Or Her-Story

In the fall of 2015, we committed ourselves to becoming homeless. We would spend the summer and fall of 2016 driving our Cannondale tandem bike to at least 48 of the 50 states, biking 50 miles or so in each. The basic plan was drive one day, bike one day, which means at least 96 days on the road.

We also made a deposit on an Around the World cruise on the Fred.Olsen cruise line leaving Southampton on January 3, 2017, and returning 107 days later on April 21, 2017.

On April 19, 2016, Doré went into Abbott-Northwestern hospital for a straightforward intravascular coiling procedure to eliminate two volatile aneurysms from our list of concerns; a day or two in the hospital, ten days to full recovery, and we are on the road for the 48-state bicycle tour.

Life is what happens while you are making other plans.

During the procedure, an artery ruptured and the resulting hemorrhagic stroke required a a shunt  to relieve the pressure. On April 20, while dealing with the threat of further hemorrhaging, Doré suffered an ischemic stroke (i.e., clot.)   The hemorrhagic stroke damaged the right side of the brain, making it difficult to control the left foot and the clot damaged Wernicke’s Area of the left cortex making it difficult to process spoken language. Two weeks in ICU, a month in acute rehab, another month of sub-acute rehab, and six months of out-patient therapy. And still a long way to go.

The 48-State Bike Tour was put off a year but the Around the World Cruise is happening.

The Next Update

After The Cruise, a month touring the south of England, Wales, the Isle of Wight, and a little of Western Europe, we spent three months back in Minneapolis, mostly for therapy, extended that for month, which still left us well less than six months, so we wouldn’t be Minnesota residents for tax purposes. The bike tour was set to begin on or about October 1.

On September 21, Doré fell and broke a hip, requiring the services of an orthopedic surgeon. Ouch! And a long, painful recovery process and more physical therapy. Ouch! And we were Minnesota residents for tax purposes. Another ouch.

Almost three years ago, when we made the decision to become homeless and began the planning process, we picked the site name “Tandemonia.com” because “TwoToTandem” and “Tandemonium” were taken. We picked the tagline “It takes two” to continue the tandeming theme.

After two years, five months, and three weeks post-strokes, the tagline has taken on much broader significance in our lives.