Mrs. Grouch and I have ridden tandems together for decades.
My take is that riding a tandem is more about the company than it is about the ride. The reason for riding a tandem is that you have a companion that you want to ride with who is unequally matched physically with you. That makes it hard to ride singles together. There is no way we'd still be cycling together today were it not for the experiences we shared riding our first crummy old tandem.
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My greatest fear is all of my kids standing around my coffin and talking about "how sensible" dad was.