Thought you all might enjoy a collaborative "poem" that I did a number of years ago with another stoker...

Ode to the Stoker

This is a rhyme to explain indeed
The stoker's desire to sit second seed.
What possible virtues can we extol
To praise the loss of all control?

No view to the front, save a sweaty back
Always within reach of a stoker's smack.
Although pedaling is our only role,
Unhappy stokers will exact their toll.

No brakes to squeeze, no gears to grind,
Yet the stoker does not seem to mind.
With pedaling we must be content
Until through poetry we can vent.

The captain in front calls out all the bumps
And depends on us to sail over the jumps.
We can’t just sit back to relax or to chat
Unless, of course, we like being yelled at!

“Pedal” yells the captain as you push up a hill
“I am” you yell back, though it seems you are still
“Push harder” you get in response to your whine
“I’m PUSHING” you argue, but things are far from fine

And if as a stoker we should happen to crash
It is the captain that we lash.
For the fault is never ours, you see,
It wasn’t the stoker who hit that tree.

And what from a captain did I recently hear?
In fact the stoker can actually steer!
Around the corners so twisty and tight
We will make it if the stoker pedals just right.

But for those of us one step from blind,
The stoker life can be quite kind.
On our single bikes the trail prevailed,
Our scars bear witness to how we failed.

Even those skilled at the single ride
Have reasons to join the stoker side.
Where the captain goes you too must follow
No more dust must you swallow.

And if your sweetie has never tried
The joys of riding till they're fried,
Then borrow a tandem to take a spin,
Who knows, you both might win!

The need for speed is at the core
of why smart stokers beg for more.
A tricked-out tandem fits the bill,
For a screaming ride down any hill.

Road or trail, skinny tires or fat,
Tandem riding is where it's at.
So stokers say join us, be ahead of the curve
That is, if you can find the nerve!