Standard tandem dismount. Otherwise, if captain needs to get off for bio break or fix something, stoker has to get off first and stand well away from bike so as not to get kicked in face. Then stoker has to move in to hold bike up while captain does whatever, instead of just staying straddled. Then reverse to get underway again. Teams that don’t do it this way are putting more burden on stoker for captain ‘s convenience/non-agility.

I’m 67, 5’6”, and not particularly athletic, just lean.

Put left foot down first, swing right leg over h’bars, (in countries who drive on right.). Road crown makes shorter reach for left toe, and bike will fall away from you instead of on top of you if you mess up. Beginners put right food down to reach suburban curbs but this is usually too close to right edge of road for effective cycling (Forrester) and leaves you hanging if there is no curb. Folks who put right foot down have to move pelvis forward and down off saddle to stop with right foot on curbless road edge, then hoist themselves artlessly back onto saddle to get going again.