it will eventually get you dead. Life is allot more complex than these people want to imagine. Wish the world was like they imagined, but it's not.
26
Right, better to stay “safely” at home Stateside. I, for one, am grateful to have ventured elsewhere and treasure the richness gained by going outside my comfort zone. Try it, the world is a magical place!
15
@Expat Escapee
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Nigeria and for many women, including many of my female colleagues it wasn't so magical as they were subjected to sexual assault and domestic violence.
Perhaps you are male and didn't get to partake of these experiences.
For women, the further you are away from countries that prosecute rape and domestic violence, the more unsafe you are.
1
@Expat Escapee Venturing elsewhere is fine. I've done it, perhaps foolishly, but not (I believe) stupidly. The Maroons in Jamaica were more than accommodating when we wandered up the mountain to see where the road ended. The mayor -- his title was "Captain", from their military days, fighting the English slave owners that tried to recapture them -- suggested that the bunch of children who gathered to see these two strange folks guide us from where the road ended to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, and they did, laughing and chattering
But other Jamaicans, black and white, hearing our tale, were aghast. "You got out of there alive?"
The danger there was a far cry from that in ISIS territory.
The idea that it's their fault because they weren't 'street smart' is cowardly and ignorant. The killers apparently don't link the murders to U.S politics but rather to their 16th Century religious world view: the uninitiated should be converted; infidels should be killed. What we have is tourists, whom the host country's government freely admitted--essentially, invitees into their political boundaries--crushed to death by religious zealot thugs whom that government refuse to pursue, prosecute, and stamp out. Our 'president' should require them to find and prosecute these individuals, let us extradite them, or face the diplomatic and economic consequences.
19
@J Young- it's not cowardly or ignorant- it's "REALITY". Get real and act responsibly. "Women and children can afford to be careless..." Godfather- 1972. In this case the man didn't stand up to the woman.
4
There's a certain consolation to dying doing what you love. How awful those last moments to realize it's at the hands of hate.
5
@Jonathan Rodgers- they could have done what they loved in a more safer envirnoment. No need to be ignorant of one's surroundings.
7
I hope we (the US) will insert some special forces into the area and extract slow, cruel and painful justice.
While I don’t think cycling in, or even visiting, such an area is all that bright, these were good hearted people who did not deserve to die.
8
@kaydayjay: Justice, yes. Slow, cruel, painful justice? No. It begets this cycle.
14
The lesson is that if you travel unprotected in certain parts of the world the probability is 1 in 369 each day that you will be killed or kidnapped. If that's ok with you then go ahead. Don't expect anyone to pay your ransom, and leave enough cash at home to pay to ship your body back.
9
You have a far greater chance of being killed in the Bronx than cycling around the world.
I feel terribly sorry for the bicycle tourists and for those who killed them.
The second question in the parochial school catechism is why did god make you.
I do not believe in god but I believe that each person must decide why he was put on earth.
The killers had little choice in this decision. They grew up in a closed society and learned that the only purpose of life on earth was to prepare for the afterlife with god.
The bicycle tourists grew up in an open society with many life choices available. They decided that the purpose of life was the enrichment of personal experience.
Both the killers and the bicyclists were trapped in bad life situations.
I believe that it is best to live the life of a human animal. And part of that is learning as much as we can about the social and the natural world around us. But we must do it in a way that recognizes that there are real social and natural threats to our existence.
The basic question of how should I live my life consumes us. Every day, all day, in the media, in politics, in religion in arts and in personal conservation we are always concerned with this issue.
10
Besides the obvious and heartbreaking tragedy of this story, the thing that struck me was the Times' decision to publish the photo of the animals responsible for this brutality. Why give them that satisfaction? I understand that it was relevant to the story, but my choice would have been to omit that particular detail. It only glorifies them in other sick eyes.
12
@Bill: The animals looked like teens. Yes, they were brutal. Yes, it was wrong. But what about our treatment of prisoners in Guantamino Bay? We are not innocent leaders in the world of kindness and justice.
6
@Bill
They were not animals. They were young people who looked unthreatening. Their intentions are not to be detected in this photo. One cannot appreciate the danger that they posed based upon their appearances. That is integral to the story.
7
They are not animals, just pawns in someone else's game.
I haven't read many of the comments but wanted to say that I greatly admire these two people. They lived many wonderful lifetimes in their young lives. They will, going forward, be an inspiration to me. Many may have commented here about risk. Through my life I have personally known many peers, most of them leading healthy lifestyles, who have died of cancer, car accidents, other medical issues, etc.. We generally don't know how our lives will end.
I'm also very impressed by their minimalist lifestyle. They may have taken it to the extreme according to many people, but I hope that they will inspire others to scale down and spend that extra money on adventures. Maybe if we all weren't vying for more resources than we actually need, the world might be a better place. I don't know, but just a thought.
816
@Run Wild I completely agree with you about almost all of your post. Really do. It's just that the thinking about everyone else using up resources, for me is that I have lived most of my life as someone not taking up much. Now, I am older and suffer debilitating pain. I can't live that lifestyle. I can't ride a bike very far. My spine is curved and decaying. I need a comfortable couch chair car warm soft clothes heat hot water; all of it. And sometimes I feel like if we all don't become biking minimalists then we are taking up everything. All I'm saying is..I admire these very brave courageous people. But I can't live like that. Not everyone can.
3
@Helen
Thank you Helen, for your reply. I tried to convey that these young folks took minimalism to an extreme, but was trying to encourage others to scale down their consumerism to some degree, not necessarily to the degree these young people did. My best wishes to you.
1
Beautiful and yet tragic story. Unfortunately, love will not overcome and solve this problem, but making war and death so terrible upon those savages that there are either too few of them left to wage war or that it was so terrible, generations will pass before they decide to make war again... Those words have been uttered before.
3
My cousin died sitting at his computer screen in his office in NYC when an airplane was deliberately driven into his building in order to kill “disbelievers”. World travelers spreading love and kindness are a fine way to embody good will to all. Live your life.
183
Evil has no bounds. So incredibly sad and heart breaking to go through this story. At the same time, it is amazing and inspiring legacy that these two have left us.
11
For people criticizing this couple or suggesting "safer places to travel," remember that people (natives and tourists) die in the US from hate crimes (targeted intentional murders based on race, sexuality, etc.), too.
34
These are the kind of lives that choose quality over quantity.
13
The article amply demonstrates the cruelty and nihilism of radical Islam. It is difficult to understand how we can ever live in the same world as these people.
21
A great story and an admirable couple. But those who condemn their killers as evil probably fail to recognize that ISIS fighters see themselves as being on the side of good. For them, these young Americans were an embodiment of the Great Satan. Do you really believe that people willing to lay down their lives for an ideal - as ISIS suicide bombers are - are selfish psychopaths? Instead of bandying around moral absolutes, perhaps we should recognize that good and evil are relative categories, dependent on your culture and your values. Some countries are inherently dangerous not because they have too many sociopaths roaming around but because their cultures are violent, narrow-minded, or filled with bad ideas. I hate radical Islam because I believe it is totally wrong, not because I think its adherents are bad people. I don’t actually care whether they are or are not. The American cyclists embraced ideals I can identify with - individualism, self-fulfillment, adventure - and so I grieve for them. “Nothing is good or bad/ But thinking makes it so” (Shakespeare, Hamlet).
463
@Mor
Sorry, this reasoning is absurd. The killers had no idea Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan were Americans. Indeed, two other bikers, Europeans, were killed - one from Switzerland. To kill in the name of intolerance is never to be condoned or justified. It does make these fanatics bad, selfish people.
8
@Mor: A subjectivist believes that things are relative. But there are absolute good, and absolute evil.
Initiating the use of physical force - as the Tajikistanis did to these "disbelievers" - is Evil, with a capital E.
Believing - as the adherents of radical Islam do - that this act of Evil is "good" because of their culture, upbringing, whatever excuse they choose, is itself Evil.
7
@Mor Sorry, you're wrong. Tajikistan isn't a country with a culture based on extremist Islam that reflects ISIS and thus puts a target on the backs of Americans. Any American (or anyone else), like myself, who has been there can tell you that. Nearly everyone asked where I was from and was happy to have an American visiting their country, especially at their Spring New Year, known as Navrooz. There are, of course, some fanatics who complain that Navrooz isn't in the Koran and shouldn't be celebrated, just as there are people in America who claim that trick-or-treating is Devil Worship. But these days the fringe like that - in both countries - get all the attention. It's the ISIS and al-Qaeda people who want you to believe that there is a single "Muslim world" with one culture, one system of belief, one way of life, etc. and it's acts like this that promote that idea. But what is there to show the everyday life of everyday people in places like Tajikistan? Nothing, really, except people like these who go there, but they get no attention unless... well you get my point. BTW, the same is true in reverse. America is full of gangs, drugs, loose women, snake-handling bible-thumping fanatics, etc. I mean, that all you ever hear about if you live somewhere else. Why would you expect people to think differently? If we judge whole countries by what we hear on the news, we can't blame them for doing the same in regard to us.
4
In 2009 I cycled with three friends from Greece to Palestine, using ferries. We went through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. My experience was of human kindness and hospitality was overwhelmingly positive. Those same friends repeated similar trips in following years, cycling from the UK to India, through many of the places mentioned in this article. There is no moral lesson to be drawn from this story. Jay and Lauren did the same thing I and many others do every year. It was not their bravery and adventurousness that killed them. They got unlucky. What is more dangerous, exposing yourself to the world and its dangers, and living a full vivid life, or insulating yourself in a safe box, in front of screens, where the world and its marvels and dangers cannot touch you? Jay and Lauren understood that safety is its own danger. They are awesome people.
938
@Adam K - its not an either or scenario. Its not either you go into ISIS territory or you hide in your basement. Most of the world is not under ISIS control, under a terrible repressive regime or in the midst of a civil war. When chosing vacation spots, I would consider skipping the DPRK, Syria and Yemen no matter how lovely the people or how spectacular the landscape because theres a reasonably high chance of a very bad death.
20
@Adam K they are DEAD people and no matter how one lives their lives that is a tragedy.
3
@Adam K Why are you presenting those two options as the only choice? Many of us live in the in-between: we work in front of screens to feed our families, but that does not in any way mean we are NOT living full and vivid lives. Lots of us can only afford adventures through books, not travel. That does not make us any less adventurous or untouched by the world and its marvels.
5
Very very sad. I wouldn't say they were naive. They'd already traveled very far (across continents) under bad conditions but the good of moving ahead outweighed the bad. We need to try to keep their flame alive by emulating their openness, joy, adventure, and toughness.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." Steve Jobs
15
@she done all she could Ultimately, they were "trapped by dogma" and "others opinions drowned out their voices".
Very sad.
4
@she done all she could This quote from Steve Jobs is pure garbage- the man whose daughter and her mother lived on welfare while he was a billionaire; the man who denied that was his daughter for most of her life despite DNA tests; the man who stole and cheated his colleagues and treated his workers like crap. A man whose below par products we continue to pay ridiculous prices for while they are produced for pennies by slave labor. A man who never made anything in his life and excelled only by his manipulation of people. In many ways we are just like these young ISIS killers - blind and ignorant to the truth of the death and mayhem we cause indirectly via our purchases of overpriced iphones and other items we don't need - produced by slaves who don't make enough money to eat. We live in total delusion.
1
I’m sure that the two of them
set out with good intentions
But in the end I think that avoiding
Afghanistan would not have been
a bad idea in fact my view is that
The average person could have
Had the mind set not to do something like that. I’m not saying
The trip was a bad idea but they’re
Death could have been prevented
4
A sad comment on the nature of people too often drawn to religion. Without sacrifice, there can be no sacred.
2
These were wonderful people, idealists, who sadly lived in a bubble. Reminded me a little of the hikers who allegedly strayed from Afghanistan into Iran, or of Bowe Bergdahl, or of Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle, who were held by the Taliban in Afghanistan. OK, this couple were more rationale in that they chose Tajikistan over Afghanistan, but the distinction was tragically in their case insignificant and meaningless.
It is sad that they had several close calls, but they did not head the warning signs.
I get their free spirit adventurous side, but this got the better of them. May this be a wake up call to others who are equally adventurous - stick to places like Iceland, where they had their test run. And if only 1% of the rest of the world hates westerners, and I doubt that it is as few as 1%, stick to western countries or else countries known to be friendly to westerners such as Thailand. Safety First.
7
I was never treated better as an American anywhere than Tajikistan- though Uzbekistan was a close second. The only thing sadder than the deaths of these two people is knowing how little attention they -and Tajikistan- would have received had they not been killed. Now I'm sure it's the only thing we'll hear about in relation to Tajikistan, which is probably not what they would have wanted.
299
@Robert W., This most certainly is not a good tourist enticement to "Come visit beautiful Tajikistan".
@Robert W.
That probably is the way to look at it. Most of the time, when you go to the foreign country, what you see is a lesson that comes through loud and clear as you have said. However, buy the same token, in every place you go -- including Japan where I live presently -- you will also meet a few bad people; although usually they do not do quite these kinds of bad things.
Not like visitors, from Argentina, to Manhattan Island (NYC) who were bicycling weren't attacked, and killed, with a truck on the lower westside of Manhattan in the fall of 2016.
21
@Yaj The driver there was an Uzbek having immigrated under a Diversity Immigrant Visa. Not sure where you were going with this.
11
@Chris:
"The driver there was an Uzbek having immigrated under a Diversity Immigrant Visa. Not sure where you were going with this."
One doesn't have to highlight bicycling dangers half way around the the world, they exist in NYC, even if, as you imply, it's some "outsider" who was the danger.
(I was also taking a jab at less than well thought out bike lanes NYC, and that lack of concern certainly contributed to the death toll in the NYC attack. Running over people scores points in the video game "Grand Theft Auto.)
Look, yahoos killing westerners in that part of the world isn't unheard of, not real common. But then ya know, the USA is still killing Afghanis in that part of the world for no particular reason, so perhaps that's something to consider when considering bicycling routes.
3
When I was younger, I lived in Manhattan on York Avenue and rode my bike every night in Central Park. I remembered several times when people would intentionally try to swipe me. And then one day I was in a taxicab and the driver veered close to a cyclist and laughed, then admitted to the fact that he enjoyed hitting them. I was shocked. Believe me, those few blocks were perilous.
