[Sportsandrec] The Proper Method, by Bill McCready of Santana Tandems

[Lori]

You might also like the resources at ww.bicyclingblind.org as there are 
resources for new pilots and stokers and I'm sure they'd like to hear about 
your event.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Erin Kavanagh" <EKavanagh at avreus.org>
To: <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 1:49 PM
Subject: [Sportsandrec] The Proper Method,by Bill McCready of Santana 
Tandems


> Hi Fred,
> Thanks for this post!
> I'll be running a tandem biking event this summer for the first time and 
> Bill's descriptions and info are wonderful.
> Cheers, Erin
>
> Erin L.W.K.D. Kavanagh
> Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist
> Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, Inc.
> 174 Court Street, Binghamton NY 13901
> 607-724-2428 extension 133
> ekavanagh at avreus.org<mailto:ekavanagh at avreus.org>
>
>
>
>
> Message: 3
>
> Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:52:46 -0700
>
> From: Fred's ol' XP 
> <regenerative at earthlink.net<mailto:regenerative at earthlink.net>>
>
> To: Sports and Recreation for the Blind Discussion List
>
>      <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org<mailto:sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>>
>
> Subject: [Sportsandrec] The Proper Method,      by Bill McCready of 
> Santana
>
>      Tandems
>
> Message-ID: 
> <E1SM6bZ-0006dX-F0 at elasmtp-scoter.atl.sa.earthlink.net<mailto:E1SM6bZ-0006dX-F0 at elasmtp-scoter.atl.sa.earthlink.net>>
>
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>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Annamarie's note reminded me of the essay below.  Captains need not be 
> heavier or have strong upper bodies.  Some of my favorite captains 
> were/are thin gals.  The stoker gets more air behind a skinny captains, 
> and I find that women smell better. Three of my women captains weigh in 
> the 105-lb range.  (My wife was 105-lbs, and I was  in the low 140's:  we 
> were smoking fast!)  The key to holding a tandem is to use the thigh. 
> Read below!
>
>
>
> Below is a link to (and the text follows) the rules of tandeming.
>
> Bill McCready is one of the minds behind Santana Tandems.
>
> As a stoker, I've been dropped countless times by novice captains on dirt, 
> gravel, in streams, and on most types of pavement.  I've never been 
> seriously injured on a tandem, but broke at-least one cell phone when I 
> hit the pavement.  I no-longer carry a phone in my jersey, but hide it 
> under the seat or in a pannier.  I usually give this little guide to my 
> captains.  I think they usually read it after the first ride.
>
> Hahahaheeheehaw!
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> www.gtgtandems.com/tech/propmethod.html<http://www.gtgtandems.com/tech/propmethod.html>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The Proper Method
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> by Bill McCready
>
>
>
> Should my stoker continue to put a foot down at signals and/or help to 
> launch my tandem from a stop?
>
>
>
> Bill's Primary Rule of Tandeming settles this and most related questions. 
> It's very simple. Only five words to remember. After discovering The 
> Method nearly thirty years ago, I perfected the present wording of Bill's 
> Primary Rule of Tandeming a few years later. Use it to settle all tandem 
> disputes. Are you ready? The next line you read is Bill's Primary Rule of 
> Tandeming:
>
>
>
> The Stoker makes no mistakes.
>
>
>
> From this primary rule virtually all other points of tandem etiquette can 
> be derived.
>
>
>
> Actually Bill's Primary Rule of Tandeming sounds better when you put a 
> dramatic pause between the third and fourth words:
>
>
>
> The Stoker makes... ... no mistakes.
>
>
>
> I was never in the Navy, but I've been told if a steersman runs the ship 
> aground while the Captain is asleep in his bunk, it's the captain's fault. 
> My rule of tandeming is one step better. Instead of fixing the blame on a 
> tandem's captain, my rule simply absolves the stoker. When a problem does 
> occur, a tandem captain is invited to attempt to shift the blame to such 
> things as traffic, terrain, equipment, atmospheric conditions or even 
> planetary alignment. But pox on any captain who would ever be so 
> wrong-headed as to malign a stoker!
>
>
>
> (This from someone who has ridden as captain and stoker with thousands of 
> partners.)
