University of Delaware graduate killed by Islamic State group while cycling in Tajikistan

Jay Austin, a University of Delaware graduate murdered by the Islamic State group while bicycling through Tajikistan with his girlfriend Lauren Geoghegan, knew that life could be dangerous, but wanted to make the most of it. 

"Life is almost always boring and uneventful in almost all places, and so we're not ruling out entire nations simply because something once happened there or because our government and that country's government don't get along so well," he and Geoghegan wrote in their blog "Simply Cycling" last June, announcing that they had quit their jobs in Washington, D.C., to travel the world on bike. 

They started in Cape Town, South Africa, and rode to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, before hopping on a plane to Casablanca. From there, they cycled through Europe, Turkey and Kazakhstan, sometimes flying to make connections.  

The couple had planned on biking through eastern Asia before heading back to the Americas but never got a chance. On July 29, they and two others were killed in an attack that has since been attributed to the Islamic State, according to media reports. 

They were part of a group of seven cyclists hit by a car. After knocking them over, the assailants exited the vehicle and shot and stabbed the bicyclists. A Dutch and Swiss rider also died in the attack, while three others were seriously injured, according to media reports. 

Tajikistan lies along the northern border of Afghanistan. 

Tajik authorities have killed four suspects and captured a fifth. 

On their blog, Austin and Geoghegan, both 29, frequently wrote about how kind the people they met were, and how they invited them into their homes and fed them. 

"Badness exists, sure, but even that's quite rare," Austin wrote in April. "By and large, humans are kind. Self-interested sometimes, myopic sometimes, but kind. Generous and wonderful and kind. No greater revelation has come from our journey than this." 

The couple's last post, on July 11, was from Kyrgyzstan. 

Before the trip, Austin worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Originally from New York, he studied international relations at UD before getting his master's degree from Georgetown University. 

He managed to earn his bachelor's in just two years. 

“I initially did not think he could do it,” his former adviser Alice Ba told UDaily, the university's online news source. 

“But of course, I soon knew better," said the political science and international relations professor. "Jay was always so very, very prepared. He consulted with me constantly. He brought spreadsheets, plans and prospects. He checked and double checked. And he excelled.

"His excellent grades and record gained him admission to some of the most well-regarded master’s programs in international relations. He embraced his experiences, clearly to the very end — on the road, exploring the world and what it had to offer. May his spirit triumph over the worst among us.”

Austin was also a minimalist, who believed in environmental sustainability. He and his 140-square-foot "tiny house" were featured in the Netflix documentary "Minimalism." 

On official documents and applications, he referred to his occupation simply as “real human being.”

Geoghegan, who grew up in California, studied government, Spanish and Arabic at Georgetown University and interned twice with U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff. 

"Lauren's adult cycling journey began with a bike share day-pass that soon became a bike share annual membership and eventually the purchase of her very own bicycle from Craiglist (and later a local bike shop)," says her profile on "Simply Cycling."

"She began biking to and from work (with the help of bicycle-friendly dresses and rain gear). She traversed parts of the city once unknown. She fell in love with the efficiency, accessibility, wellness, open air, vulnerability, community, intimacy, and joy of bicycle riding. Although she definitely still appreciates good public transportation, cycling has made its way into Lauren's heart (and legs!) and enriched her life immensely." 

Austin's mom, Jea Santovasco, said the couple was special. 

"They just were these wonderful, generous people," she said, adding that they were lucky to find each other. "Just bigger-than-life people." 

When they set out on their trip, she was worried but wanted to be supportive. She said Austin always thought that getting hit on his bike on his way to work would be a far greater tragedy than failing to pursue his dreams and getting injured that way. 

The couple did make trips to the hospital, were ill and were hit by cars on the trip, but aware of the dangers he was facing, Austin wrote his will before he left, requesting that no suits or ties be worn to his funeral, Santovasco told UDaily. 

"I knew there was a very good chance I'd get a call," she said in an interview with The News Journal Friday, knowing how dangerous it could be for two "skinny white kids" to traverse the globe. 

"But I never thought terrorism," she said. "That just wasn't on my scope. I thought maybe they'd fall off their bikes, or they'd be victims of robbery." 

She still can't believe that they're gone. 

"I can't wrap my head around it," she said, her voice breaking. "The more time that goes by, the more real it becomes." 

She's hoping their passion won't be forgotten. She said she wanted to share the story with the University of Delaware and the greater community in hopes that it would inspire a future generation of Blue Hens to pursue their dreams. 

She shared her son's story with UDaily in hopes of touching "the hearts and minds of students to follow, students that have walked and will walk the same hallways and have sat and will sit in the same classrooms as Jay.”

Santovasco has also established a GoFundMe page in Austin's memory, hoping to raise money for his two favorite charities, the Homeless Children's Playtime Project in Washington, D.C., where he volunteered weekly for several years, and World Bicycle Relief, which is a nonprofit providing locally-assembled bicycles to those who could really use them to get around (to school, a health clinic, or a job) in Africa, South America and southeast Asia. 

Donate online at gofundme.com/jay-austin-real-human-being. 

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Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.