Over the years I've traveled into many supposedly dangerous places. Yes, I've taken chances, trusted people who were strangers, been scared out of my wits at times. But I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. Because, gee whiz, you could get killed cycling from York to Fifth Avenue. And the wonderful people I've met, any of them from Islamic backgrounds, far outweigh the risks. My guess is that this adventurous and openhearted couple weighted the risks and decided to venture out of their comfort zones anyway. I doubt very much that they were "naive" as some of the commenters have written.
Anyone who presumes to sit back and judge them...Well, enjoy your boring life.
23
EVIL is COWARDLY. Almost always a group of men against one or 2 people, or one man with a gun or a car/truck. They ALWAYS kill innocent people whom they don't even know. I pray they get what they deserve.
My heart goes out to these brave young people who believed --despite some malevolent experiences they had made-- in the good of mankind.
5
Had they survived the journey, we would all be impressed by their adventurous spirit and having "lived the dream" of abandoning our picayune responsibilities for the "open road". But we should not invent make-believe concepts to deal with the complexities of fellow human beings. Concepts like pity, tragedy, idealism are but illusions preventing us from seeing the self-interest, myopic wonder and kindness of the late Mr. Austin.
On the one hand the deceased wanted to leave a tiny ecological footprint with veganism, tiny house etc. but at the same time to conquer the globe with his bicycle and Western gaze. Sadly, his greatest revelation was false, but fortunately he will never know it, and allows him to rest in peace.
7
Thank you for this beautiful and inspiring account of this wonderful two human beings. It shows the extremes of what can happen when humans on one end live by decisions born out of trust encounter humans living by decisions born out of fear (and what that creates we all know too well).
A very sad and very touching love story.
16
I honestly think all this adventure/travel/instagram blogging is a competitive form of fame lust. I endorse travel and seeing how the rest of the world lives but the pic of these two souls in front of a pyramid struck me. Were their lives cut short all because they wanted a bunch of cool pics for their brand? I feel for their parents who must be reeling from the loss.
32
Pretty sure they used their blog and Instagram to keep in touch with family and friends..
4
@moll flanders, Like the professional, international adventure bloggers who slipped off of the top of Shannon Falls in British Columbia recently? That was such an unfortunate accident. Yet could have easily been prevented.
I often find myself terrified of religion, specifically religious beliefs. While most people are well-intentioned, religious beliefs and the certainty and intolerance often involved in them frightens me. The firm belief that their particular religious belief is the correct one. No gray areas. There is often no reasoning with someone deeply religious.
Of course this is not always the case. But when someone is inflexible and feels no guilt about discriminating or eliminating another's rights, religious beliefs are often involved. Almost anything is justifiable when they believe it is god's will.
Take it from someone without religious beliefs---it is often frightening to listen to unwavering people that do.
58
Sorry that this nice story ends in a tragedy. The world has become a dangerous place. In my youth I travelled all over Europe on a tight budget mostly by hitchhiking for eg from Eastern Europe to Spain. I would not not recommend it today. A healthy portion of vigilance is needed not only in Tajikistan. It was recommended to me two years ago in Chicago!
8
We each get only one life to live. It may be long or short. It may be interesting or boring. We all make choices, but it is impossible to know how they will turn out. You can play the odds and still lose.
Personally I'm more interested in keeping life interesting than long.
32
@Jay Lagemann Well said- Agree 100%
4
Over several years I bicycled to 32 state capitals and 4 Canadian provinces and also found it the adventure of my life with many wonderful experiences and making great connections with friendly people who did much to inspire me onward. The good far outweighed the bad - but there were a few close calls - the worst being when an out-of-work coal miner in West VA doubled back and tried to run me over because I didn't pull of the road when he beeped at me (it was winter and snow was on the shoulder). If 10 people did what I did the odds would likely be good that one of those would have met tragedy. I am lucky to have come out of my 'pilgrimage' having 'found' myself and learned much more about our country. Most people are good but some people are not. I also ran into a pair of girls just one month out on their own bicycle trip (Pot and Kettle their nicknames), spent a day and a night camping with them and learned that girls have a lot more to worry about with frequent dangerous or frightening interactions with males (drivers especially) harassing them.
29
@Ed Smith How did you know that the driver was an out-of-work coal miner?
6
@Tabby Brown-Thomas When he finally pulled over and came out of his car his wife emerged and got between us and calmed him down. After he finally left and I continued on I pulled into a driveway where a state trooper car was parked and reported the incident - the officer passed it off as a frustrated out-of-work coal miner. Also had some jarheads near Quantico throw some type of soft drink on me as they drove by.
I'm sorry if they died. I used to wander the backwoods of the world as a young person going to places few people go. So I can understand the attraction. I think it made me a better person, though I don't know if anyone else benefited. But as an older person I think it's a miracle that I survived to adulthood.
18
We want the world to be a certain way and sometimes we wish for something that doesn't exist. My heart goes out to these people who just wanted to give back and enjoy the world.
Let us remember there zest for life and for the rest of us be cautious on where we travel. Dealing with zealots is not the way to lose your life when there is so much to live for.
17
Their experiences bring to mind
the information in Sapiens A Brief
History of Mankind in the realization
that the core of human behavior is
consistent. Our ancestors 15,000
years ago lived in small bands, hunting
and foraging. One band could be peaceful,
another violent. The story of Jay and Lauren
is that of two peaceful, loving
people encountering the evil that exists
in our species. Their story is so very sad.
16
Narcissistic, adventuresome, pathetic, optimistic, cruel, myopic, realistic, foolish, loving, hateful, thoughtful, thoughtless, , freewill, fate. In the end - life is what you make it?
12
No words.
9
Truly a shame. However these folks must surely have had a touch of colonial fever thinking they are bringing with them the great American outdoors into killer anti-american countries. Is this naivety or stupidity? Looking for to explore the world? Don't do it in these parts. Did they ever read the fake news?
Sorry for their friends and family.
23
@J. Karasik Killer anti-American countries? I take it you've never been to Tajikistan. I was never treated better anywhere as an American than in Tajikistan. But I wouldn't have expected that if I'd gotten all my information from the news. I guess that's where a lot of people in other parts of the world get their negative view of America. You don't think their media focuses on everyday life in America, do you?
9
@J. Karasik i think the US is more of an anti-Tadjik country than the other way around.
5
There is nothing sadder than this tragic and horrible act committed by the deranged and stupid. But those of you on this thread casting aspersions at two obviously wonderful people who have families and friends who are probably deeply in mourning aren’t exactly shining examples of humanity either. They didn’t deserve this fate. Smh.
31
Good for them! They followed their dream.
To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen, who play with their boats at sea – “cruising”, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes' change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.
“I’ve always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can’t afford it”. What these men can’t afford is not to go! They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of “security”. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense. And we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, and preposterous gadgetry – playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.
The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.
Where then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse, or bankruptcy of life?
By Sterling Hayden (from Sterling Haydens’ book Wanderer- 1978)
14
The deaths of Jay Austen and Lauren Geoghegan have left the world a poorer place. This will never be said of those cowardly young zealots who cut their lives short.
27
This attack could has just as easily occurred in the US. Any bikecyclist who has had a old old boy flying old glory driving a diesel truck roll coal on them knows how common stupid mean people are. But, nice to be reminded that kindness is the rule and you still have to move forward.
28
Meanwhile, in America you can be shot down (legally), just for asking for directions at someone's doorstep. If folks want to go around spreading love and joy they can start right here.
47
So, ISIS is so fearsome that they need to use 3000 pound vehicles to ram people on 30 pound ones.
Shows how cowardly they actually are.
22
my heart breaks for their tragic deaths, even as it is comforted by the fact that these two truly, truly lived life to the fullest. Their story inspires me to get out from behind my glowing screen. Maybe one day I'll be brave like them.
Thank you, Jay and Lauren, for all you brought to the world. Rest in piece.
19
Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan seem like amazing people. It's so tragic that their lives were cut short so early.
But I'm appalled by the commenters here blaming the couple for their deaths, calling them naive idiots for daring to take moderate risks. They weren't jumping off of cliffs or sleeping among bears--they were traveling along a known tourist route with other seasoned cyclists, for goodness' sake.
We all take risks every day. We flirt with death every time we merge onto the highway or take a walk in the park. It takes just one drunk driver, one starving wildcat to end a life. Just months ago a cougar killed a cyclist near Seattle.
What do "smart" people do--assume everyone and everything is out to kill them? Lock themselves up in bunkers with piles of canned food and ammunition? If we all let fear stop us from doing the things we want, we'd be a society of depressed, paranoid zombies.
98
@T. K. Marnell
"If we all let fear stop us from doing the things we want, we'd be a society of depressed, paranoid zombies."
You've described Trump voters perfectly.
6
Not victim blaming. Just saying that some places are riskier than others.
Well this shows the brutal reality of
Life. No matter how many small homes and bespoke design items one has created, when traveling to a country bordering Afghanistan, as an American, woman, Jew, your intellectual shield and good
Vibes will not save you from the violent mob or fanatical savage.
This is true in other forms as well, but you realize why people in this part of the world often have an armed driver with them.
14
I see the young militants are all men. As always. But nobody calls this out. How can we change so that men are less hateful and violent?
37
Dear JK Henderson,
I don't think we can, it's how we evolved. Tribes' survival depended on the number of childbearing women who could survive year to year. Men were fully expendable. Like most animals, men fought each other for mating rights.
Violence is also an inherent part of life, up until we became civilized enough to leave it behind somewhat. Every nature documentary contains a lot of violence if it's realistic.
So our genes compel us, but also when there is fear, and desperate need, there is violence. When civilization advances to the point where every human doesn't have to worry about food and shelter, or suppression, or mental health treatment, then we might leave violence behind. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that.
11
@Dan Stackhouse
well-fed men with health coverage fight over women all the time. in my world of successful finance bros, most violence is over women.
1
@ jk_henderson I remember asking a Palestinian (now an American businessman) his thoughts on the violence in that region. He just shrugged and said “young men with jobs don’t throw rocks.”.
7
The amount of victim-blaming in these comments is pretty disgusting. This couple, who were friends of friends but who I never met, should be respected and emulated. It is not naive to not expect to be murdered when not traveling in an active war zone. They were both highly educated and curious about the world, hungry to experience life beyond an office cube. Who can fault them for that? And Jay’s conclusion that humanity is at its core kind? That was Anne Frank’s assessment of the world too. Bad, desperate people senselessly killed this pair, robbing them of their right to live. That is the tragedy here and should be your takeaway.
50
@Jdarns Well said! Agree 100% I am amazed at the level of fear, paralyzing fear. Marketers push fear to push product- insurance, home alarm, guns, blah blah blah- and it works just like all other ad campaigns.
4
At this point, we can only hope that whoever did this appreciates, eventually, what they did and to whom. Running over strangers on bicycles, then slitting their throats after the fact just to be sure?
On one level, it is hard to blame the killer. Truly, he was a pawn in someone else's game. The killer can be saved, the hate that spawned the act is irredeemable. So we should focus on the hate and not on the killer. So long as there is hate, there always will be killers.
I've ridden thousands of miles on a touring bicycle, so this one hit home and was exceptionally well done. Long distance cyclists know from experience that most people are good and kind--strangers feed you for free and put you up in their homes and give you rides when you've broken down and smile and are genuinely interested in you and where you've been and where you're going. The story captured this marvelously, as well as showing who these people were and what made them human. Hopefully, the killer will read the story, and, hopefully, the story will awaken in him what needs to be awakened while helping rid him of the demon that is hate.
3
@August West Why should people in the poorest areas of the world be putting up in their homes, cyclists who have quit their entitled and well paid jobs to travel the world - giving them their 'bread'????? I find this totally narcissistic and insane!
Tajikistan, even after this attack, currently has a Level 2 travel advisory from the U.S. State Department. A short list of some of the other locations with the same level of travel advisory: Antarctica, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and China. I haven't heard anyone say that people traveling in these areas are stupid or naïve.
This is a tragic event. But it remains that the things that Americans do are most hazardous to our health is drive cars, eat awful food, and live sedentary lives.
41
@Sarah T. Thank you for providing this context.
5
@Sarah T.
Antarctica? Is the State Department worried about penguin attacks?
1
@Sarah T. Given the number of and nature of terrorist attacks in Europe in the past decade, I would say it is unreasonable to assume it is completely safe to travel there either.
"Death to disbelievers"
Who says--anymore--that religion--blind dogmatic belief--faith--in god story myth--is a good thing?
Well those "selling" the god-story, of course.
But also those selling political fiction--lies and lies about lies about lies.
They scratch each other's backs and attack common enemies--namely the responsible press, science and all academia, the courts and other branches and levels of government--all rooted in evidence, logic and proof.
Religions are not apolitical--they all aim at theocracy. What's worse is they are all totalitarian--seeking control over all aspects of life--pubic and personal.
No surprise that US Evangelicals are Trumpies. They need each other--lest the Enlightenment has a renaissance.
They might not terrorize like ISIS--blood and guts violence; theirs in "institutional terrorism"--violating rights of rationality.
7
A part of me wants to say "what were they thinking?" But we can't live life to the fullest worrying about danger. We cannot let things like this stop us from enjoying the good side of humanity. ISIS wanted to make a statement and if we stop this couple's dream from being our own ISIS wins.
2
Very beautiful lives they both led. Very inspiring. I believe that they are right, that most people in this world are good and not evil. There is evil, and it does happen, often in this country right here. Plenty of cyclists are killed on our American roads. I imagine they would like that to be acknowledged, to the naysayers of their mission. People likely read into this thinking..."well, they went overseas, and into an area where these things can happen." True, now bicycle through the South side of Chicago.
There is danger everywhere. There are not always brave enough people to confront it with open arms and push themselves to live an incredible life. They both did. How awesome.
7
Wow, kinda shocked by the blame heaped on the victims. Yes, they did something beautiful and also, inevitably, dangerous on occasion. They were optimistic and joyful dreamers and it breaks my heart to see their faces and know they're gone, killed in such a vicious and evil way.
18
Well, what can you say about this? Four kind, naive people dead, killed by other people who were neither "generous and wonderful [or] kind.” This is something that happens regularly to Westerners who assume that people in far-flung locations will like them for their personal qualities. Sadly, not so . . .
9
One additional comment to all the armchair quarterbacks: At the time of the attack the State Department listed a level 1 warning for Tajikistan (lowest level, "exercise normal precautions"). Following the attack it was upgraded to Level 2 "exercise increased caution".