>
>
>
> What does this have to do with starting and stopping? Plenty. Stokers 
> aren't responsible for balancing the bike (why should they be?).
>
> Asking a stoker to put a foot down when they can't control the brakes is 
> expecting too much. Having them help with the re-launch when they can't 
> steer is even w orse. Besides, once you eventually come to truly believe 
> "the stoker makes no mistakes" it becomes clear that stopping and starting 
> the tandem is not their problem.
>
>
>
> And while I hope this posting causes readers to smile... I am NOT joking. 
> If you want me as a stoker (and I'm a good one) don't expect me to uncleat 
> at signals and don't give me any brake levers. As a stoker I pedal, 
> contribute to worthwhile conversations and (when
>
> advised) provide hand signals . If you're not abusive and ask nicely, I'll 
> advise you of traffic or tell you what gear you're in. And if you overlook 
> the occasional misdirection, I'll even agree to help navigate. But please 
> don't presume that I can somehow choose a line through a corner, 
> assertively weave though traffic, se lect the proper gear or stop the bike 
> at a signal. Face facts--I can't steer or see the road in front of the 
> front tire. In short, it isn't my job to "drive the bike" and I therefore 
> refuse to take responsibility.
>
>
>
> Some people might think The Method demeans stokers. Bull. The best tandem 
> teams are not composed of riders who somehow crimp their individual styles 
> enough to coexist on a two-seated bike with only one set of controls. The 
> best tandem teams are TEAMS where each rider appreciates their individua l 
> role and responsibility.
>
>
>
> And this is especially true if you ride with a spouse. When the average 
> married man strikes his thumb with a hammer, he immediately blames his 
> wife. Wives, because of superior intelligence, soon learn to leave a room 
> when husbands open a toolbox.
>
>
>
> So two decades ago, when I bought a bike shop and started introducing 
> married couples to tandems, I soon realized that the method I had 
> developed long before marriage (I bought my Parsons racing tandem before 
> my sixteenth birthday) was truly The Method for married couples. If you 
> want your stoker to continue to ride tandem with you, don't EVER point the 
> finger of blame. And the best way to avoid blaming your stoker is to start 
> by understanding that it really isn't ever their fault: The Stoker makes 
> no mistakes.
>
>
>
> Because of dozens of lectures I've presented at tradeshows, rallies and 
> dealer meetings over the past fifteen years, The Method is now taught to 
> most beginning couples when they visit an American specialty shop (Malcolm 
> is from the UK). The very first sentence of my riding instructions to 
> beginni ng couples may help illustrate my central theme of this posting: 
> "The captain straddles the bike with legs spread wide and locks the 
> brakes." I then explain that a captain needs to remember to do this so a 
> stoker won't knock them over or roll the bike forward as they climb 
> aboard. I then tell the captain that if he forgets these instructions and, 
> as a result, is goosed by his saddle and falls onto his top tube, it's not 
> the stoker's fault.
>
>
>
> After I'm sure the captain understands that his backside and family jewels 
> are at risk, I continue with: "And the captain must keep their legs spread 
> until the stoker has both feet in the clips." At this point I turn to the 
> prospective captain and say, "Let's see if you're still with me on this. 
> Whose fault do you suppose it is if the pedals somehow spin around and 
> bloody your shins?"
>
>
>
> So I'm sorry if John Schubert bowdlerized my instructions when he wrote 
> "The Tandem Scoop." Do I believe John was restating my instructions? 
> Absolutely. I remember when John visited Bud's Bike Shop in 1981 and 
> learned The Method. My memory is especially vivid because I was Schubert's 
> first stoke r. A year later John purchased his first tandem (a classic 
> marathon-style Santana) which he still rides with his lovely wife, Anne. 
> John and I have argued tandems often through the years and I sincerely was 
> honored when he mailed me an inscribed copy of his excellent book. I 
> recommend it highly .
>
>
>
> Exceptions (?) to The Proper Method
>
>
>
> I've received nearly 50 responses to "The Proper Method." I'm glad most of 
> you enjoyed it. A very few respondents wanted to insist upon or ask about 
> exceptions to Bill's Primary Rule of Tandeming: "The Stoker makes no 
> mistakes." Here are some additional thoughts:
>
>
>
> John Dante correctly remembered a further portion of The Proper Method 
> from when I taught him to ride a tandem at a rally some years ago. This 
> has to do with using your hip to hold the bike in a more vertical 
> position. I omitted this from my earlier brief (by my
>
> standards) posting--since a lot o f you seem to be enjoying this thread, 
> here's a further portion of my instructions to new tandem riders.
>
>
>
> My test-ride sequence includes a short ride with the each customer. I 
> always ride with the prospective stoker first and 98% of the time this is 
> the wife/girlfriend. During a pleasant ten-minute ride I make it a point 
> to warn women "guys develop bad habits while riding single bikes."
>
>
>
> After we've finished her test ride, it's his turn to be my stoker. I ask 
> her to stand-by and watch while we get started. After repeating the basic 
> "here's how the captain gets on the bike" demonstration I gave ten minutes 
> earlier, I tell him he must get on the same way his wife did earlier--by p 
> utting a foot on one pedal and swinging the other foot directly onto the 
> opposite pedal--like getting on a horse.
>
>
>
> When the husband is totally clipped-in (if he's wearing cleated shoes, 
> I'll insist he lock-in), I ask him to raise the left pedal halfway for me. 
> As soon as the pedal is cocked I turn to his wife standing next to us on 
> the curb and say, "Remember how I warned you that guys develop bad habits 
> from riding a single bike?" As she nods I raise my left foot to the pedal 
> and slowly start to lean the bike to the right.
>
>
>
> "I don't know why," I state (as the bike leans further) "but for some 
> strange reason guys always want to..."
>
>
>
> At this point I'm usually interrupted by frantic movement from a panicked 
> stoker, who more often than not, has managed to free his right foot and 
> plant it on the ground. I calmly turn to him and say, "Stokers are 
> supposed to leave their feet in the pedals--go ahead and clip back in, I 
> won't drop you."
>
>
>
> After he hesitantly reholsters his foot, I turn back to the wife and 
> continue from the beginning... "Remember how I warned you that guys 
> develop bad habits from riding a single bike?" She smiles as I again start 
> to tilt the tandem towards my right foot. By now she understands my joke 
> and struggl ing to control her composure while her husband fights panic on 
> a bike that's leaning ever-further earthward. "I don't know why," I 
> continue "but for some strange reason guys always want to lean a bike 
> waaaayyyyyy over before they start to ride. And if you're the stoker, it 
> feels like the captain is going to drop you. But you shouldn't worry when 
> he does this to you--and he will do this to you--it only FEELS like he's 
> going to drop you. Of course I didn't do this to you when you were on the 
> tandem because there's a technique a captain can use to get started 
> without leaning the bike. An d once I'm sure I've gotten your husband's 
> attention--have I got your attention back there? --I'll demonstrate the 
> proper technique."
>
>
>
> Because the tandem is now leaned at a precarious angle, husbands are 
> invariably eager to learn my no-lean starting technique.
>
>
>
> What is this technique? Simply use your hip to anchor the top tube.
>
>
>
> Captains should NEVER EVER rely on arm and shoulder strength to hold up 
> their stoker: doing so causes you to need to lean the tandem, which in 
> turn causes the stoker to want to put their foot down. Fear or 
> mistrust--NOT a sense of teamwork--is the real inspirations for those 
> stokers who unclip at stops.
>
>
>
> (In the following lesson I'll continue to follow the customary practice of 
> left-footed starts--If you lead with your right foot, simply exchange my 
> rights and lefts).
>
>
>
> After a stoker signals their readiness by proffering the captain's left 
> pedal (my techniques for tandeming don't require verbal commands, 
> questions or answers), the captain changes from the "spread-em" position 
> (to keep his shins from being bloodied) to the one-foot-in-pedal position. 
