A British couple’s round-the-world cycling odyssey ended in tragedy when both of them were killed in a road accident in Thailand.
Peter Root and Mary Thompson, who had been chronicling their journey in a blog, died last Wednesday when they were hit by a pickup truck in a province east of Bangkok, Thai police said late on Monday.
The couple, both 34 and from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, left Britain in July 2011 and had cycled through Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and China.
The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the couple, who met in art school and spent six years saving money and planning their journey, Peter’s father Jerry Root said in an interview.
“They were both inspirational,” Jerry Root said. “They didn’t just talk about it, they did it. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
He said they were both experienced cyclists who knew the rigors and risks of extended bicycle travel.