Do not assume they were lambs riding unknowingly into a den of wolves - this appears to have been a random attack. While Tajikistan may not be everyone's cup of tea, I'm going to bet the sum knowledge for most commenters (myself included) on this particular country is virtually zero.
15
Such a tragedy. And were we to have as equal a sympathy for the loss of the countless hundreds of thousands, nay millions, who were dispatched with equal disdain for life by our bombs, our missiles, our drones, would we now seriously contemplate yet another immoral and illegal war against Iran?
4
Heart breaking- the world lost 2 bright young people and did itself a huge disfavor!
My love to the family- your loss is shared by all the kind people in this world!
Thank you for having brought and raised them to be who they were!
4
How unfortunate and a loss to humanity. The world is not a terrible place, but unfortunately there are plenty of depraved, deranged and bloodthirsty species of the human race who do not shun senseless bloodshed. I only hope that if these murderers ever make it to the middle age that they have the same pain and anguish inflicted on their mostly beloved. It is so tragic that their paths crossed. My deepest condolences to the families.
4
@Colenso "Humans are not fundamentally good. Very few humans will try to help others, will step in to help the underdog"
That's basically true, very few humans. That's why it is a good idea to stick to countries where even atheists are guided by Judeo-Christian values, or else the police have firm control over people like in Japan or Singapore.
Many here eulogize the couple for being paragons of risk taking. That's perfectly fine, if you don't mind being the subject of a snuff film at age 29.
I live close to Mexico and have many friends born in Mexico, but don't go there very much because of narco traficantes and corrupt police. I have a Guatemalan niece, but don't go there because of political unrest, and the drug trade.
I don't make a habit of whistling past the graveyard.
You pay your money, and you take a chance.
If millennials think the world is their oyster, as a function of facile smart phone use, go ahead then. Your passport says you live in a free country.
16
@Wordsworth from Wadsworth
If so many Americans didn't have an insatiable hunger for drugs that blot out reality, there wouldn't be any narco traffic. You know, demand drives business....
3
There is an insatiable appetite for drugs the world over, from the Middle East where opium is cheaper than cigarettes in Iran to the Taliban controlled poppy growing fields and the production of which started a thousand years before the US of A was invented.
I have cycled all over the world. It is the most beautiful, human way to travel. I too have come to believe from my experiences that everywhere you go, people are kind, generous, and good. No matter what part of the world I have been in, no matter what the language or cultural barrier, people always offer water, a place to sleep, a meal to share, a kind word. Unlike in a car, you experience the world and the people at human speed and scale.
I am not "naive" as many commenters here seem to take some kind of glum satisfaction in calling this couple. I have also crossed paths with people who angry, mean, or cruel. These experiences stand out only because they were so very rare, compared to the near constant acts of unsolicited kindness by strangers.
What is naive is thinking that cycling across a foreign country is any more dangerous than commuting to work on a bike in the average American city. Quite the contrary, as we Americans have decided that the daily bloodshed around us barely deserves comment, much less headlines. You don't need to leave the USA to face senseless violence on the streets.
Rest in peace to this couple, the world would be a better place if more people would pick up their bicycles and go for a ride.
30
After the Pulse Night Club massacre of 49 gentle young souls in Orlando it became clear to me that radical Islamic terrorists are not our friends and no amount of love is enough to conquer this kind of hatred.
This beautiful tribute reinforces my strong dislike of this religion and those who kill the “disbelievers” to seek their salvation.
Thank you NYT for sharing the geneoursosity of shelter and bread provided by the kindness of strangers and sparing us the gruesome details how these four good young people were cut to pieces by the hands of opportunistic evil doers.
I can only glimpse into the terror in their minds when they realized their poor discussion to “turn the other cheek” towards criminals.
9
The world has not changed much since Frank Lenz 1892 attempt to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle:
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Cyclist-Adventurer-Mysterious-Disappearance/...
A good read and depressing ending just like this article.
I think this story was beautiful and I definitely enjoyed reading it.
I respect Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan so much for making the huge decision to live out something wilder and bigger than their old lifestyles. It's terrible that some horrible people's actions could affect them so deeply. The whole thing is sadly ironic; the young couple's entire trip they live out the message about kindness and faith in humanity, while in the end the lack of kindness in humanity is what takes their lives. Even though their trip didn't necessarily end well for them I honestly believe they had a fulfilling life by going out and doing something more than an average working person does everyday. One day I wish to do something like this and see the true beauty that the world has to offer.
5
For those young men and women who feel Austin's dissatisfaction with the venal tasks of an ordinary middle class life, who seek adventure and a real commitment to something larger than than one's self, may I recommend the US military?
Reading this article from an outpost in Afghanistan, I'm reminded of the purpose behind my now nine year adventure with the US Army and proud that in the last week alone the unit I lead has removed more than a dozen black-flagged extremists from this big, beautiful planet. Sometimes the love the world needs is the kind that's tough.
60
Kudos!
9
@Nick
Thanks for your service Nick! If you are ever in Jeddah, give me a e-shout and I will treat you to dinner.
4
@Nick
Thank you for your service and keep up the good work!
There are people older than I who had similar adventures, going as budget travelers through some of these territories on bicycles, on foot, or on local transportation, who never felt any sense of danger but met only hospitality and admiration.
The reason they're all older than I (i.e. mostly in their seventies) is that they traveled before the Vietnam War, which put the first dent in America's worldwide reputation, so one such traveler had no trouble going through Cambodia and Vietnam before boarding a series of planes to fly home.
It was also decades before the U.S. government began seriously meddling in the Middle East. Traveling through Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan was safe, and they encountered only the fabled Middle Eastern hospitality.
What American (or in some countries, any Westerner) would dare to travel overland from Istanbul to Saigon today?
57
@Pdxtran America has been messing with the world long before Vietnam.
2
@Pdxtran I suspect that many young ISIS members have never heard of the Vietnam war, if indeed they've ever heard of Vietnam.
3
I only see the beauty of two people taking steps to live the life they envision and not give in to expectations, norms etc. I am proud that they had the courage to change course- it is very difficult. The good experienced in their journey far far outweighs any negative.
And, for feedback to be focused on gender bias, creepy guy, a few cruel people just didnt get what these two were after. They wanted to be free and were willing to risk harm to have a chance to feel that. That is pretty incredible.
16
Their candle burned brightly before it was extinguished.
11
@R. Anderson
Their candle burned brightly at both ends.
3
What on earth were these two well educated (apparently) people doing in a war zone?
25
@Margo Channing You could ask the same question of anyone who chooses to move to Chicago.
6
This couple's tragedy hinged on a chance meeting with waylayed disturbed youth believing in a heinous creed. Turning this horrible incident into a moral screed by those who think they know better is to lessen the severe terror of what happened. Whether a gang shooting in Chicago or a crazed murder in Tajikistan, the outcome is not to be moralized against the victims. They could have come home happy, but they didn't and it's only the fault of an unexpected encounter on a distant road. Don't blame the this young couple. The world is what it is: good and bad.
34
Jay and Lauren were beautiful people, they shared some very positive traits that we all should try to emulate.
That being said, they were incredibly naive. I find it surprising, in this day and age, that such highly intelligent and educated people could be so unaware of the hate that is felt toward people from the West in that part of the Islamic world. Sure, most people are nice, even in the Islamic countries, but the odds of running into hate in that part of the world skyrockets. Risk vs reward should always be figured before embarking on most things in life.
That also being said... when we are discussing ISIS, things are different from other terrorist groups that hate the west. ISIS is everywhere to a certain extent. ISIS recruits through the
internet all over the globe. This could have happened in the USA. So, in these modern times, our ability to use sound judgement in assessing risk vs reward is not as useful as it once was.
Crazy times we are living in.
18
Another form of intelligence people fail to develop at their peril: Street smarts.
23
@Robert Henry Eller
They did not die in a street. Actually many American streets are more dangerous for Americans than mountain trails in Tajikistan.
It is foolish not to appreciate the life smarts of these people who received and gave more love in their short lives than most of us could master in 10 100-year long lifetimes.
2
"Evil is a make-believe concept." Sadly and terribly, no, it's not.
57
This sad story reminds me of the movie 'Grizzly Man', where the individual thought he live with and be accepted by wild bears. He wasn't. He was killed and eaten, along with his girlfriend.
I understand why one might want to adopt the view of this couple; it is a sweet delusion. And like every delusion, the belief does not make it so. The sad reality is that violent and disturbed human beings will not be enlightened or converted by a message of kindness and compassion. They will, as in this case, just kill the messengers.
43
An incredible amount of victim blaming happening here... adventurous people take risks. This is what they chose - they did nothing wrong. Why is ISIS not being blamed for their constant terrible cruelty and the mindless violence they inflict on others? It's inspiring to hear their story - so many of us suffer from anxiety, depression, and a general malaise about life. That it is useless whichever political party we choose to vote for and that we will spend our lives being minions and drones for the higher ups. What this couple chose to do flew in the face of that - to those who say that they were unaware of the political dangers, you don't know that. Perhaps they were fully aware and chose to pursue traveling in these areas anyway and it is clear that they were happy and fulfilled doing so. We could learn so much from these countries - but not everyone is willing to take the risk. I personally would not, but I have only admiration for those that do, not judgment. If only the rest of us (myself included) could have the courage and determination to pick ourselves up and change our lives when we realize that this is not the life we want.
56
No, it is confirmed by Austin’s own words, he refused to accept the world as it is, preferring to make his experiences fit his dream of how he wanted it to be. Being an adventurer is not being oblivious to what there is to know. He and she were being reckless but so were their companions. Ignorance does more harm than maliciousness.
11
@KReminds me of some of the lyrics of an old Spanish song ("Yo también nací en el 53"). Roughly translated:
You always find someone clever
who knows what to do
who learned everything in the books
that never jumped without a safety net
These two people took some risks, it is true. They were not afraid to live and I will admire them for that and their faith in humankind. Rest in peace.
1
@Casual Observer Isn't it funny that different people can have different experiences and views about the world and what it is like?
2
I am so sorry. Truly magnificent people. The world is a little bit darker now.
17
Loved Algeria when I was there in late 1950's, even with the war not yet concluded,and interviewed OAS activists in neighborhoods like Maison Carree, Alger centre, Belcourt, Bab el Oued, when many were still "planques," and never even felt the "frisson "of being endangered.I was an American, and therefore, not to be touched. However, with remnants of FIS and GAI still active in Algiers and Oran, would not take that chance again. Even the author of "Meursault:la Contre Enquete, "a great romancier and journalist, lives under the threat of being "enleve,"if not by the abovementioned ISIS related groupuscules, but by the armed forces, were to continue his attacks on the establishment! World has become such an uncertain, dangerous place in the last half century, and deaths of the 2 cyclists are the tragic proof!Feel sorry for them and for being so naive as to believe in the goodness of people in general.Not every one out there is someone whom the saints could not touch!
3
The Pamir Highway is a very popular cycle touring route that is used daily by cyclists from all over the world in the fair season.
Two friends of mine rode it last year, and were kindly taken in by Tajik people throughout this section of their route.
Of the hundreds (thousands?) of long-distance cyclists who ride this road every year, this is the first known homicide.
It is not mentioned in this piece that intentional homicide rates are higher in the United States than in Tajikistan by a wide margin.
It would be nice for the New York Times to run front-page stories about the joy of international travel by bicycle, which is surely more interesting than the clutch of conventional travel reportage about how to stay in a hotel near a beach or get tapas and wine in Europe.
The victim-blaming in the comments section of this thread is sickening and ignorant, just like the comments in every cyclist death story in this paper.
99
@Kevin KB
The US State Department's Travel Advisory site has Tajikstan ranked as Level 2, Exercise Extreme Caution. That would give me pause. At least in Chicago, I'd know how and where to skeddadle and whom to call.
1
@elzbietaj - And quite a few countries around the world warn their citizens about travel to the U.S.
@Kevin KB 100% agreed. Would love to see some of the commenters in this thread responding to the next story about tourists being violently assaulted or murdered while on holiday the USA, and have them go on about the victims' "naivete" for visiting a country well-known for its violent religious fanatics and high crime rate.
I’m sorry for them and their families. But there’s a vein of privilege and presumption running through this story that irks me. Only a straight white couple would assume that everyone in the world will welcome them, not resent their apparent freedom from having to earn a living, and not seek to harm them. Many of their fellow Americans have to think carefully about what route they’re going to drive or which store to patronize to avoid harassment, abuse, or worse.
274
@Maia Ettinger
...but you can think all you want about which school you're going to send your children, but they wont be safe in our own country....
2
@Maia Ettinger
Well,you DO have the choice to stay home,and get abused locally. I don't have enough space to list the hidden horror s of life within the US. Well...Matthew Shepard's experience near Laramie WY or 8-year-old Ryan Van Luchene's experience in Libby MT, might give you a pause for refection.
The photo of the attackers show a couple of them to be teenagers. A link another article at the bottom of this page said several of them were killed by the authorities in Kazakhstan.
Why those people thought killing some international tourist is of benefit to Islam is hard to understand.
A tragic waste of life and certainly not what is taught except by terrorists through what amounts to brainwashing to those capable of lethal naivete.
13
They seem like genuinely nice young people and we need more like them. Danger is everywhere they could have the same thing happen in Chicago given the violence there. Short message is you still need to follow your dreams.
14
My brother quit his tech job in San Francisco and moved to India. He bought a motorcycle and spent a year on the back of it, from the southern tip of the subcontinent to the Annapurna. I worried every day about his safety. And I never brought it up. Only later did I hear about the close shaves. He now happily lives in northern Thailand with his wife and two daughters. Choices like this do not change lives they fulfill them. You have to cheer them on, even if fate takes sides and it ends tragically. I can only speak for myself, a "fellow traveler" and my brother's brother, but I'd like to think, no matter what. These lives of courage, connection and dignity cannot be second guessed. Bravo, brava...God bless you both.
831
@Jack
Beautiful
"You have to cheer them on, even if fate takes sides and it ends tragically."
Yes you do. I learned this when my father, who had just accompanied me on a drive back to my new home 2,000 miles away, told me, "I want you to know that even when mom is giving you a hard time about whatever plans you have or whatever crazy road trip you're on, I might not say it because I need to keep the peace at home, but I want you to know that I'm always behind you 100 percent." Sometimes some of us just have to fly.
@Jack. ~ Well Said!!
