Advice on Stopping Smoothly - How to Inspire Stoker Confidence
My wife and I are very new to tandeming, with probably about 50 miles under our belts. We've gotten to where we can start off with her (stoker) in the pedals, i.e. I can balance the bike well enough so she's comfortable. (this is as follows: me support the bike with left thigh against top tube and left hip against saddle, straddling the top tube low, she gets on and feet on pedals, she brings right pedal up to 10:00 position, I clip in right foot, 3...2...1... we both kick off with me lifting myself up to the saddle and clipping in when we are at a comfortable speed)
Stopping is another story. Everything I've seen suggests that stopping is just the opposite of starting. What I'm struggling with is going from stopping the bike to getting to a position where I can support her and the bike without leaning. So, for now we stop by both putting our left feet down.
Any advice on how to learn to stop the bike smoothly and get to a good position to support the bike smoothly without leaning? The only thing I can think of is for me to go out solo and drill stopping smoothly with no leaning.