We retired a couple of years ago and are relatively new to tandems--about 800 miles on our Mocha. Some say it takes about 500 miles before you really start working as a team. From our experience, that is about right. Cadence was an issue at first, and I had to listen to my stoker who tends to mash rather than spin. Now, after several hundred miles, it doesn't seem to be an issue. I don't know if she got use to spinning, or I've learned to slow a little. Starting was the trickiest to learn and we are still working on that when it comes to hills. I was worried about how my stoker would take to being behind me and not making decisions at first, but now she much prefers the tandem over our singles.

Just remember to be patient, communicate always, and heed the "Golden Rules of Tandems:"

Rule #1 The stoker is always right!
Rule #2 See rule #1