Quote Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl View Post
Knot gave some excellent advice (except maybe for the part about racing down a hill like a madwoman lol!).
One other tip- we all know that when we stop, we need to get out of the saddle in order to put our foot down on the ground. (if our saddle is adjusted to the correct height).

My tip here is to get out of the saddle BEFORE you come to a complete stop, move forward up out of the saddle so at the moment you actually do stop, you are already forward off the saddle and putting your foot on the ground. Don't be still sitting in your saddle when you come to a stop. Don't start thinking about getting out of your saddle when you are already stopped- you'll more likely topple over to one side!
Been here, done this I have also made the mistake of paying so much attention at getting out of the saddle/feet on the ground that I didn't apply the brakes quite firmly enough That has made for some, shall we say, ungraceful dismounts... I am just mentioning it as something to be aware of - I would have never thought this possible, but I was paying so much attention to my feet that I kind of forgot about what my hands were doing - and it took some time to figure out what I was doing wrong.