I apologize at the outset if this comment appears insensitive. I accept that Lauren and Jay were talented and wonderful people. Moreover, their murder and the murder of the unnamed cyclists from the Netherlands and Switzerland were vicious and hateful. The point I want to make is that young people with such enormous intelligence, talents, and belief in the inherent goodness of human beings can draw on these strengths to do so much to make positive changes in the world. I am all for forsaking the unquestioned routines and grind of corporate and professional life in advanced industrial societies like ours. However, there are so many areas here and abroad for talented and dedicated people of means to break out and devote their lives, or at least a year or two of them, to help others who are unjustly oppressed and so less fortunate than we are. Along the way, one will experience sunsets, storms, and the beauties of nature and humankind in new ways and with a much greater sense of purpose than one could have previously imagined.
27
My condolences to the family and friends of this beautiful couple.
18
I find myself wondering why my reaction to the article is so different than most of the other posts. I was filled with admiration for their sense of adventure and courage to embark on such a journey, for their unyielding belief in kindness, and for the fact that they stepped out into the world to embrace new experiences and places. I was also filled by profound sadness for the tragic loss of such a beautifully idealistic young couple. Does seeing only the goodness in them and their love of life and each other make me naively idealistic? Maybe. I'd rather see life through that lens than the cynical, critical view so evident in other comments.
63
It just seems logical that there are certain parts of the world that are best avoided. Tajikistan with its authoritarian leadership and lack of religious freedom, corruption and human rights violations would be one of those places. Travel requires common sense. I feel bad for the couple, but it is not all that surprising how they ended up. They just took too many risks.
30
In the late 1990s, I traveled alone, as a young woman, through much of Asia and Europe. I came to the same conclusion as this couple, that 99 percent of people in the world are good. The problem is that other one percent. We can't wish them out of existence, even if were only .01 percent. We must accept that there is real risk out there if we want the joy that comes with making ourselves vulnerable enough to rely on the kindness of strangers.
52
Tragedy happens. That doesn't mean we should all live our lives in padded rooms. Perhaps they took too many risks. A lot of commenters have said they were naive, but I hesitate to say they were naive 369 days into their journey. At this point, they had already lived through many wonderful and life-affirming experiences as well as their fair share of cruelty and near-misses. They very easily could've been killed in a traffic accident on that first day on the highway leaving Capetown--but they weren't. I wouldn't make the same choices, but I can't judge them too harshly for theirs. They got to see more of the world in that one year than many do in an entire lifetime.
70
@Jackie Agree and well said. They sound like a couple of wonderful people. I am thinking of their families and friends and hope they find solace in the fact that this couple lived their last year fully and unconventionally - and spread some badly-needed goodwill during their journey.
14
@Jackie; I suspect that if they could have done it all again, knowing the outcome, they would have gone the padded room route in life. Yes, they experienced many lifetimes worth of adventure, but I suspect it was not worth the price they ultimately paid.
3
A close friend traveled by bicycle in the late 1990s through Asia, including Afghanistan, Tibet and a Muslim region of China. My friend, who is Jewish, encountered only friendly curiosity from villagers, even the one who tried to convert him to Islam.
But here in Albany, N.Y., we still mourn the death of our beloved Dr. Tom Little and his colleagues in Afghanistan in 2010. Dr. Little, an optometrist fluent in the language and customs of the country he served for decades, was killed in an ambush on his return from delivering eye care to people in a remote region. So what was riskier? Traveling as a cautious but trusting neophyte, or traveling as an experienced and hardened realist?
Very few places in the world are safe for travelers now - but our surrendering the right to travel is exactly what terrorists want to achieve. It is possible to balance accepted risk with prudent decision-making.
It used to be considered safe to be a tourist in Paris and London, mainstream cities that have seen numerous terrorist attacks in recent years. I'm sure that many people elsewhere in the world wonder how anyone could visit the United States, where we sometimes have a mass shooting every week.
As for me? I'm a woman who backpacks the Appalachian Trail alone, sometimes for days at a stretch. Many of my friends worry - but I consider it safer than walking at night from my car in downtown Albany to my front door.
75
I really feel bad for them and their families. But we can't ignore their naivete. I find it particularly irritating when I hear stories of people that go out to exotic places to "find themselves". "Possessions are bad, we don't need much". By and large, this is said by people that have all their health and material needs met. It's never a street kid that says "I don't need shoes, I just need to see more sunsets". Having our basic needs met frees up our minds for creativity, deep thinking, leisure, outrage at the injustices that is happening on the other side of the world. This is a privilege that few of us realize that we have. I only realized this myself when I crossed that line from poverty, where I was hungry all the time, to my now cushy job in meetings, changing passwords, and staring at screens. Some people are plain evil, but many are victims of their circumstances. Sure, most people in dire situations would not kill strangers for no reason, but would have it been different if they did in an act of desperation to feed their families (money)? Could you honestly say what kind of human being you would be if you had your family murdered for no reason, grown up under violence and constant hunger, maybe seen your mother raped a few times? What I'm trying to say is: don't be an overconfident fool. Realize that there are things and places you do not understand. The world is not filled with people that can, or know how, or care to, make honorable choices all the time.
369
@Geneticist, to put it bluntly, it's white first world privilege that gives some people the delusion that, being at the top of the world power structure, they are invincible. It is impossible for some people in this position of privilege to comprehend the plight and mindset of "other" people.
10
We must mourn these people but we should be able to agree that despite their education and youth they made a stupid fatal mistake. To go to a country like that where at least some would murder them for being infidels is ridiculous. The entire western hemisphere beckons and they could have had s beautiful time without Going into a fundamentalist country. Yes there is danger everywhere but one must gauge where the risk is just to high like certain Muslim neighborhoods in Europe or ina Brazilian flagella.
3
@Geneticist I agree, and would like to add, you don’t need to go to other side of the earth to enjoy the sunset.
4
Young creepily aggressive guy with a distorted and utopian worldview talks young naively agreeable woman into altering her life course from safe and sensible functionality to horrific disaster with the absolute worst ending. We have seen this many times before.
71
@Thomas With a different ending, this would have been an uplifting story, so I have to disagree with your interpretation. And why dismiss the agency of Ms. Geoghegan?
5
Perhaps but I have observed autos swerve a good two feet at 30 mph without any vehicles nor bikes any where near them. Safety means anticipating the unlikely.
2
0.1% of the people do 99.9% of the damage.
When people act as these killers do, I believe it is a combination of total stupidity and irrational behavior, brought together by emotional rage that is fueled by the heightened sense of self brought on by so-called religion.
If these killers stopped and talked to these cyclists and had a dialogue, they would likely find sympathy, compassion, understanding, and some sense of solidarity as human beings finding their paths in a mutually beneficial way. They would find that helping them would only make their lives better. But instead, they chose violence, and in the end to make these people into more than just two cyclists. In the end, the killers get the opposite of what they want, as more people will work to end this stupid rage with polite human dignity.
13
@Think Strategically, I would put Donald Trump in that 0.1%. He didn't set the fire, but he certainly lit the match.
7
I’ve never commented on a NYT article before but feel compelled to do so. What a beautiful pair these two were, and what a beautiful thing they did. But that’s not why I’m writing. The sexism of this article is astounding. The elevation of Jay and the marginalization of Lauren is glaring and galling— he a pioneer and moral hero, she a passive follower in presumptive distress. A simple word count would surely illustrate the privileging of his experience over hers. And that is an indignity that she does not deserve. May their families take vast comfort in knowing that they both aspired to a higher plane of being and achieved it before their tragic death.
583
Reading over “their” blog, this article gave her more a of a voice and a role than her husband did. (Eye infections, ear problems so severe they cause temporary deafness? Apparently, these are mere mild inconveniences if they happen to your spouse.)
7
@Deb Rosen, before passing judgment (oops, too late for that), do keep in mind that much of this article was pieced together from social media postings - his in particular - because Ms. Geoghegan had virtually no social media presence of her own; even her Facebook page tells nothing about her recent life. Perhaps the narrative would have been flipped if Mr. Austin was the quiet one.
6
@Deb Rosen
Really? that's what was glaring at you? I guess we're no longer able to make observations and record them. He happened to change her ways and she went along with his! Please explain to us rubes how is that sexist...
3
What I have often found when travelling, even in places like France and Northern Spain, is how incredibly feral the young men are. It's something I have found shocking. Add to this some sort of zealotry, and you get this. the young couple were definitely naive. But they were banking on people's general kindness. I'm sure it came as a shock to them when that driver tried to run them over in France. Never mind those kids claiming to be ISIS in Tajikistan
48
@SRA I've had drivers threaten me in this country plenty of times. When I van strays onto the shoulder to hit a cyclist, it's quite threatening, and obvious what the intent is.
9
It's a sad reflection on the commenters here regarding how many times the word "naive" comes up in describing these adventurous young people. Being highly-educated, I'm sure they were aware of the potential dangers of cycling through Muslim countries. They were probably also aware of the dangers of cycling through their own country, considering the current levels of intolerance and gun ownership plaguing this nation. But living a life cowering in fear from all the "potential" dangers would be no life at all to me. I've had friends warn me of death and danger when I've set out on hitchhiking and cycling journeys in the US. I was/am not naive. I just chose to not let fear of the unknown dictate my choices. And I discovered that meeting the people on the road was the best part of the journey. I tend to be pessimistic when it comes to other people's altruism, but traveling helped me shake off that notion. Sure, not everyone I met was full of smiles and greetings- I had stuff thrown at me, the unenlightened hurled insults and played chicken with me, etc.- but the good stuff overwhelmed the bad.
So those of you trying to discount these young adventurers as naive and foolhardy, take a look in the mirror. When is the last time you took a chance and hung it out on the line and felt that thrill of aliveness?
"For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide.
Balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave."
"Breathe" by Pink Floyd
25
@Gig absoutely agreed. death at the hands of an enraged sociopath with a warped sense of entitlement can happen anywhere, not least in today’s USA. Spending your life cowering in fear is does not demonstrate a lack of naivete.
4
I spent a month traveling through Tajikistan. The people we met were friendly and helpful and never once did I feel unsafe as a blonde American woman. There are bad people everywhere and always the potential for danger. That does not necessarily make Tajikistan unsafe or this couple naïve or stupid for choosing to bike there.
38
I'm torn between admiring their steadfast positivity and giving them the Darwin award. Please, let's just agree that simply because we are American, or Christian, or legit adventurers, there is no mobile magic bubble surrounding us. The world is not what we wish it to be. It is what it is. Ignoring common sense to experience citizenship of the world is a risky hope, and a bit crazy.
74
There are people doing dangerous things every minute of every day. For some people, living in a padded cell is no way to live life. (Yes, I understand there are degrees)
Sadly, it seems to be more common that psychopaths, in the name of some movement in order to justify their illegal and cruel behavior, commit crimes: murdering innocent people. This has been happening since forever but it seems to be more common now.
My issue with all this is that we are not calling a spade a spade. ISIS is no different from the KKK from the other killers. We always ask "what was the motive?" as if that were the most important question. Is what they (the killers) say was the motive really the motive? I think not. All of these folks are just pathologically upset and looking for a target for their anger. They've worked themselves up into hating some group as if that makes their anger justified. But what is the real story, beneath that anger? That's what we need to know and stop taking their word for why they did what they did and start calling it what it is simply a crime committed by a disturbed person. p.s. This has nothing to do with what Trump as said and the gun debate.
8
Bicyclists need not leave the USA to be deliberately assaulted and/or murdered by motorists. Pathological people are everywhere.
74
@Paul
Sad but true.......
2
Having completed a bike tour from Alaska to the tip of South America, I can relate, in a small way, to the risks and rewards of their trip. I admit to shedding a few tears as I read their story. Sadly, the world is in desperate need of people like Austin and Geoghegan. Rest in peace, my brother, my sister.
93
@George Hawkins, so we need more white, privileged people living off the generosity of much poorer people while not working and giving nothing back in return? No thanks. I would rather see privileged, educated people using their intellect and resources to help solve global problems like systemic poverty, food/water security, healthcare, etc. Were they adventurous? Yes. Were they martyrs? Not!
9
I admire their pluck, even if it was founded in complete naivete.
6
That quote, though--what a perfect epitaph for these poor naive souls: "I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own … By and large, humans are kind. Self-interested sometimes, myopic sometimes, but kind. Generous and wonderful and kind."
8
Ram Dass talks about having an open heart and good boundaries, and considers it an art form. These amazing wonderful people seemed to have open hearts, but failed to do their homework when it came to the good boundaries which would have likely prevented this tragedy. To the murderers, I have nothing but contempt. My own open heart does not extend that far.
18
This statement shows that these two were blind to the realities of this world:
'I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of ...' and some other rambling thoughts.
Evil killed them for no reason other than the ISIS people saw a target of opportunity. They simply ran into a lot of foreigners and acted.
Had they done some research they would have known the story of Pippa Bacca, who also insisted that every one was good and nice, and ended up having a horrific death while cycling in the Middle East.
It's not that we should live scared of Evil. It is that we should be aware that evil people exists, and not be naive and blind to this reality.
For a disclaimer, I have traveled, I have been to Uzbekistan, Russia, the Arctic and more. I survived the depths of Mexico City, LA, NYC, Baltimore and war. I do not talk out of ignorance, I have been there, I know Evil is there, and it can be survived.
26
Very sad occurrence, but just because you want to believe the world is safe does not mean it will be.
25
They're sickly-sweet idealism the idealism of overheated and rather dim-witted high school kids is fine and makes for good articles, but that naïveté risked a fool's death and they got it. In the end they accomplished little more than a shortened life for themselves and a lifetime of sorrow for those who loved them. This is a heartbreaking story, but I'm embarrassed for them. What did any of it get them? Honestly, what?
44
@Shaun
They got what they wanted- away from the restraints of day to day. They lived to life they dreamed. They made a big effort to be authentic to who they were. Just because it ended horribly doesnt wipe away all the joy they fely during their journey.
Just my opinion.
Live a mediocre life for 100 years or live an incredible short life? I want incredible.
4
@Shaun, You asked, "What did any of it get them? Honestly, what?"
Well, 99+% of us adventure cyclists survive. And decades later, we're better people for it. Plus we might have changed a few hearts and minds along the way, as we tried to show others across the world that Americans are not all loud-mouthed bullies, like many American politicians have been.
Unfortunately religion controls the minds of too many people who have so much hatred. We must let the light of these two sojourners inspire us to believe that there is a greater good out there, and that darkness shall never overcome it.
9
Thank you NYT for interviewing Ms. Geoghegan's friend Amanda Kerrigan. Her description of the effect Mr. Austin had on Lauren was . . . let's just say revealing (in both text and subtext).
