Originally Posted by
Rhodabike
Can you mount and dismount on the left side of the bike? My husband's cycling club had a 'cross season kick-off barbeque one year and that was the first thing the club coach had everyone working on in the demo session. I suppose it's to prevent people ripping their calf muscles to shreds on the chainrings.
Cyclocross is very popular here. I see people riding mountain bikes, but most seem to have 'cross bikes.
yes dismount on the left, step into the stride meaning right foot foward in
front of the cranks, when/as you step down with the right foot
like you would naturally walk/run, unclip the left foot. Make SURE you don't forget to click the left heel out!! If you dismount with the right foot behind your crank, now you're playing catch up to the bike and harder to control the bars ie: modulating braking. And if you do it at speed, you might end up doing the splits and the left foot doesn't naturally click out of the pedal like that. Once you have both feet running, grab the bike on the top tube roughly 6-8" from the seat post. This allows better clearance to lift the bike vertically with your forearm in the way. By grabbing to close to the seat post, when your saddle hits the arm you will want to fan the bike up to clear the obstacle. Not a good thing if you have someone running next to you.
Remount isn't landing on your junk, land on the upper inner thigh then slide onto the saddle. You'll know when you do it right, it won't hurt. Remember to be running in this motion, that is key.