When Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast in late August, longtime Spring residents Ric and Marcia Becker not only received 9 inches of water in their home, but also in their business. The Beckers have owned and operated House of Tandems out of a showroom in their home’s converted three-car garage off Rayford Road since 2007. The bike shop is only one of four shops in the U.S. that specializes in customized tandem bicycles, which can seat two to three riders, Ric said. “When we started riding tandem bikes together—that’s when everything changed for us,” Ric said. “It’s a team effort, and it’s a really unique experience. [Tandem riding] enabled us to put the business behind us and go do something together.” Following Harvey, the Beckers said their first priority was renovating the House of Tandems showroom. After six months of living in a recreational vehicle in their backyard, the Beckers were able to move back into their home in late February. “We got flooded and the house got wrecked, and we put our whole first floor out on the street like everyone else did, but you don’t even have to go two blocks down the street to see what getting hit bad really looks like,” Ric said. “Nine inches of water is nothing compared to 9 feet—it’s been an interesting six months, but we’ve been very blessed.” Prior to operating House of Tandems, the Beckers owned ACME Bikes in Katy from 1995 until 2007. The shop specialized in BMX and mountain bikes, and introduced tandem bikes to the Greater Houston area, Ric said. After Bike Barn, a corporate chain, bought ACME Bikes in June 2007, the couple decided to begin a new business venture closer to home. “We had become the go-to place for tandem folks, and our tandem teams had kind of become like family,” Marcia said. “[When we sold ACME Bikes] they were like, ‘You can’t just leave us.’ So we came back to the house and opened House of Tandems.” Over the past 11 years, the Beckers said tandem cyclists have traveled from as far as Canada and Australia to come to their home to test-ride and order customized bikes. The shop carries a variety of tandem bicycles including brands, such as Santana, da Vinci and Co-Motion Cycles. Marcia said each appointment takes an average of three to five hours because buying a tandem bicycle can be a significant investment. The shop has sold bikes at prices ranging from $600 to $25,000, with the average bike selling for around $10,000. In addition to carrying a selection of big-name brands, the Beckers also began designing their own line of tandem bicycles, Hawthorn Tandems—named for their home’s side street—in 2013. “Over the years, we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work with tandems built by other manufacturers,” Ric said. “[Hawthorne Tandems] are built with a very unique formula of carbon fiber that makes the bike really strong, yet very lightweight and it rides really nicely. Out of every Hawthorne Tandem we’ve built—there’s not one that looks like the other. They’re all original.” Marcia said while Hawthorne Tandems can take anywhere from six to eight weeks to be delivered to the customer once an order is placed, other brands can take as long as four months to be delivered. Outside of the business, the Beckers also founded a club for tandem bicycling enthusiasts in 2015, known as Houstonians on Tandem Together, or Team HOTT. Ric serves as the club’s president, while Marcia is the organization’s event director. The group hosts and attends charity rides and tandem rallies, and will host this year’s Southwest Tandem Rally, which takes place April 19-22. The Beckers said after moving past Harvey, they plan to continue developing the Hawthorne Tandem while building more relationships with fellow tandem enthusiasts around the globe. “A lot of people will say to me, ‘Oh, I could never work with my husband,’ but for us, this works—we’re a team,” Marcia said. “We’ve crossed the finish line at the MS 150 on a tandem a dozen times, and each time is just that much sweeter than the last. We just hope to continue sharing the gospel of tandem and telling our story.”