Intrigued, I visited what the NYT calls the couple's *shared* blog. I read Lauren's bio on its About Us page, which appeared to be entirely written by Jay. I clicked on the link that said "see all of Lauren's posts here." I was directed to a blank page.
That being said, Jay's posts are certainly revealing enough for both of them. Holy cow, did the first three paragraphs of this May charmer pretty much tell me all I needed to know:
http://www.simplycycling.org/blog/2018/4/10/31
This wasn't "Jay and Lauren's Excellent Adventure." It was 100% Jay -- the blog, the photos, all of it. Ms. Geoghegan appears to be nothing more than the one human item on Mr. Austin's packing list.
RIP Lauren. You deserved a full, adventurous life of your own choosing. And in your soul's next time around, I hope you get it.
211
@Shotrock I read some of the blog and, true, Lauren is hardly mentioned except as "us" and in the first part about her hospital procedure.
It is his journal. Maybe she wasn't a blogger/journal keeper. Many people skip the documentation and just enjoy the journey.
7
Her friend’s warning to her, “The minute your instinct tells you something is wrong — leave,” sounds like something you say to someone whose significant other seems like they might be abusive.
9
@Shotrock, yes, looking through the blog - not only that section but many others - the trip does seem to be all about Jay. Lauren hardly seems present at all - barely an afterthought.
1
Bravery is so rare these days. I applaud the courage of these two people to boldly live their lives and to embrace a world full of danger and kindness on their own terms. How else will the world ever change if we don't have people like this willing to investigate for themselves? I choose not to focus on the barbarity of their attackers but instead celebrate Jay and Lauren's emphasis on openness, kindness, and "not spending the best hours of your life in front of a glowing rectangle". They inspire me to do better in my own life.
9
@KevboCA Very well said. Agree 100%.
@KevboCA
I see no commitment to anything but living as they happened to live. That is simply escapism. If it's done in a safe place, it's a great way to escape stress. They were vacationing, that's all. No harm in that. Why people keep liking this couple to people like Humboldt surprises me.
What happened to Jay and Lauren in Tajikistan and two other cyclists who were with them was a very sad tragedy. The world lost two amazing human beings. Strangely enough, the young men who killed them were also victims. Four of them were teenagers who likely had never spoken to a young Westerner in their lives. Tajikistanis now live in an increasingly dictatorial state, which is an ally of both Russia and the United States; it is the poorest country in the post-Soviet world. The education system is shot. There’s massive unemployment and the new generation (as opposed to their parents and even grandparents under communism) have nothing to look forward to. For someone who has been to Tajikistan many times, I have to admit that the largely ignorant comments of the readers are also shocking. Jay and Lauren had made an absolutely correct decision to go through Tajikistan. The last terror incidence involving a foreigner in that country was 21 years ago when a French NGO worker was killed. Tajikistan has a lower per capita murder rate than the US. People are extremely kind and in the first half of 2018 alone the country had 900,000 tourists, the far majority of whom loved their experience. Terrorism is a global scourge and can raise its head anywhere. Jay & Lauren were the unfortunate victims, but given the track record of the country, their decision to peddle through Tajikistan was very much sane.
46
@Tahmina Konigsberg Thanks to you and a few others who speak of the actions of this couple with some knowledge of the area. The great majority of commenters who speak with such disdain of the "naivete" of these young people have never traveled to Tajikistan and have little or no knowledge of this area or of the route they were taking. Evidently, according to your comment and at least one other, Tajikistan is beautiful, has many tourists, and many other cyclists on this route. It is of course sad beyond measure that this tragedy happened, but we should applaud them for undertaking the great and glorious adventure.
4
I'm sorry to hear of the tragedy.
In 1995, my girlfriend and I traveled by motorcycle by through the 'stans.' Wonderful place.
We had followed the silk road from Shanghai and were headed to London. It was pre Talaban back then, but still a dangerous place. In Samarkand, we opted not to risk it any further and decided to ship our bikes to Istanbul to continue our journey.
Condolences to both families.
14
A very decent young woman led to her death by an anchorless and wholly unrealistic man. This is very sad. A lesson here is that though evil may not exist as a force in and of itself, there are many people in this world who will hurt you if not kill you: and, that is what happened here. On a larger scale there our countries in this world who intend to hurt us: Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are the standouts. We can not afford to be unrealistic like these two young people. We as a country must be vigilant in our own defense, and then we can enjoy the good things in this world.
26
The world is a dangerous place these last few decades, including here at home.
Back then is was the rebels in Guatemala (or where ever) ,but typically the locals were interested in other locals to harass, detain or worse, but American Foreign Policy , if you can call it that, has change the rules.
In the world of youtube, its all the more likely the ill conceived search of transient fame leads to this.
4
Remember the shocking conclusion of "Easy Rider"?
6
There might be “magic of there”, but I wouldn’t look for it in Tajikistan. That has been a tough place for quite a while, way before ISIS came around.
14
Save the story and give it to your children when you refuse to fund a foolish adventure.
The heartbreak they brought their families will not be repaired by they joys of this story.
13
trump's ban should have included anyone from a country ending in "stan" absent special cause (eg afghans who worked for us). just one more country to add to my anti-bucket list.
8
@local
Trump wouldn't ban anyone from and "-stan" country. He has too much business interests in some of them....
1
This story is so sad I couldn't even read it to the end. They are with God now and this is the only consolation.
3
I’m sorry this happened to this beautiful idealistic couple. I hope their progressive ideals are remembered and emulated.
5
A group of young men drive by, see the riders are Caucasian, and obviously non believers, and they commit murder. As the KKK claimed Christianity as its perverted foundation, ( and groups of young men attacked African Americans on skin color) these marginally educated easily duped young men bought into a cult of death claiming a basis in religion. Those whose currency is fear and death and claim a basis in their version of religion have controlled far too much of history. A disproportionate number of altruistic, and occasionally naive, persons who set out to disprove the haters' bibles, pay the price. With great sadness.......
73
@Phil Thomas
How do you know the group of riders were "Caucasian"?
...and do you really think that Martin Luther King was naive?
1
Religious god fearing people kill again in the name of god and for his/her glory - that’s the story here.
28
@Andrew, and it may come to pass here in the U.S., thanks to the current administration which kowtows to the worst part of our population.
3
Sad.
Wonder if they knew of ISIS dangers specific to Tajikistan?
I did not.
7
The Department of State details the levels of danger of travel to each nation at their website along with relevant information about local conditions. Tajikistan has been at a heightened status for a while now due to its extreme poverty, government corruption, and proximity to Afghanistan. Any savvy world traveler, especially outside of Europe and Western countries, should know to check the State Department website before travel.
8
According to Canadian forensic psychologist Robert Hare, at least one per cent of human males are psychopaths. At least half a percent of female humans are psychopaths.
I've been on this planet for sixty years. Humans are not fundamentally good. Very few humans will try to help others, will step in to help the underdog, will put themselves at risk to do so. Will care enough to try to make a difference.
Humans by and large at best are apathetic, lazy, selfish and stupid. At worst, humans are sadistic psychopaths.
I've never walked away from anyone who needs my help. I've always intervened to help any human or non-human animal in distress. I know how to fight and will fight effectively against superior odds. I'm the only person I've ever met, however, who will do this. Nobody else I know will do the same. Almost all humans are terrible cowards. And those who aren't simply don't care enough to help.
It was highly irresponsible to cycle through a country like Tajikistan, with a person who trusts you in tow, without having in place an effective plan for self defence if attacked by bandits or religious fanatics like Da'esh.
27
@ColensoIn Robert Hare's opinion. Where do numbers like that come from?
2
@Colenso
Fortunately, many would disagree with you.
Like this couple, I have travelled a lot around the world, often touring on a bike in foreign countries in Europe and Asia.
I’m 61 years old and in my experience, the vast majority of us are decent and kind, if complacent and with a tendency to be cold towards strangers. Not the same as apathetic and selfish.
I admire them very much indeed. They are inspirational and genuinely courageous and determined.
We need to get out more, open our eyes and hearts to strangers. Colenso, perhaps travel might broaden your horizons and your mind.
6
They should have stayed in the USA
9
@NYC Dweller
..and be shot by "godfearing" Americans? Compare the murder rates in the US and that in other countries. Particularly we seem to be the only one cursed with school shootings...
5
The world is overwhelmingly good. But, it is that tiny evil part that gets remembered.
16
"Evil is a make-believe concept"? Obviously not a Jewish person. We Jews are raised to worry about anti-semitism abroad and in some parts of the USA. As a kid in Boston, I was afraid to go to Alabama let alone some Muslim nation. Heck, as kid in Boston, I was afraid to go to Southie. I knew middle class Irish kids who were afraid of Southie.
When I was 19, I backpacked into Belfast. I stayed exactly 18 hrs and fled. Back then, it was a militarized zone.
60
Tajikistan is 96.7% Islamic. It is a dangerous place for American tourists. It has borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Only fools would bicycle through Afghanistan or Pakistan. This is not Islamophobia. It is common sense.
404
As someone who had spent a significant amount of time in Tajikistan and elsewhere in the Middle East, oftentimes living with local families, I have witnessed the kindness of the vast majority of the people there and the safety of walking around the cities and villages (and the rest being petty annoyances like the occasional street harassment and price-gouging that’s found everywhere), I vehemently disagree with this statement that blames a religion for the deeds of malicious people. Bad people can justify their actions in the name of any ideology, by it incels/MRA, alt right, or sometimes no reason at all (such as the Lvas Vegas shooting). Kindly do not besmirch the memory of these young people and their earnest belief in the basic goodness of the world with rhetoric of intolerance.
6
I totally agree with you. These were intelligent young people, and perhaps their youth led them to feel invincible. I wish they would have chosen another adventure in a safer environment. I am sure that the people who loved them, and who now mourn them, wish they had chosen differently.
1
In reply to Edie NYC
I too, have traveled to several Islamic countries. Assuming that you are a Christian, kindly visit the Holy City of Mecca and describe your adventures as you try to enter that city. Your quest will be of interest to all readers.
Perhaps we should swamp the ISIS hate sites with stories like this. It should at least make it harder for those folks to recruit.
7
Why would it? People who would willingly join ISIS are those who delight in murder, who see the world through blood-colored glasses, and who think a fourteenth century mindset is a good thing. Videos of vicious executions are exactly what ISIS uses to recruit people.
1
Of course this magical world is full of wonderful and kind people. And this poor couple bet their lives that what- grace and luck would keep them safe amongst the ones full of hate and death? In the 70’s you could cycle, walk, hitchhike, bus ride thru all of this territory from Iran to Afghanistan and be met with nothing but smiles and tea and generosity. 45 years later it’s another world. To think that somehow you will be immune and protected is incredibly naive.
71
@Razame de la Crackers - Things have changed, yes, but not as much as you think. We just hear more about it now and so our perceptions of how much danger is out there have increased.
1
“Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life.”
~Elizabeth Goudge~
Those evil men think they are practicing their religion, when they are not at all - they are just expressing their spite and malice and revealing themselves as uncivilized.
Thanks, NYTimes, for celebrating Jay and Lauren's love for the world.
28
Terribly naive young kids, promising lives cut short. :(
16
No,no,no they deserve better : they were not naive, they were fantastic individuals, they were how we should all be: generous, adventurous, courageous, curious
I am so sad , even crying, but I do hope there will be more Jay and Lauren traveling the world, we need them or we’ll end up strangers living between walls with nothing to share
Jean-Pierre
127
@Jean-Pierre Weiller. I totally agree.
1
A wonderful couple. Their naivete is almost blinding. True, most of the people one would meet on such a trip around south central Asia would be kind and curious, but to expect that your luck will never run out is just plain dumb.
32
@observer - Take a look at http://www.worldbiking.info/wordpress/2018/02/guide-cycling-pamir-highway/.
There is magic out there.
All love is real.
3
In 1963, Dervla Murphy cycled from Ireland to India, alone. She was a woman traveling solo through inhospitable areas, during the worst blizzard in 100 years. She had wonderful experiences, and bad/dangerous experiences. Her book about the journey ("Full Tilt") and more about future journeys, published over the years, show just that: good and bad.
Adventure rarely comes without risks. As a cycle tourer myself, I know what it's like at the end of the day to stop, dismount, and think to myself "I survived." Cycle touring is risky. This couple certainly was aware of this fact.
Is it any more tragic that they died because of someone's INTENT rather than by an accident? I'm not so sure. It's just a bigger news story.
Don't sit behind your grey rectangular screen and judge them.
Susan
Expat in Ireland
54
@Susan Baughman Thank you for this. So many of these commentators can only see "naive young kids." This was a couple who understood the risks they were taking -- if they wanted to live a safe, comfortable, life they wouldn't have begun the trip in the first place.
It's also worth noting that they were not simply "cycling through terrorist territory." They were on a notoriously beautiful cycling route bordering a dangerous place, along with other tourists. This was a commonly traveled path and one that had previously been safe.
36
A terrible collision in values. But evil is not make believe. We know that from life's experiences. From newspapers. I won't list the big names, but for everyone of them are many many others. Like everything else, it is based on probability, and those odds increase or decrease based on many variables, like geography and activity; exposure. It's just so hard to reconcile with our "own" view of right and wrong, good and bad. If only these young men were unable to make the u-turn.
5
What a sad and shocking story. As a Western woman I have no desire to visit a majority Muslim country because of the religious and cultural bias regarding their treatment of women. There is no place in the world where women are treated as equal to men but some places are much worse than others, including the Middle East and Asia.
48
@Sasha Love, Many parts of Africa are not so kind to women either. A continent full of dangers and perils too.
8
@Lee
Many parts of the US are not so kind to women either, particularly those states that have managed to close just about all their Planned Parenthood clinics which are so often the only places where girls and women can get gynecological care, including prenatal and postnatal care. (the lack of prenatal care is a main contributor to miscarriages and to maternal deaths....
Should we be the ones to throw the first stone?
This is a profoundly tragic story, and the loss of these two beautiful people is a loss for all of us. Sadly, they made a serious miscalculation. Evil exists -- I've seen it first hand. People should not ever forget this. Read a newspaper and you'll see it everywhere. Yes, Anne Frank was right, people are good. But not all.
9
This is another very sad story. Unfortunately unbridled optimism will not change the world we live in. The trick is trying to stay optimistic and realistic at the same time. Unfortunately there are evil people that take pleasure in hurting innocent people and that will not change any time soon or quite possibly never.
