Eunice, so far everything you have written is correct. It certainly complicates matters having a pilot who is shorter than the stoker. I would add this.
The pilot needs to straddle the bike with the brakes locked while the stoker gets clipped in. When Pat is ready she lowers the left pedal for me and I clip in, then we raise the left pedal to a power position, and I ask if she is ready, if she agrees, I say lets go, release the brakes and push off, usually two steps before trying to clip into the right pedal which is now down. It takes a little while to feel smooth about it, so don't sweat it, just do it. When we stop at an intersection, I put one foot down and Pat stays clipped in. When we are both dismounting, I first put both feet on the ground and lock the brakes while she gets off. Then I get over the tube and she puts the kickstand up. I always announce when I'm going to shift, especially a front shift, and when I'm going to brake. I also announce coasting and restarting pedaling. She tells me when she wants a higher or lower cadence or gear and when she wants to coast. I yell pot hole when I can't miss it. This means stop pedaling and lift your touche. Pat is left handed and I am right handed so we sometimes get crossed up in dismounting. We try to avoid describing these moments as, "you did it wrong." So glad to read that your getting a chance to tandem again. It's so much fun. We had friends visiting from Switzerland last week and i took mom & 8 year old son out for a spin. They both loved it. Michael Member, Human Race. On Monday, July 20, 2015 at 8:10:21 PM UTC-4, Eunice Chang wrote: > > This might be somewhat OT, but I thought I would ask the few of you who > are tandem captains what advice you would give to a new captain. It has > been a while... > > A charity ride is coming up this Saturday, and it's at night, and since > I'm night-blind, a friend of mine has offered to captain the tandem. I > fixed one up, and we rode around a few times. > Here's what I know: > > On starting: > -captain gets on first, feet on ground > -stoker gets on, puts feet on pedal > -captain starts > > On stopping: > -captain puts feet down first? > -stoker puts feet down, and gets off > -captain gets off > > On turning: > both lean, right? > > Part of the problem is that my friend is shorter than I am by 2-4 inches, > which may influence her handling. We have no problem riding around, just > not so great on starting and stopping. > > Thanks in advance for any advice! > -E. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
