WHAT do May Morning and Daisies have in common? The answer is tandems. Well, Daisies are obvious – if you know the song of old – and you’ll understand the May Morning link, if, like me, you walked there from East Oxford and spotted four of them en route.

Tandems, as every schoolchild knows, are bikes with two seats and two handlebars for two riders. What people don’t know, unless they’ve been on one, is how difficult it is to get the two people riding to agree on things.

And if two people can get along on a tandem, the chances are they probably can get along with everything else.

The last time I was on a tandem was in Stoke-on-Trent, where hills are as common as tea cups (it is the Potteries, after all).

My friend’s boyfriend offered to take me for a cycle on his newly acquired second-hand tandem, and so, with all our kit on, we got ready to roll.

As it was his new toy, my cycle partner was unwilling to relinquish the front, so I got on behind and admired the racer-style handlebars before realising I didn’t have any brakes. This was not something I was sure I really wanted to give up.

As we tried to set off, I discovered that he and I were different in our cycling approach.

I’d never thought anyone would push off from the right foot (it doesn’t seem logical when we cycle/drive on the left). Our poor tandem started to wobble right from the off as we pulled in two different directions, with me leaning to the left and him to the right.

I should have taken this as an omen that we had different and incompatible cycling styles, but I foolishly continued. Our route took us downhill – and the rushing air made me aware that my partner had not had a wash for a while.

We then took a left turn, which my partner seemed to think would be good to lean in to and speed round as if we were undercutting someone on the Tour de France, before having a go at our first hill.

My method of cycling up a hill tends to be like taking medicine: get it over and done with as quickly as possible. I usually get in a comfortable gear then give it a bit of ‘welly’ on the steepest bit. I’m not sure if that’s the best thing for your knees, but if I get stuck on a hill too long I’m tempted just get off and walk.

But here again, my partner infuriated me by leisurely cycling up the hill in stately style. I had to cycle with him as we shared the same chain, so I was stuck at a donkey pace when I wanted to canter.

After a few free-wheeling sections where we passed so close to parked cars that I thought we’d take the paint off, the final straw for me was when we cycled straight down a hill towards some closed gates, behind which was a canal.

I frantically pressed my imaginary brakes, forgetting I had none, and he didn’t slow at all. Then there was the belated screeching of brakes and the sight of us sliding in a slow-motion crash, straight into the gates. It was one way to stop, I suppose.

I foolishly agreed to pedal with him back to my house, but I’ve never been on one since.

If you think you can hack it, then hiring a tandem is easy in Oxford (although remember that cycling one may be harder). And don’t forget to choose the front end!