Ian Andersen cycled into Iran in June 2025, carrying a camping stove, a tent, a flat-tire kit and cigarettes.
Mr. Andersen, a free-spirited Minnesotan, was documenting a 10,000-mile bike journey from Portugal to Japan for a growing social media audience and had entered the country despite U.S. State Department warnings not to travel there. In one clip, Mr. Andersen, 33, is seen biking a mostly empty road while blaring an explicit, satirical rock anthem about America. In another, he remarks that the State Department’s advisory left opportunities for “hidden gems.”
Then, on June 13, 2025, a series of Israeli airstrikes hit sites across Iran, some just 60 miles from him. In a video posted the same day, he calmly updated his audience — though internally he was “extremely stressed,” he told The New York Times. Soon afterward, Mr. Andersen’s Iranian guide said he could no longer protect him.
Two days later, Mr. Andersen found a way out through Azerbaijan, relying on the State Department’s STEP program. “I knew the risk,” Mr. Andersen said of traveling to Iran, “and still went there.”
Mr. Andersen’s social media feed epitomizes an increasingly popular form of travel content on Instagram and TikTok: videos that track ambitious cross-continental voyages and garner thousands, if not millions, of views.
The videos provide windows into places that most travelers are unlikely to experience. Some show solo, shoestring trips through countries for which the State Department has issued Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisories, citing the risk of kidnapping and wrongful detention. Others feature travelers with limited experience undertaking daring voyages — like Oliver Widger, who sailed from Oregon to Hawaii with his cat.
Daily updates drive engagement and can cause viewers to build a psychological bond with the travelers, since they feel intimately involved in the highs and lows of the journey, said Jay Van Bavel, a social neuroscientist at New York University.
“That’s the power of a story, or a delusional dream,” said Ria Xi, 27, who is attempting to be the first person to run from the coast of Russia to the coast of Portugal, with the help of two volunteers in a support van.
But security experts and government officials say it’s only a matter of time before things go seriously wrong.
The expeditions involve more than the usual risks associated with cycling, hitchhiking or running, said Dan Richards, chief executive of Global Rescue, which provides evacuation and field rescue services. Travelers also need to consider the possibility of arbitrary detention, surveillance, device searches, photography restrictions, accusations of espionage and rapidly changing entry requirements, he said.
Should a medical evacuation be required, it can cost as much as $300,000. In places like Iran, Afghanistan or Russia, an evacuation may not be possible.
A State Department spokesperson had a more direct warning for those traveling to a Level 4 country: “Get D.N.A. samples and create a will.”
Several high-risk travelers interviewed by The Times said they were aware of advisories — including those from the United States, Canada and Britain — that warn against travel to multiple countries on their itinerary. Some said they think the warnings are prejudiced, or that travelers will be fine as long as they are respectful and follow local laws. Everyone interviewed for this story said they had obtained visas where necessary.
The State Department spokesperson said travelers can be swayed by one person saying, “I traveled there and was fine,” and noted that the U.S. government has a limited ability to offer assistance in Level 4 areas. The agency said it continually evaluates the facts on the ground to ensure its advisories are clear, objective and up-to-date.
“The advisory levels reflect real cases. We work with families of those who have been wrongfully detained. It can destroy people’s lives,” the spokesperson said.
The Risks and Rewards
Travel writers have a long history of pushing boundaries to create compelling content. Nellie Bly, for example, found international fame for her daring trip around the world in 1889 and 1890. But social media has intensified the dynamics, in part by offering more immediate interaction between travelers and viewers, many of whom check in on the travelers every day.
Neither Meta nor TikTok chose to comment on this story.
Mr. Andersen said he has been questioned and had his belongings searched by the Taliban in Afghanistan, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently designated as a state sponsor of wrongful detention. Courtney Allan, a Canadian woman who hitchhiked solo from China to South Africa, almost abandoned her trip after she was hit by a bus in Turkey and sexually harassed multiple times.
“It really made the trip difficult,” Ms. Allan said. “I was thinking, ‘How much sexual harassment am I willing to stomach to prove that I think the world is good?’”
