The key to any great journey—like crossing two
continents on a tandem bicycle—is to learn your limits
Photograph and story by Carol Sachs62
TRAVEL Bloomberg Pursuits June 29, 2020O
urroute—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 onthegear.Thenoneday,ona busythree-laneroad to
Hiroshima, we fell into traffic. Hugo pulled me up, then
got the bike, feeling the weight of both our lives.
Our apartment that night, overlooking palm trees,
reminded us of our native Brazil. We drank beers and
confessed frustrations, taking comfort in the view. We
learned we needed more personal space and fewer
rigid plans. I wanted less wild camping; he wanted a
looser itinerary.
We became stronger, as a couple and as bikers.Our trials and tribulations—like a flare of back pain
thatleftmybuttexposedonanacupuncturist’stable
inChina’sYunnanprovince—producedquirkyand
wonderfuldetours.Wemetprofessionalweight-
liftersinKazakhstan,touredtheiconicPamir
HighwayinTajikistan,andcoziedupforcocoaintiny
Germanbakeries.
Some days were agonizing. But quarantine, start-
ing a family, whatever comes next—Hugo and I will
have always done this extraordinary thing together. <BW>,
F WE
F
A
L
L
WE DON’T FALL
ALONE
The author’s partner,
Hugo, on the Pamir
Highway in Tajikistan