Hula and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

 Climbing Aboard

 
The MSF-approved method for climbing on a bike is to stand by the left side, straighten the bar, hold in the brake, and swing your right leg over. Settle into the saddle and get ready to ride.

BUT some of us have physical limitations that make the approved technique a little difficult.

I'm 5'3" with somewhat short legs (why couldn't I have inherited my mother's long Caucasian bones and my father's ability to tan, instead of the other way around - my father's short heavy Polynesian bones and my mother's ruddy skin?) I have arthritis and old breaks in my bones which on cold days or before a storm make it impossible to simply toss my right leg over. 

Instead, If I am mounting from the left, I FIRMLY grab the brake and stand on the left peg, then toss my leg over (just like on a horse). 

If even that does not work, then I mount from the right. As the bike leans left and the bar is turned away from me, the angles are much easier. Stand facing the bike, grab the brake firmly, toss the left leg over, (this puts my right knee against the seat), and slide into position.