As with Budhaslug's wife Mary had never ridden a single bike in her life. I think this is actually an advantage because there is not the usual instinct to try and balance the bike by wiggling the handlebars. Mary has excellent balance and has been a ballroom dancer and a rock climber so after the initial apprehension we were fine. Keep in mind that in the initial stages the stoker handlebars are primarily just some place for the stoker to rest his/her hands and there should be no problems thereafter.
Mike