12
I think Callimachi does a good job of contrasting the cyclists' belief that humanity is overwhelmingly good with their ultimate slaughter at the hands of terrorists without explicitly saying the latter contradicts or cancels out the former.
To me, more than anything, this reveals the complete randomness of life - both its existence in the first instance, and the way it can be suddenly taken away. We tend to think in narratives and try to glean lessons from them, so it is tempting to say these cyclists died due to their naievete, or possibly, secondarily, the naievete of the terrorists. But, the cyclists could have been run over on a street by accident in the US, or killed in the US by a mass shooting. These dangers, this randomness of the beginning and the end, they are everywhere. So all we can really do is appreciate life while we have it, in whatever way we know how.
38
@Mike thank you; you captured an essential point. They got to live a narrative they wanted to live; even though their lives were cut short. Think of the lives lost at the Las Vegas music festival, or at Parkland. These two tried to see the beauty in the world; they saw a lot of it. May they be of blessed memory. The randomness of the beginning and the end. Beyond consolation.
6
@Mike
Indeed, people suffer misfortunes everywhere. Children sometimes play where they may suffer deadly injuries without suffering any injuries. But we know that people in civilized places experience lower rates of violence.
@Casual Observer - And what places do you put in each category? You seem to have some sort of fixation with the idea of a distinction between civilized--by which you probably mean places in North America and Europe--and uncivilized places, by which you probably mean everywhere else.
Please let us know which "uncivilized" cities in the world experienced the same level of violence this past weekend--70 people shot, 30 dead--as did Chicago.
“I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own … By and large, humans are kind. Self-interested sometimes, myopic sometimes, but kind. Generous and wonderful and kind.” Coda: Except when they are indeed evil, vile, vicious, and destructive. I am very sorry about what happened to Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan; I wish I could say that I was shocked or even surprised.
6
I heard a speaker once say, “You do what you’re good at.” Sounds banal but it’s true.
And the easiest thing to be good at is mindless destruction. Too familiar all over the world.
2
@Jane DeGolier
infants learn to knock things down before they learn to put them together. such behavior is called "infantile." some people never advance beyond it.
1
it seems horribly ironic that the young perpetrators of these murders were all dressed in t-shirts and other western-culture style clothing in the photo.
12
Desperation and greed can both easily manifest as “evil” when combined with ignorance and/or sanctioned or promoted by leadership.
The boys in the photo don’t look desperate. They may have been, once. Or perhaps they act in fear of the desperation all around them.
2
You left out the biggest fact here and throughout human history: RELIGION. Religion preys and capitalizes on desperation and greed combined with ignorance.
Every religion does it. I recently came across a paper from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago discussing why white evangelicals specifically opposed Obamacare. It mentions Evangelical leaders who cynically and brazenly argue that illness is one of the main avenues to recruit people to religion. The ACA does "great injustice" because by helping people regain their health, it limits the church’s role, robbing sick and desperate individuals of the opportunity to "get saved”. People now look to the government instead of to God when ill and to evangelicals, that's a bad thing.
Religion caused this couple's death and continues to cause the immense suffering of the world at large. The sooner humanity realizes this and relegates it to the fringes where it belongs, the sooner we can enjoy the beauty of the planet freely and safely.
2
There is good in the world but also evil.
Embracing one while ignoring the other leads to disillusionment and tragedy.
11
“You read the papers and you’re led to believe that the world is a big, scary place,” Mr. Austin wrote. “People, the narrative goes, are not to be trusted. People are bad. People are evil.
“I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own … By and large, humans are kind. Self-interested sometimes, myopic sometimes, but kind. Generous and wonderful and kind.”
I am sick at the loss of this extraordinary couple. I've come away from reading this heart-wrenching article with the conclusion that, in fact, there are evil humans out there. There is no "value, belief or perspective" that mandates gleeful, wanton slaughter. If you're lucky, you won't encounter people who embrace evil. Mr. Austin and Ms. Geoghegan -- generous of spirit, trusting, and connected to the world at a higher plane -- were not so lucky.
“No greater revelation has come from our journey than this,” he wrote.
3
The victim-blaming comments here should keep some perspective. The fact is, hundreds of bicyclists are killed by drivers in the US every year, often in intentional “road rage” incidents. These two were not taking some crazy risk beyond the background risk of daily life by going abroad.
31
Sad but one has to temper their idealism.
5
The saddest of stories in a long while.
5
What one thing in the picture of these murders not like the others? I hope they meet the justice they deserve.
As others have said, evil is real and it exists. Just as does goodness.
5
Glad they had the opportunity they live, briefly, the life they wanted although I personally find their uplifting social media posts too saccharine.
Evil exists and we depend on law, order, education to contain it because when it comes to violence it has the upper hand in being able to strike first and at full strength.
Most people aren't evil. People that are evil probably aren't evil most of the time to everyone or everything. But it just takes one impulse to destroy lives in a flash and here these Tajikistani youths experienced it when they saw these white, presumably (to them) worldly and rich, tourists cycling over their land.
Here in the West I think we forget how territorial others can be especially in a historically turbulent and relatively undeveloped country like Tajikistan.
Without too much difficulty, I can imagine the sense of jealousy, rage a sight like that might provoke in lost youths.
Majestic places and soaring vistas make one believe that perhaps life is fundamentally different in these places. They give the land a fairy tale aspect. The people become like "noble savages". Poor but friendly and forthright. But the natural quality of the land often belies lack of development and lack of opportunities and violence in general.
The same feelings that allowed them to enjoy life and to believe in what they were doing also had a hand in their demise. Perhaps it was worth it.
7
Please take the time to read all of Jay’s posts on Instagram. A measured, thoughtful approach to living life as a citizen of the world. Akin to the apocryphal stories of many held up as spiritual examples the world over.
1
I would just add for folks whose spirit is wounded by this story you may want to read Dervla Murphy's excellent cycling story in her book, 'Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle."
From the description: "At the age of thirty-one, in 1963, she finally set off and this book is based on the daily diary she kept while riding through Persia, Afghanistan and over the Himalayas to Pakistan and India. A lone woman on a bicycle (with a revolver in her trouser pocket) was an almost unknown occurrence and a focus of enormous interest wherever she went. Undaunted by snow in alarming quantities, and using her .25 pistol on starving wolves in Bulgaria and to scare lecherous Kurds in Persia, her resourcefulness and the blind eye she turned to personal danger and extreme discomfort were remarkable."
7
@digger
Thanks, Digger, for reminding us of this wonderful traveller and her amazing journey. An antidote to the horror of this story.
3
I also recommend “Wild by Nature” (From Siberia to Australia Three Years Alone in the Wilderness on Foot) (2014) by Swiss explorer Sarah Marquis. She hiked solo (pulling a cart) across the Gobi Desert starting in 2010 after many other travels around the globe. One might observe that living in the moment, as these rare travelers choose to do, provides an infinitely long (and deeply appreciated) life. We are the richer for their accounts. As Simone Weil (the philosopher) wrote, “...God loves that perspective of creation that can only be seen from the point where I am.”
2
A few years back my daughter was going to do some kind of road rally trip through the “Stans”, and I consulted with a friend who has extensive experience as a musical anthropologist in those regions. He advised against it, and the trip did not happen. The world is a dangerous place, and it only takes a few bad apples to ruin your day.
15
My brother-in-law, a priest, has always insisted on the existence of people that are just plain evil. He’s right.
9
What awesome and wonderful people Jay Austin and Lauren seem. I salute their choice to live life to the full and their commitment to all things good and kind.
3
@Mark My sentiments exactly. Good for them for doing something that many of us would never have the guts to do. My heart goes out to their loved ones.
2
As one travels through the decades of life, one comes to perceive that in nearly all settings there are strangers who are looking for an opening to attack and inflict damage on individuals they do not know. This can be in the form of online harassment, predatory business practices, or verbal or physical assault.
When I was a junior at Harvard College in 1985 I purchased a motorcycle. I drove carefully and well under the speed limit. A number of times in the Boston area I had cars try to nudge from behind or from the side, that is, force me off the road.
The sad truth of life is that there is a small but real percentage of vicious individuals everywhere, and when they are protected in a car and a human being is not, they here and there will try to hurt that person. In the US, such individuals actions are tempered by the effectiveness of law enforcement. It reads as if the couple were cycling in an essentially lawless area ....
31
Before I travelled 6 continents, (sometimes on bicycle), over a couple of decades, I used to think 90% of people were good and that only 10% were bad. Afterwards, I'd have to say it is more like 50/50. Having faith in complete strangers is a wonderful experience but can easily turn fatal. Human nature is tricky and people have been killed for much, much less. This story completely broke my heart. I can't imagine what their loved ones are going through.
350
Such beautiful, skillful writing is rare on these pages. Thank you, Rukmini Callimachi.
29
In Yemen, rebels have collected an entire field full of bombs and projectiles made in America — and labeled as such — just to demonstrate who is dropping bombs on their wives and kids. We make enemies around the world, and many of the poor and functionally illiterate people we alienate cannot distinguish between an American or Saudi or Israeli fighter pilot and a couple of comparatively rich Americans riding bicycles through their countries.
This is sad on many levels, and the young jihadists are also victims of a global sickness called militarism.
Meanwhile, what are the rest of us to do?
Use some common sense, folks.
53
@Philip S. Wenz We sold those bombs to Saudi Arabia in the biggest arms deal ever in the history of mankind.
Then blocked the UN investigation of crimes against mankind done by the Saudis with our bombs.
These were sold by Obama.
4
@Said Ordaz
..and we are selling even more to them under Trump....
Empires are never good.
@Kati - that's actually not true. Obama sold more in arms overseas than any president since WW II. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qkjmvb/obamas-administration-...
Trump may top him. But he's nowhere close yet.
Not a positive or negative judgement. There are enough legitimate critiques of Trump. But when people make things up, it legitimizes the "fake" moniker he loves to throw around.
Heartbreaking. life is sometimes about choosing "risk versus safe." So I wont judge the couple when they went for risk. I do hope the young men who killed the 4 riders eventually realize they killed defenseless innocents.
16
@K Henderson - "...realize they killed defenseless innocents"?
They were counting on it.
This is tragic on many levels but mainly because it was avoidable. Another article about living life fully while you are young and before it all ends at middle age but why? What's wrong with living to middle age or older? Why is that giving up? Why is that not living life authentically? Is the working parent racing through the morning with kids and a full day and then to the store also not living authentically or must you be a strict vegan biking through a dangerous country tempting fate? I think the ordinary is extraordinary and I think working every day to support oneself or family is incredible and certainly not living in beiges and grays. I have a relative in his 80s who travels, goes to wine dinners and plays. A full life can be lived at any age.
675
@ACandidWorld Thank you for this comment. There are many ways to travel through life, and not all of them require a passport. That said, this couple just had sheer bad luck. Many people dream of travel, never do it, and meet their maker in a drive-by shootout, a car accident or a fall in the bathtub. Their luck just ran out faster.
9
@ACandidWorld, You are correct and we must be careful not to romanticize their deaths. Travelling like they were is very real and full of daily dangers. Those who armchair travel have no idea how hard it is. We often only see the flowery photos and read the happy parts of travelling. If it were so easy more people would do it.
6
Well said. It is ironic that the people who abandon the typical routines of daily life (jobs, family, vacuuming) to experience other, usually older, cultures depend on encounters with those who can't afford to travel, but, instead maintain the traditions that inspire our journeys.
Your comment reminded me of a trip to China in the late 90's. One of our friends was crestfallen that the average Chinese citizen was not decked out in Mao Zedong attire, and that many government workers had Michael Jordan-inspired screen savers on their PCs (what happened to the abaci?). Clearly, for many of us, the joys of travel are often our encounters with people who don't.
3
Their fate is a warning to those of naive idealism who choose to overlook the perils of this type of journey. Not that people shouldn't push the boundaries of self endurance and open oneself to the fullness of the natural world and its inhabitants; but to make accurate and cleareyed risk assessment and not just trust "the kindness of strangers".
115
@Dano50 I would have to say they lived fuller, happier and more charitable lives than any 90 year old with your worldview. I'm sure their interactions with people changed minds about what "real" Americans are like. Given the choice between an amazing short life, and a long life of drudgery and suspicion, I would choose the former every time.
People who come from the western part of the world where life is easy and there is no life threatening challenge day in and day out go about traveling the world believing that because they are nice genuine people that others are the same. But reality proves different time after time after time.
148
@Adrian Others are the same. My experiences in numerous non-Western countries (including a dozen or more in the Islamic world) have been 95% positive. Incidents like this are very rare, unlike mass shootings in the US.
3
@Adrian
Have you looked at the murder rate in the US, including all those school mass killings?
5
@Adrian
are you joking me! Life is easy and there is no life-threatening challenge from the western part of the world?! The ONLY reason I moved out of the US is because of fear of being shot by the police just for being black! Or being shot on the streets by some mentally ill person who bore a 20 year grudge against the heart surgeon who had operated on his mom 2à years ago. The good doctor was just out on a routine morning bike ride in Houston. Remember that? It was just two weeks ago! So please !
There is nothing heartbreaking about idiocy. It seems so many carry a fantasy in there heads that does not exist in the real world. How sad that two lives that could have contributed so much to the world and right here at home ended so violently and abruptly. This utopian idea of one world one people does not exist and never will.
34
@jerome wardrope - Your cynicism is deeply disappointing. Many of us have found welcome and good in other parts of the world. OTOH, if I visit Chicago in the near future, I'll be sure to inform myself about just where it is safe to go and where I should stay away from.
Probably not real smart for the the ISIS supporters to show their faces in their allegiance video. I suspect that international intelligence agencies, including ours, will soon have these guys in their crosshairs.
9
@Roger not really. This is their MO. They commit murder, then post the video saying 'we did it'
I am sure the US Army will not go hunting for them. They simply are added to the ever growing list of ISIS people in videos showing their faces saying 'we did it'.
I would have loved to have met them. They’ll be remembered,their murderers will not.
Travel well, Lauren and Jay.
40
We as Americans can be naïve about the rest of the world. There is evil. Plain and simple. That area of the world is populated by people with simple minded evil beliefs. This story does not surprise me at all.
25
@Sarah F. Plenty of "simple minded evil beliefs" right here at home.
5
@Sarah F. -
And plenty of welcoming, generous beliefs in that area of the world also. Jay and Lauren shared the story of those beliefs repeatedly.
