[CR] Mounting and dismounting

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Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:54:59 -0500
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net>
Subject: [CR] Mounting and dismounting


John Crump wrote:
> NOW a poll. When dismounting or mountain your bike DO YOU?? Throw
> your leg (STILL attached to your body that is!) over the bars OR
> the saddle Or? I remember as a kid it was allways real gen to go
> over the bars, Track chaps seemed to do this, catching the bike,
> (SOMETIMES) with one hand and looking around for applause, Like,
> see what I did!? Cheers John Crump OldOKbacktosleepBrit. Parker, Co
> USA?

This is how I usually do it: I swing my right leg over the the saddle and onto the right pedal, flipping it so as to get my foot into thr toe clip. I too remember the way guys at the track would swing their leg over the bars and thought it was cool, but found it harder to do because of the cables and my short legs.

Of course, the classic way to mount a bike was to place your left foot on the left pedal, "scoot" with your right foot to get rolling, then gracefully swing your right leg over the saddle and ride off. Dismounting was the reverse, where you ended up walking beside the bike. This was usually done by men riding roadsters, not so much lightweights.

I learned to mount a bike from the left because I started riding in England in the early 1950s. I also always place my left on the ground when stopped, be it a bicycle or motorcycle, and push on the right pedal to start. I never actually paid much attention to how others mounted their bikes in North America. Do we all mount from the left side, just like a horse, or does it vary, depending on which side of the road we ride on?

John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada