I can relate a story about a "stokerless" tandem.
My wife and I were on our tandem, towing a Burley trailer with our two children in it. The Burley blew a tire and the hole was so big that I couldn't patch it, and I didn't have a spare 16" tube. We unhitched the trailer and my wife and kids waited at a nearby farmers market while I rode the tandem by myself to a bike shop that I knew was about 2 or 3 miles up the road. I kept getting looks and laughs from people along the way. I passed a number of other riders (either alone, or in groups) and again and again I'd hear one of them call out "Looks like you forgot somebody!" as I went by -- I'm sure each one of them thought they were hilariously original. But one thing that didn't seem to dawn on them as I went past (including a couple of hill climbs) was that I WAS PASSING THEM! Didn't feel too bad about that.
Kyle Brooks Akron, OH
________________________________ From: John Hurley <JHurley@jdabrams.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Fri, January 21, 2011 10:57:35 AM Subject: [CR] Tandems
I missed the Tandems thread earlier, but wanted to mention that one of the funnier sights to behold is a guy riding a tandem with the rear seat empty, particularly if he's talking all the while in a loud and animated fashion while pedaling down the street.
John Hurley
Austin, Texas, USA