A really lame question (pun fully intended)

Okay....so I can sit in the zazen position for three day Zen retreats without a single pain. I'm flexible but arthritic particularly in the hips and spine. Thus the problem.

Getting off the bike is uneventful half the time and a real challenge other times. Even if I tip the bike towards me, swinging my right leg off the bike and over the seat has resulted in some Candid Camera moments. The most flabbergasting time was when the leg just wouldn't go over the seat by swinging the leg out so I attempted (attempted being the operative word) to pull my leg over the top bar and managed to catch the heel of my shoe on the top frame bar and then couldn't move it forward or backward. Fortunately I was rescued AND EMBARRASSED!!!!

Currently the seat is really too low and I don't get good leg extension but the seat is as high as I can take in order to get off the bike.

It's a lame question, but I can't figure out any easier way to get off and I'm only hoping that with continued use, I'll be able to dismount easily. It's not that I have pain while trying to do it, it just doesn't go up far enough. It's the same with the left leg as well and is even more problematic and silly-looking.

Any ideas?

Not knowing much about you or your bike, I'd vote for a different bike. Maybe a Townie, or other step through frame. Or a mixte - there are a few threads around here on that topic. I think avoiding the swing the leg thing as much as possible is your best bet!

+1 for the mixtie suggestion. Word is that mixtes are where we're all headed as arthritis catches up with us. Luckily, there are some really good ones out there, efficient and stylish! For many, they're a first choice regardless of leg lift flexibility.

+2 for the mixte. Go down to the Bikes subforum and look for the thread entitled, "Show us your mixte."

My folding bike does not require me to swing my leg over.

I have found that Pilates really helps with my flexibility. I used to have some serious hip pain, and Pilates (and chiro and losing weight and changing my life completely) helped eliminate the pain.

I have the same problem and tried the mixte solution but found I missed leaning my knee on the TT.

It's the lean and lift maneuver for me :o

I have always been really flexible, but since i started riding, stuff started tightening up. And I started having the same problem with getting on and off the bike.

this is what i do to keep it under control:

lay on my back and grab my leg behind my knee and squeeze it to my chest and up (with knee bent) keep that position for 1 minute. then take your leg and pull it to the opposite side, again squeezing it to my chest.

then do the other leg. (sorry, i can't find a picture of this, the trainer at my gym suggested it
and i get nearly instant results!)

You can see how you're doing by attempting this stretch:

http://z.about.com/d/exercise/1/0/1/_/spinetwist.jpg
if your shoulders pop up or your knee won't go down with this one, you need to keep doing the first stretch. good luck!

What if you bend your torso forward at the hip (so you're kind of in airplane position)? Rather than trying to hyperextend the hip of the raised leg, if you tilt your pelvis and your whole torso, then you're really not bending any joint farther than you would when you ride. Not really sure without trying it, but I'm pretty sure that's how I get on and off. I don't know about "where we're all headed" - plenty of older people ride full sized motorcycles.

I have the same issue. I have arthritis in my lower back and when I am done riding, it is very difficult for me to get my leg over the seat to dismount. As Zen said...I do the lean and lift, as well. I have not fallen yet, but it is not really graceful and I am hoping with more time on my bike it will get better or at least a little more graceful! Just wanted you to know that you are not alone! :cool:

About six years ago I had a total hip replacement and cannot lift my leg over my bike. So, I lay the bike down on the ground and step into it. Not cool but it works.

While standing over the bike, I put my left foot as far as it will go out, I lean way forward and left, and let the bike angle almost down to the ground. Then my leg goes right over.

+1 on what indigoiis said.