> The correct way to do this is for the captain to bring his right foot 
> closer to the centerline of the bike, then, after shifting all his weight 
> to his right foot, he lifts his left foot up onto the pedal while 
> simultaneously dropping his left hip onto the top tube. The captain now 
> shifts 90% of his weight t o the left hip. The bike is leaned only very 
> slightly (maybe 5
>
> degrees?) and the right foot remains flat on the ground. If you're going 
> to remain in this position for more than a couple of seconds, slide your 
> hip back along the top tube until the nose of your saddle is wedged to the 
> outboard edg e of your left jersey pocket. If you've done this correctly 
> (and it may take a little bit of practice), you should now be able to take 
> your hands completely off the bars. The tandem can't fall to your left 
> because the top tube can't pass through your leg, and the wedged saddle 
> keeps the bike fro m falling to your right. The trick is to use the weight 
> of your body (through your hip), and not your strength (through your arms) 
> to secure the bike. Because the bike is anchored mid-frame instead of 
> being held by pivoting bars at the forward end, the stoker can now do 
> handstands on the rear sa ddle without knocking you over. While relative 
> weight is a consideration, as long as your stoker doesn't exceed twice 
> your weight, holding them up should not be a problem.
>
>
>
> In fact, when I captained my Santana Quint with fellow members of the 
> Claremont City Council (three of the four didn't even own a bike), 
> combined stoker weight topped 750 pounds. We started with nine feet in the 
> pedals and only my right foot on the ground. Because we rode in parades, 
> there were lots of starts and stops. My four stokers not only left their 
> eight feet in the toe straps, they were free to turn and wave to the 
> crowds with both hands. If we had fallen in front of hundreds of 
> constituents, whose fault would it have been?
>
>
>
> Answer: The Stoker(s) make no mistakes.
>
>
>
> Teams who "prefer" putting two feet on the ground at stops invariably do 
> so because the captain has never mastered The Proper Technique. A captain 
> who anticipates the stoker's assistance will retain bad habits learned 
> from riding a single-bike. When a captain leans the tandem at every stop, 
> the stoker reflexively puts a foot on the ground. Does a stoker do this 
> through a sense of teamwork? Nope, it's self-preservation.
>
>
>
> A couple of respondents believe The Proper Technique was developed to 
> overcome stoker ineptitude. Others may think it's a plot to feed a 
> captain's insatiable hunger for control. Nothing could be further from the 
> truth. The Proper Technique was developed by all-male go-fast tandem teams 
> as a com petitive strategy to beat racers on single bikes. When I first 
> started riding tandems, the guys I rode with all wore slippery-soled 
> racing shoes with nailed-on cleats. With toe clips and old-fashioned 
> cleated shoes it was necessary to reach down and loosen two toe straps 
> before removing our feet . After starting we not only had to coast to get 
> our feet in the clips, we had to then reach down and tighten both straps 
> before sprinting. Here near LA, where long portions of our training routes 
> had a traffic signal on every corner, a tandem with two cleated riders 
> simply couldn't keep up with singles in stop-and-sprint traffic. 
> Initially, leaving the stoker strapped-in was a daring riding technique 
> reserved for coordinated teams. Once we mastered The Proper Technique, we 
> realized it's easier and safer than the obvious method used previously.
>
>
>
> Safer? Absolutely. Because stokers can't see the ground or accurately 
> gauge the exact instant the tandem will come to a complete stop, stokers 
> will (sooner or later) misjudge a landing and make a misstep.
>
> And if the captain was depending on the coordinated effort of the stoker, 
> the team will tumble to the pavement. While most teams will someday fall 
> over at a stoplight no matter which method they use, this incident is far 
> less common with teams who don't rely on coordinated efforts.
>
>
>
> But the best reason to use The Proper Method is not to win stoplight 
> sprints or to avoid superficial scrapes and bruises. The best reason for 
> the stoker to stay clipped-in is so both riders understand exactly whose 
> responsibility it is to control the bike. Without this demarcation, in a 
> moment of pain and embarrassment the average captain (like the average 
> husband who hits his thumb with a hammer) might lash out at his stoker. 
> There are hundreds of husbands with wives who no longer ride their 
> tandem--avoidable mishaps and misplaced blame are problems all tandem 
> riding couples should work to avoid.
>
>
>
> This is why an inseperable relationship exists between The Proper 
> Technique and "The Stoker makes no mistakes." It's impossible to absolve 
> the stoker of all blame when the stoker's efforts are required at every 
> stop.
>
>
>
> Are there any exceptions to Bill's Primary Rule of Tandeming?
>
>
>
> Nope. Not one.
>
>
>
> If you think you've discovered an exception to "The Stoker makes no 
> mistakes," I'm certain a closer examination will reveal a captain who 
> should've known better.
>
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