Tandem: Teamwork and Starting

Teamwork

Tandems -- like canoes --  have reputation as "divorce machines. " Some couples purchase a tandem and expect to roll along in sunny, happy, bliss. If they get started and don’t fall over, within five miles the marketing bliss is replaced with anger, frustration, and even disgust. The tandem gets hung up in the garage, and life gets back to non-riding normal.
It doesn't have to be this way.
A tandem requires a level of trust and teamwork. Teamwork means you do what's best for the team, and set self interest aside. So when you see that hill looming ahead, while you would prefer to pull over and sit for a while, together you push over that hill to get home before nightfall. You work together to achieve the goal. Trust means you have faith in the ability of your partner to do what's best for the team. So the captain sets a cadence the stoker can sustain, avoids potholes and ruts, and steers as gracefully as possible to avoid a rough ride. The stoker calls out cars coming from behind, points out scenic views and interesting spots, helps maintain the cadence, and gives the captain a pat of gratitude when a pothole is missed or an accident averted.

Starting

Getting started is the hardest tandem maneuver. Two people have to coordinate efforts, stay upright, roll forward, avoid hazards, clip-in, and accelerate to a comfortable speed. Here's how it's done:

1. Find a level or slight downhill grade. If you don't have one, walk the bike until you find one.
2. The captain mounts first, then the stoker. The captain holds the bike steady.
3. The captain  and then stoker clip in to the left side.
4. The captain warns the stoker, then rotates the pedals until the left side is up around 11 o'clock position (looking from the left side -- so you have your left foot up, your right still down on the ground holding the bike up).
5. The captain looks ahead, makes sure the road is clear, and then counts -- 2-1- Go!
6. On Go both riders push off with the right foot (like pushing a scooter) while rotating the left (pedaling with one leg) If the bike has achieved adequate speed, the stoker can clip in as the captain continues pedaling. The captain may not be clipped in on the right yet but that's fine. More important is keeping the bike moving fast enough to maintain balance.
7. Once the stoker is clipped in the captain clips in.

Practice this in a large, flat parking lot for a while. Practice getting started until you can do it with minimal chit-chat. It needs to be as instinctual as getting started solo since eventually you will be out on the roads where road noise will not permit verbal communication.