In Morocco; an Arabic speaking largely Muslim country they were given a room and a load of bread but run over in Tajikistan! The former soviet lands have been a fertile ground of hate and violence brilliantly exploited by Isis. I read the flag and I see the distortion.
31
A sad, tragic story. Reading Mr. Austin’s words:
“I don’t buy it. Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own …”
I wonder, had he survived the attack, if he might rethink his dismissal of ‘evil’.
56
@JB He probably would have repeated what he said: that the attackers held values different than our own. Those values say that disbelievers do not deserve to live. Some would call that evil. The couple were already attacked but refused to face reality. Their extreme cultural relativism cost them their lives. A little evil goes a long way even in a world filled with good people. In this case, “evil” (extreme dogmatic values) triumphed over “good” ( willful refusal to see anything but benign impulses in human nature).
I had to look Tajikistan up on a map. it is north of Afghanistan and borders Pakistan. From what I read, that is where they were when this happened. What were they doing in this part of the world? Don't tell me to experience the good in humans. Not there. This is not a part of the world that embraces Americans, ever.
It is good to be an idealist, but also good to be a realist in this world today. I am saddened by what happened, but I must admit, it does not surprise me. and THAT is a sad commentary on today's world. RIP
150
@Angela
So you had to look up Tajkstan on a map (and still falsely claim it borders Pakistan!?!), yet you are a sufficient expert on Tajikstan to make such a sweeping generalization that there is no good in Tajiks and that they don't like Americans. Too bad the NYT comment section lacks a rolling-eyes emoji...
I have been to Tajikstan (a poor country of tremendous natural beauty), and around 80 other countries, and I mourn Lauren and Jay's loss. Among other things, Americans who go abroad like they did, simply and humbly, meeting regular people along the way, are the best ambassadors for our country.
Have you been to Mexico? https://www.forbes.com/sites/garystoller/2018/02/21/mexico-where-more-am... For that matter, have you been to Chicago?
5
@Angela
It's pretty dangerous to do a bike tour of the US, particularly if you're black, but given all the guns so easily available it's dangerous for anyone....
Also it's dangerous to be a school kid in the US...
Oh and peaceful protesters who also got killed or wounded by a car backing up on them on purpose?
I wouldn't throw the first stone, but I'm mourning that brave couple.....
5
@Kati - Well said.
The killers look like innocent kids themselves. I’m sure that neither the Austins nor the two European victims ever knew that they were in danger until it was too late to escape. The thing about those who harm strangers, they have no consciences so they give no warning of what they might do. Having enjoyed so much kindness from strangers the Austins would not have imagined that a car load of young people were looking for human prey.
14
Thank you, NYT, for covering the story of Jay and Lauren. Ultimately, they lived the last months of their lives intentionally and super- consciously. How they were murdered should not be the defining moment of their lives nor how we see their journey. Any of us can die unexpectedly by any number of horrifying means. Bicyclists are killed or seriously injured by impaired drivers throughout our country all the time, with or without intent.
Jay and Lauren were able to find happiness in each other and the kindness of new friends on the road.
Their mission reminds me to live with eyes and heart open.
201
...but not too open or without a healthy bit of cynicism. I did a similar trip in my twenties. Face-offs with danger came as frequently as transcendent moments of kindness and “light.” That’s life. Any other story is superstition.
Be careful.
13
ISIS is a death cult and needs to be eradicated from the face of the earth.
45
Heaven meets Hell
6
My heart absolutely bleeds as I've heard this couple's story, but I think it's very important to understand that the young men who killed these two young Americans did not pull their hatred out of thin air. Over the past couple of decades the United States of America has been invading their countries and killing THEIR people on such a horrendous scale it doesn't justify their action but it certainly explains it.
20
@TritonPSH - We don't really know exactly why this happened. According to the Times of India, there is some dispute about the motivations of the attackers, and it's possible that the attack was based on their domestic politics rather than international politics. Scaring off tourists--and the group of seven bikers included two Americans, two Dutch, two Swiss, and one French person--is an attack on ruling authorities and a way of sowing discord. Not everything that happens in this world is because of something the U.S. does or does not do.
2
This has nothing to do with so-called defects of US foreign policy. It has to do with the fact that human beings are both good--kind, warm, welcoming--and evil (or brutal, if the word carries too much moralistic freight for you). Exposing yourself, particularly in riven nations, means you are playing the odds.
19
I say this with all due respect and humbleness to the families of these two cyclists:
Why on Earth would you want to venture there and risk your life? It's like going to N. Korea and being surprised that you're taken hostage, or going to remote Alaska and being surprised when a grizzly mauls you.
Call my cynical, but I just don't see the desire to risk my life in a known dangerous area when there are plenty of other places that are just as beautiful...
29
@Steve
I hope that school can cultivate young mind your logical consequences from ignorant belief = death will come to people who believe in savage and hatred culture and belief.
I really like your excellent examples. Thanks Steve.
Back2basic
May their memory be a blessing.
18
I wonder what set the men in the truck off? Could it have been the sight of women in the group, pedaling along as if they were actual humans, that made the men in the truck react so violently?
58
Sad when idealism and evil collide. There are many places that would be unsafe for these young people living their dream, including portions of the USA.
15
I suspect that the internet's groups and threads of people who want to talk to other people about ideas and issues they love and approve of, are increasingly resonsible for such lack of insight and awareness Another awful story I have read about that reminds of the thoughtless wanderings of people in the roughest most hostle terrains in the world . I am thinking of the young man in his 20's who decided to winter in an Alaskan parkand with just a small .22 rifle and not much else. His body was found some time later by locals in the abandonedschool bus. Similarly, he too had thought that the world was an open and friendly place, only to discover it can as easily ignore people as reward or do them harm.
Sadly, there will always be people ready to bet their personal desires for a perfect world and play dice with death- youth and ignorance all they have to ensure their confidence .
8
They lived full lives, though sadly shortened. Better than extra decades on a couch, dreaming of what could have been.
8
They died. They died without knowing that they might die as they did. They were not taking a calculated risk. They just decided to ignore any risks that there might be.
11
@T
Consider the personal contributions, the children and grandchildren, the lives they could have touched through dedication and good deeds, all lost for fearing the "could have beens." No matter what choices one makes in youth, thinking about alternate paths is part of living a long life. There are many many ways to live a life you're proud of that don't involve getting killed by known hostels in a remote place far from those who love you.
8
It took a lot to get through this heartwrenching tale of goodness destroyed by evil. Unfortunately, there's precedent. When I read Jay Austin's statement "By and large, humans are kind" I thought of Anne Frank's diary entry that she believed deep down, people are good. Same innocently blessed sentiment, same horrid unthinkable end. It breaks one's soul to think that evil wins.
73
@Em
Does evil ever win? These two people lived by their principles and died in them, and they did not lose a battle- they were killed by those with other beliefs while fully living out their vision of life on earth.
4
@Em Evil is easier than good. Its quicker and often stronger. Good takes patience and work. Evil takes intemperance and impulsivity. Its the nature of the world.
Evil does exist and it often lies in young, angry men.
This is a terribly sad story.
62
It's not the Middle East I knew when I traveled there in 1973. Muslims and Middle Eastern Christians were by far the most hospitable people I have ever met. They believed in caring for sojourners, as most still do. The death of these sojourners at the hands of religious fanatics is tragic.
25
@Keith - Agree that even now most people in the Middle East still believe in caring for sojourners. Just want to mention, though, that Tajikistan is not in the Middle East but is part of Central Asia.
Innocence meets pure evil.
Contrary to most of the comments below, most Moslem Central Asians, as do people elsewhere, welcome strangers and are gracious hosts (read the article about their welcome in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzistan). Unfortunately, there are a few terrorists, not only in Central Asia but elsewhere in the world.
16
Two individuals with open minds and brave hearts travelled the world and its vast spaces looking for others like them and they were successful. The light that marked their journey can never be extinguished by the broken glass of warped cowardice.
26
At least they lived one year with a lot of experiences. They could be dead in a car accident without experiencing 5% of what they had.
34
What an achingly sad story! These two cyclists with such open hearts and love for humanity found out in the most unfortunate way that in fact, evil does exist in the world. Not everyone is "generous, wonderful and kind."
8
There is evil out there. Many years ago, before the Russians and the jihadis, I found myself in Herat, while backpacking through Afghanistan. I met a couple who wanted to hitch-hike from Herat to Mazar-e-Sharif, on back roads, in January. The authorities simply said to register their passport numbers before they went, a red flag on stilts. I managed to convince (or bully) them into taking a public bus through Kandahar to Kabul instead. I don't think they liked it, or me, but I believe I probably saved their lives.
Putting yourself in harm's way might free your spirit, but it can also end your life.
133
Absolutely heartbreaking, but also uplifting. Mr. Austin and Ms Geoghegan took complete control of their lives and their destinies. Few of us ever get the opportunity to live so close to our ideals and values. You can't measure something so sublime by its duration. And those misguided souls can never take that away from them.
16
If you've read their blog, you are struck first by amazing and forthright stories and then immediately, by a terrible sense of loss - no more extraordinary and insightful posts of awareness, of cultural differences, of day-to-day interactions in unknown territories. I don't think either Jay or Lauren were ignorant of the risks they faced. And based on their year-long experiences, they were confident that human nature and kindness would endure and help them continue on their quest. Alas, not to be. The lure of such exotic places on earth tantalizes those (of us) who seek unique experiences and long for personal engagements with those who are perhaps not of like minds. Why are humans so afraid and bent on the destruction of others? This was a group of peaceful strangers navigating a beautiful country in the most un-threatening way imaginable. What rhetoric impelled these young men to commit the atrocity? To view anyone unlike themselves as enemy? I mourn for Jay and Lauren for their endurance, passion and trust - where/how is that to be captured now for the rest of us? Yet we have to believe in our better natures - that good will prevail over cynicism and distrust. I think this story brings to the forefront the crux of today's society and how to return to the one rule that matters - the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is a simple way to live yet not simplistic.
78
@Norma Corrales Your comments were an inspiration. Just hope they are widely shared and read.
3
You enjoy adventures and adventuresome people who have no appreciation for their own limits. You see their optimistic attitudes and it seems a kind of freedom from worry and caution that makes your heart swell and your sense of wonder open up to all things. But their lack of skepticism about their own luck placed them just where four young minds found easy prey, imagined enemies of the truth to execute. One set of dreams crosses another on an isolated road in an isolated place.
2
Truly sad - my heart goes out to their friends and family. I"m an avid cyclist myself, and thus I totally understand their desire to set out on an adventure like this. And I agree with their sentiment - seeing the world by bike does make one realize that people are, overall, good. And I say this as someone who, generally, hates people!
But being on a bike changes things. I tend to go biking in remote places, and I've stopped at people's houses for water, gotten shelter in a truck waiting to be picked up when a massive storm/tornado blew in, swapped directions with an elderly beekeeper couple who were lost on a remote forest road who then drove me and my bike over a stretch of gravel, and so on. And this is all just in the US, though I've also met great people while cycling outside of the US. And yes, this is the kind of trip I'd sign up for.
Of course there have been problems too - almost being run down by a crackhead woman on a country road, a bizarre almost-shootout in a small town. But those couple of incidents have been FAR outweighed by the good. And yes, people tell me, a lone woman on a bike in areas where there are way more cows than people, that I'm crazy or should carry a gun, but I always figure it something happens, that's an okay way to go. Seeing the world by bike is a beautiful thing. It's tragic that their adventure ended this way.
35
I wish Jay and Lauren's adventure garnered more attention for the magic they sought- and found- than the profound and sad tragedy of their death. I hope this was not a story I and others will treat as a "cautionary tale," but one to inspire open-hearted love for the world. There are many lessons to draw here and I'm sure these young and brave people would rather the lessons we take come from their lives rather than their deaths.
Instead of reading their story as a warning away from dangerous pockets of the world, I will seek to live by what they shared- to make myself vulnerable to others in my daily life, to be clear about what I need and what I don't, and to be open and kind with people I do not (yet) understand or know.
My thoughts and my heart are with those who love them.
39
@Ellen
Very eloquent indeed, Ellen. Well said. This is how they might wish to be remembered, I suspect.
Good for you.
6
This makes me so sad. Of course hindsight is always 20/20, but it looks to me that this young woman was influenced strongly by her partner, and perhaps they went too far in their search for adventure. He seems like he was a bit extreme in certain ways -- living in a tiny house, minimalist, vegan, and she conformed to him -- becoming a vegetarian herself. Even her friend suggested that his tolerance of risk and discomfort might have been higher than hers. I've known men who had a higher risk tolerance simply because they were not women and didn't have to consider all the ways they could be assaulted in the world. It's sad to me -- they could have avoided those places that were so hostile to Americans and still have had a wonderful adventure.
30
Having read through the previously posted comments I am not sure I have much to add. But I am heartbroken by the loss of these two idealistic young spirits, exactly the kind of people we need more of. Their outside the box thinking is what may lead to breakthroughs in our collective human story
I agree with previous comments that they were politically naive. But as Americans I am proud of them and feel that they represented us well, creating good will. If they were not gunned down, this adventure would have been their great education, and they no doubt would have gone on to teach us. A profound loss.
42
It took a lot for me to get through this beautiful and heart-wrenching story. I could never do what Mr. Austin and Ms.Geoghegan did; that is, living courageously and authentically, showing, not just talking about, how to live abundantly. These were extraordinary human beings.
What will become of their tiny house? Perhaps it could go to the Smithsonian, placed on display for all to see that small in size can make room for a larger life.
16
I admire their strength and envy their belief in the greater good of humanity, and also reflect on how often that greater good helped them through their trip. "Playing it safe" only guarantees a lot of regrets for what could have been at the end of one's life. But it doesn't guarantee that either of these young people wouldn't have been hit by a car crossing the street from a job they disliked, by "playing it safe." Or died from a terminal illness early in life. They had the resolve and optimism to live life how they chose, and that's something most of us, if we're honest, wish we could do.
29
One little consideration the Austins failed to make. Civilization enables people to go off and to wander about safely. In civilization, strangers are safe but in uncivilized areas they are not. Long before people formed big communities where strangers agreed to certain rules of conduct, people could only be safe with people that they knew and strangers were treated with caution and not infrequently killed if they seemed to be up to no good. When they were murdered they were in a place which offered no protection from violent outlaws, and such places are attractive to violent outlaws. Some places one needs guides and local friends or it’s just not safe.
