Three Men On A Bike Book

Apparently one man loses a testicle.  Three men, three seats, three handlebars, three sets of pedals and 5 testicles.

The Goodies

The bike came from a British television show called "The Goodies" and there were numerous variations of the bike which they called a trandem. The show involves a lot of falling off the trandem which the British audience found hilarious.  A good video with lots of falling off a bike that you might find amusing is this one set in New York City.


If you've ever ridden a tandem, then you know that the second rider (called the stoker) has a limited view of the road, so I can only imagine the narrow view that the third person gets.  The third person - called Bram (stoker)?  Coker?  Rear Admiral?


I recently came across this quote: "As a stoker I pedal, contribute to worthwhile conversations and (when advised) provide hand signals . If you're not abusive and ask nicely, I'll advise you of traffic or tell you what gear you're in. And if you overlook the occasional misdirection, I'll even agree to help navigate. But please don't presume that I can somehow choose a line through a corner, assertively weave though traffic, se lect the proper gear or stop the bike at a signal. Face facts--I can't steer or see the road in front of the front tire. In short, it isn't my job to "drive the bike" and I therefore refuse to take responsibility."

Goofy stuff

As the second person on the back (whose title is unknown), you can only imagine that person's quote: "As an untitled person, I contribute by adding weight to the rear wheel which provides traction, I can if asked nicely, scratch the stoker's back, I can screw my body around and try to reach something in one of the rear panniers, but don't even consider expecting me to do much of anything except add weight."

Most people have seen the BIG BIKE with 20 or 30 yelling and shouting cyclists ringing bells and blowing horns and attempting to raise awareness for whatever cause they are promoting.  I've never ridden one myself and I can only imagine the captain having to deal with a gaggle of stokers claiming "It's not my responsibility to....".

"Hey Captain!  Is that a cellphone you're using?  Don't you know we have a distracted driving law?"