The Stoker and the Captain

Post by Randi Strunk

First and foremost, riding a tandem bike, particularly in the stoker's seat (the back) is completely different than riding a traditional bike. I said in my earlier post if you're supposed to be able to go years without riding and then pick it right back up again I wasn't worried about the biking portion of the triathlon. However, whoever coined that saying "it's like riding a bike" wasn't going from riding a bike to riding a tandem bike. That's not to say it is hard, but it is very different.

Jenny and I are fortunate enough to be able to borrow a tandem from a lovely couple she knows and I was pumped to start riding. I had my shiny new helmet and was ready to go. We found a large, mostly vacant parking lot to get a feel for things before taking the bike on the road. Jenny took a spin on her own first, to get a feel for the bike, the turning radius, etc. Then it was time to begin. We were able to balance quite quickly and the push-off wasn't very difficult to coordinate. We had to establish a procedure for stopping, always an important thing to get right, and we chose to lean to the left when stopping. So whenever Jenny tells me we're slowing down to stop we get our left legs ready because we'll lean to the left before getting off the bike.

The most important thing to note when learning to ride a tandem with somebody is communication. The person in the front, the captain, is responsible for communicating the course ahead. Turns, peddling or stopping peddling, and potentially changes in terrain are all things that need to be communicated to the stoker. You have to work together as a team. You start and stop together, you have to coordinate leans into the turns, and you need to coordinate peddling for maximum efficiency and speed.

I think we were both pretty nervous to get going. I was particularly worried about moving around too much, how that would effect Jenny’s ability to steer and how it would translate into the turns. I think the best piece of advice I got from the folks we’re borrowing the bike from was that the stoker should essentially stay sitting straight up in the turns. If you focus on this, it will counteract your natural instinct to lean away from the turn. I could definitely feel myself wanting to lean the opposite direction we were turning.

For me, the lack of control during the turns was very unnerving. The handlebars on the back of the bike is locked in with no movement at all, and it’s really strange to feel yourself turning and to have absolutely no control over that turn. It’s an exercise in trust for sure. Draw your own conclusions from the fact that I had a death grip on my handlebars most of that first ride. I think I have the easy part though. I just sit back and provide half of the muscle.

I was happy with the first ride, just getting on the bike for the first time was good to get under our belts. I think my previous bike riding experience helped a lot, particularly with balance on the bike and understanding the mechanics of the turns. We’ll see what happens when we get out on the road. We were barely peddling in that parking lot and could pick up speed without even trying so I’m excited to see how things progress as we get more comfortable riding together.

Big thanks to Drew and Janell Frakes for the tandem bike loaner! Drew also works at Gear West Bike and Triathlon in Long Lake, MN - the best triathlon store anywhere. These folks are excellent at outfitting everyone from the novice to professional athlete.