Hi guys, I am the stoker on the end of a burley rock and roll. I have no brakes, I cannot shift, I cannot steer. Sometimes i can't even see what's in front of us, because you know who in front of me; who isn't a big guy he's still taller and bigger than I am.

Yesterday we rode 54 miles around Lake Washington; on mostly roads with cars. True, most people stayed home yesterday because it was cool and breezy and grey, but there were enough cars to keep me on my toes.

So anyway; back to stoking. Sometimes the best of "captains" will neglect to tell you things like "I am not going to turn right onto the street, I am going to go up onto the sidewalk" or "I'm going to stop pedalling here"
or, he's going to come to a very slow stop at an intersection because he's hoping the light is going to turn.
All of these things; miscommunication or lack of communication are stressful to the stoker. In the first example, i didn't know he was going to get up on the sidewalk and MY reaction forced him onto the street (even more scary!!)
the other two examples just give me lots of adrenalin rushes and tend to wear me out.
another time, something scared me (a car doing a slow stop at the stop sign to our right?) and my movement away from the car forced the bike to move where my husband didn't want to go.

Does this stuff happen to others of you? do you find Tandem riding MORE stressful than regular?

What I like about tandeming is that i can "keep up" with my husband and as a team we can ride with the "big boys" We also get so many smiles from people in cars, on foot and on other bikes, that we find ourselves smiling so much more t han we do on our singles.

Thanks everyone; i'd love to hear other stokers weigh in.
mimi