Yet their vulnerabilities also created moments they would cherish, many travelers said. One night in Mongolia, Mr. Andersen was stranded in subzero temperatures and couldn’t make it to the next village. Nearby, a fireplace glowed inside a small home, where he asked for shelter. A Mongolian family invited him in, fed him and showed him what it was like to live with them for a night.
“If you need help, people are willing to help you,” Mr. Andersen said, adding that he found similar hospitality in Afghanistan.
While hitchhiking with a family in Saudi Arabia, Ms. Allan, 27, said she chatted with a young woman about their cultural differences and came to a new understanding about Islamic customs around women’s clothing. Despite the dangers she faced, moments like this made the trip worthwhile, she said.
“There’s a lot of joy that can be found in traveling and meeting people in a way that you have to be really vulnerable with strangers,” Ms. Allan said.
A Search for Meaning
Three years ago, Ms. Xi, from Beijing, was working at a tech start-up in Silicon Valley, struggling to find meaning in the monotony of a 9-to-5 job. Then she discovered ultrarunning. In 2024, she became the first person to complete a new route across Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, totaling some 342 miles.
But she longed for something bigger. With only enough funds for the first few months of the trip, she started a 20,000-kilometer run from Russia to Portugal in May. She hopes to find sponsors and crowdsource donations for the rest of the journey, which will likely take another 16 months.
Several travelers interviewed by The Times expressed a familiar sentiment for why they launched long, arduous journeys: feeling stuck and tired of living for the next paycheck.
While it feels like the world is on fire or at war, Ms. Xi said young people are looking for self-actualization, for agency, for something that feels purposeful.
The content from these journeys can feel more accessible to people than the “Kardashian knockoff influencers” that were famous on Instagram in the 2010s, said Dr. Van Bavel. In a moment when people often feel disenchanted with their economic situation, it can be much easier for viewers to see themselves in these videos.
“This offers an opportunity for escapism, but it’s a different type of escapism than we used to see,” Dr. Van Bavel said.
Is the Story Worth It?
Ms. Xi will make the final decision in a couple of months on whether to run through Iran with her two-person crew. Her backup route is through Russia. (The Chinese government advises citizens against visiting Iran, but considers most of Russia safe for travel.)
“I’m so set and dedicated to this project that I probably don’t think like a regular person when evaluating risks,” Ms. Xi said, adding that she didn’t want to jeopardize the safety of her crew.
Both the U.S. State Department and Britain’s Foreign Office strongly advise against all travel to Iran, warning of arbitrary arrest and wrongful detention. Both governments have issued similar warnings for Russia. A British couple, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both in their 50s, were on a motorcycle tour around the world in January 2025 when Iranian authorities accused them of espionage. The couple, like Mr. Andersen, had an Iranian guide. They are now serving a decade-long sentence in different wings of Tehran’s Evin prison, which is notorious for the torture and execution of dissidents and political prisoners.
Mr. Andersen’s ride through Iran was part of his larger quest to cycle across all seven continents. On three occasions, he had to skip certain areas: Iran, Sudan and the Darién Gap. The shortcomings weigh on him, he said, and leave him feeling like his project is unfinished. Now, as he trains to bike across Antarctica, he’s confronting a recurring question: Is it worth the risk?
Mr. Andersen started his journey running from the mental health struggles of his 20s and his counterproductive ways of coping, including through drug use, he said. As the project progressed, it became more about following his curiosity, meeting new people, and learning about cultures he was unfamiliar with.
From his bike, Mr. Andersen said he thinks he has gotten an honest look at the places he’s visited. His vulnerability provides a way into people’s lives that he wouldn’t normally have, he said. He’s better now at dealing with uncertainty, but less confident with simple explanations of the world or his ability to judge people from afar.
Mr. Andersen doesn’t recommend that everybody take on an extreme journey. But he encourages others to travel outside their comfort zones and talk with people who challenge their beliefs.
“It changes the way you see the world when you stop treating unfamiliar people or places as problems to solve,” he said.
