http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=proper+method is one of many threads here about how to start and stop.

I'd say "try it both ways" and likely even start out with the traditional, both riders have a foot down, approach. It's more "normal" and will take the "can I hold the bike up/will he drop me" factor out of the discussion. Once you've got the bike in motion, just be sure that when you come up to the first stop, there is agreement on what you're going to do then!

Bill McCready's documentation on the "invention" of "the proper method" says that it was pioneered (in his part of California) by fast-riding teams who didn't want to lose time at stoplights to the routine of getting shoes onto pedals, and toestraps tightened, for both riders. I think that "modern" cleat/pedal technology speeds that up a lot, and besides, you can still leave one foot clipped in. [I'm sure that the 'proper method' was probably developed somewhere in Europe shortly after the invention of the toe strap, but ...]

Personally, I prefer putting my left foot down, if only because we tend to ride along the right side of the road, and the crown in most roads / streets means that the pavement is a bit higher on that side / less of a feeling of leaning over toward the low side, if that makes sense.