Testing the Limits of Love on a Tandem Bike Across Two Continents

Our route—spanning 21 countries, 7,800 miles, and 15 months, from Tokyo to Switzerland— would have been ambitious even if we’d done it by plane. But from the back seat of a tandem bike with my partner of eight years leading the way, it was an adventure that would empower us for the rest of our lives.

The first month almost broke us. He worried about money. I was out of shape. The heat was oppressive. It was a constant building of tension, like ratchets on the gear. Then one day, on a busy three-lane road to Hiroshima, we fell into traffic. Hugo pulled me up, then got the bike, feeling the weight of both our lives.