67
@Casual Observer
Excellent points! The veneer of civilization is thin. I don't share the views that Mr. Austin held. Yes there are good people out there, but there are just as many opportunists who don't value human life who crawl out of the woodwork when the veneer cracks. Not really an uplifting story for me.
17
@Casual Observer, people are not automatically safe in "civilization," unless you are throwing Paris, London, Toronto, and New York in the category of "uncivilized areas."
1
Yes, there are plenty of victims of heartless people in civilized societies but the risks of being victimized are very much less and people frequently travel alone and safely.
1
The killers are posing for pictures under a tree instead of being arrested for the murder of four innocent people. They’re bad, but the society that allows this is worse. It’s one thing to welcome travelers with hospitality and kindness, as most people will, something else again to stand up for law and Justice. Tajiks aren’t alone in being called on to do this.
21
Four of the murderers were reportedly killed by Tajik security forces, and a fifth arrested.
19
@Ralph
Reportedly killed? Probably not! Most probably quietly hidden and escorted to a different location.
[[Ralph
NYC
Four of the murderers were reportedly killed by Tajik security forces, and a fifth arrested.]]
Provide a link.
Tragic story. What beautiful, compassionate and open people! While it is tempting to say they never should have been in Tajikistan, a distracted or angry driver in the United States could just as easily have ended their lives. Tajikistan has been marketing itself to tourists so it is not exactly North Korea. This story is a reminder that we can live driven by openness and love, or fear and hate. Death comes to all. What matters is how you live.
128
An avoidable tragedy. Had they chosen to travel in safer environments, the probability is that they would both be alive today. In spite of their intellectual and educational advantages, they both exhibited woefully poor judgment. A terrible loss for their families and close friends.
Their killers were rash enough to post online pictures of themselves. Hopefully, those images have been uploaded into police and military databases around the world.
37
Yes, justice needs to be served.
2
@Greybird7 What's a "safer environment". America? This was an unfortunate crossing of the paths between good and evil. It happens everywhere, including America (and Canada).
@Greybird7 "Four of the men were killed resisting arrest, according to the Tajik police while a fifth is in police custody". (Times of India)
3
So many self-righteous comments along the lines of ‘Well, they should have been more careful about their choice of vacation destinations.’
People have different levels of risk tolerance, okay? This adventurous young couple took a gamble and, sadly, lost. Bad things happen sometimes.
As a woman, I’ve travelled in Europe, S. America, Asia and Egypt. Alone. Yes, I knew there was some element of risk. I’ve been followed by strange men at night. I was robbed at gunpoint in my hotel. I’ve fallen very ill and had to rely on strangers to take care of me. But when I finally do leave this life, I’ll go out with the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve seen much more of this fascinating planet than I would have if I had played it safe.
Blessed be the risk-takers.
1137
@PM Your story is my story,too. At 68 I have traveled the world- all continents- and spent 7 months going around the globe just two years ago. Even as an inate optimist, I often have marveled that I am still here- considering.
But this tragic tale has brought me up short. Call it age or maybe a heightened sense of realism, but I feel the current example being set by the US- hatred and intolerance of the other- is fueling such flames around the world. Giving permission to act out against those who are different without fear of censure or reprisal.
I truly pray that, despite the evil examples being set from the top in more and more places, the overwhelming majority of people stay as kind and considerate as those we all have gratefully encountered along the trail.
8
One of the Rockefellers disappeared and was never seen again traveling like this in regions where civilization was unknown. Teddy Roosevelt went on safari into the Amazon and regretted it. Just going to strange places without any understanding is careless. You were lucky.
13
@PM, Sorry but the comments I see are not narrow-minded nor self righteous, but simply wisdom. I would venture the world has changed since you took risks. I know many places I traveled years ago I would and could no longer do so as I did then.
10
Perhaps the next tour through there should be 10,000 biker gang members armed to the teeth and ready for war.
7
@Garlic Toast - Oh, please. International diplomacy in the Trump model. Just what is needed.
Thank you for bringing us this story. It is inspiring and heartbreaking.
Though some regions of the world are surely more dangerous for travelers than others, none of us can eliminate risk , even by staying close to home. And sadly, the dangers of extreme ideologies are ever present. I am happy that Jay and Lauren lived their dream, and I mourn their tragic loss. Their expansive hearts and intrepid spirits lift all of us.
65
So very sad. I left for the same type of trip at about the same age in 1991 but ended it after 14,000 km and two continents. My experiences reflected theirs closely. Do it while young.
28
Jay and Lauren aspired to experience the world and confirm the notion for themselves that humanity is good. It would be their wish, I imagine that their senseless deaths not erase that notion for all their readers, now ironically numbering many more due to all the media attention. If you have a moment, visit their website simplycycling.org which is a testament to human effort and inner beauty. Gorgeously put together and with an inordinate amount of detail on all aspects of their journey, down to the weight of what they brought with them. Both lovely human beings, may they find peace where they are now.
52
At some point, someone thinking of a similar trip will come & read this story and this comment is to them: Friend, I also love travel and I travel all over the world (as much as I can afford!) w/my husband & five young children. Being aware of potential political/ideological dangers is *not* cynical — it is smart. Note how these two lovely people gave thoughtful consideration to their physical well being & are wearing helmets, weighed everything to the tiniest amount, and gave hours to every detail of their bike experience, only to completely ignore the potential political dangers of their travel route. Please, please...at this dark moment in history, take those travel experiences in the many exotic & wonderful parts of the globe where you will be welcomed & safer. Stay alert. Be aware. Have fun! Love, a fellow traveler
500
You don't get out of life alive. I have traveled all over the world with a backpack for over forty seven years and have been fortunate. Nothing truly bad has ever happened to me. But I am fully aware that this is nothing but good fortune. Staying home in fear is not an option. And you will still die, probably of diabetes or a heart attack. No thank you.
21
Annie,
We don’t know that they ‘completely ignored the potential political dangers’ of the place. Perhaps they studied them, discussed them, but decided to go ahead with their adventure anyway.
5
@Chuck Burton
What we in the USA seem to forget that there are many countries in this vast world where their citizens live in poverty or have a very hard life. Many in the world resent the wealth and freedom of this country. When travelling the world this must be kept in mind when passing through a country that has a vastly different way of life that we lead in this country.
1
They lived life and got to experience first hand what most us only vision through the eyes of others. A tragic ending, an unjust ending, but in life nothing is promised. To try to connect with others on the level that they did was inspiring and courageous. Bless them and may their journey serve as a teachable moment to all who read this article, that there is goodness in the world, their light though short in duration was bright.
99
My husband and I spent seven months bicycling the perimeter of the USA and though he got hit by a box van on day one of the trip (no, the driver did not stop and fortunately my husband was not seriously hurt thanks to a good helmet) the trip was a wonderful way to experience America and the kindness of our fellow man. We had a few instances where we got "buzzed"by reckless drivers, but we had many more experiences of kindness and generosity - people stopped to offer us food, invited us to their homes for dinner, etc. We found the bikes to be a great ice breaker. My heart goes out to the people who were killed and their families. That said, fellow bike riders - we need to take some responsibility. I know signs say "share the road" with bikes, but use some common sense and ride on the right side as close to the edge as possible and don't ride side by side. No need to pick a fight with a car. It's just asking for trouble. And let's not forget that not all places are safe, as mentioned in several other comments.
134
I remember having and riding bikes as I grew up but later I became a driver. Where I live, the distances to be traveled daily are too great to rely on anything but autos. Bicyclists have an attitude about sharing the roads of having the right of way and a license to act however that they wish that simply ignores the reality in which they are acting. In fact bicycle riders do expect both motor vehicle drivers and pedestrians to make bicycle riding safe, not themselves. Bicycle riding needs to be separated from motor vehicle transportation and from pedestrians to be done safely.
7
@Nike Weintraub In my experience I get as much space from cars on my left as there is roadway on my right. If I'm one foot from the line drivers give me a foot. If I'm five feet from the line I get five feet.
1
I cycle extensively and my husband only does. He's never driven. Cycling close to the edge is foolish and dangerous. Cycle in the middle of your lane, where you have every right to be! That way, when someone "buzzes" you (accidentally or on purpose) you have a safer place to move to!
Susan
Expat in Ireland (a wonderful place to cycle tour!)
3
The world may not be a "big, scary place", but it does have small, dangerous pockets.
Those of us who choose to open our minds to new experiences and embrace the beauty and diversity that our world offers will live happy lives.
Those who forfeit their mind to a religion or an ideology that encourages hatred and violence will have wasted their opportunity to truly experience life and love in their time here on earth.
Godspeed Jay and Lauren.
555
@WS
Evil is just the shadow of good. But without the one, the other is impossible.
2
@WS I agree with most of what you posted. but the religion of Islam does not encourage hatred or violence. please try to understand that for ISIS, religion and ideology are separate. they profess the religion of Islam, but follow none of its tenets. they are a 'small dangerous pocket' of extremists who do not and cannot represent the millions of good people who are sincere adherents of the faith they falsely profess.
in any case, I think this couple is absolutely amazing. I wish I had the opportunity, and the courage, to live brilliantly and adventurously as they did.
Profoundly, wrenchingly sad.
Such open hearts ringing to the world.
122
What a terrible shame. At age 49, I biked solo across the country from Seattle to Greenville, SC--3500 miles in 56 days. It was the greatest experience of my life. There was never a moment of danger, six flats but no other mechanical problems, a few chasing (but not snarling) dogs in Wisconsin, a group of hooting teenagers in Montana, but nothing remotely like this. People either ignored me or offered help, meals, a place to stay. At the time anyway (1988), the trip reinforced my feeling that most Americans are kind and willing to help a rider on the road and many were clearly envious. It is hard for me to say how much I admire this young couple and regret the loss of anyone so willing to drop everything and chase a dream.
648
@Bing Somers
"There was never a moment of danger"
So then, you are a white heterosexual male. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm one too, and so are many of my best friends. I fully believe in this couples' adventurism, openness, and hope. But there is also a lesson here, which is that human societies can be really nasty toward "the other". So let us all endeavour to embrace and support "the other" in our own communities - and let us call out those who don't, both at home and abroad.
6
@Bing Somers I had a similar experience (SF-NJ) in 1984). I thought I might be in trouble when I was cycling by myself along a lonely stretch of US2 in Montana, and a souped up muscle car passed me filled with teenagers drinking beer and having a good time. They stopped just ahead of me; I was a bit worried about their intentions, but I didn't have many options, so I cycled up to where they were. Couldn't have been friendlier, and they offered me a beer... Most people, even ones we fear, are good and are generous (as long as they don't fear you either).
What a sad, sad ending to their lives. I realize that sitting in an office all day can be stultifying, but it usually buys one more than 30 years on this earth. I would not recommend such an adventure into such dangerous territory, especially not by bike.
40
@Greengage: Life is a balance of quantity and quality. Lots of people will live to 90 and never take real adventure. I wouldn't have personally chosen this trip, but they sure crammed a lot of living into it.
6
A beautiful, brilliant and incredibly sad cautionary tale. Jay and Lauren are inspirations for how life can and should be lived and the world engaged. I salute their courage and mourn their loss. The world is a poorer place without them in it.
Their web site - Simplycycling.org - is stunning.
194
@dashdown
Yet the very people who killed this couple and most of their families would have traded everything they owned and might own in this life to have taken their place, working every day in a london poffice-where water and cleaner air as well as a relatively depandable legal system were avalable. To see a couple who just tossed it all to go for a bike ride among some of the world's most mierable, unhappy and bloody places, allmost seems like a personal insult to those who desire to do nothing but come to Europe or America and be able to live peacefully.
This was also the vio;lent reaction of many poor, hard working Americans to many of the so called "hippy movement" in the 60's here. Too many of these long haired , often well to do kids(they assumed), had simply tossed the good life that a Texas or Wyoming cowboy dreamed about, and so their first reaction was often amazement and then violent anger, often ending inm brutal beatings and sometimes murder. This happend to Americans passing through America in the 60's. Yet each generation-almost everywhere, assumes they are as untouchable as every other group which passed through and left with bloody nose and often broken arm, leg or head?
6
While it is a heartbreaking story, individuals need to rethink their travel destinations. While it is nice to travel to exotic and out of the way places, use some common sense and avoid places that are hostile to Americans, westerners and non-Muslims. Case in point are the husband and wife who traveled to Afghanistan while she was pregnant, and they were later held for years. People need to take responsibility and use common sense
303
Different people have different levels of risk tolerance. Blessed be the risk-takers.
3
@Vincent Campbell: It's important, though, not to make assumptions about a country. I am just back from Uzbekistan - which borders Tajikistan and Afghanistan. It's a Muslim-majority country - which, in addition to its location - would make it off limits in the minds of many Americans for travel. It is a country of stunning architecture and and people who are open and welcoming (especially those from rural areas, who at times are meeting Westerners for the first time). The opportunity to learn about this ancient culture and its contributions to civilization was extraordinary. I've felt much more hostility toward Americans while traveling in some European countries than in Uzbekistan. "Common sense" shouldn't become a proxy for stereotypes about a country and its people.
24
@Vincent Campbell, I think it is important not to romanticize this tragedy. The intentional murder of four individuals on their bicycles is not all about hopey, dreamy stuff. It is the end of their lives.
15
Heartbreaking. Inspiring and a cautionary tale: eliminate destinations where you are not welcome which reduces but does not eliminate the risk. This can happen anywhere, just think of "Easy Rider".
100
Individuals can't overcome the defects of American foreign policy. The huge problems caused are not fixed by bicycle tours - they will not cause everyone to give up what they consider grievances and rights.
99
@skeptonomist
What evidence do you see that indicates the ISIS murderers were primarily driven by "grievances and rights" and not, as they themselves declared, religious fervor?
Why shouldn't we believe them?
45
Just as individuals can’t overcome the defects in American domestic policy and can be mown down while they protest. But that doesn’t stop everyone from trying.
5
@skeptonomist
There is not a foreign policy that could have prevented this. Acts such as these are a consequence of deep ignorance, hatred, and religious and cultural bigotry. If the perpetrators had been born in a slightly different place and time they might, themselves, be supporters of our current administrations's foreign and immigration and economic policies. I hope these people who lost their lives will long be an inspiration to others.
5
Such a heartbreaking story. May these young people inspire us to seek adventure and the goodness of the world despite the dangers.
604
And may their story inspire us to be as kind to others as we need them to be kind to us.
15