Mount/Dismount techniques

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The mounts are more of a challenge - start at a walking pace before speeding it up.

SheFly

(I'm dismounting to the left, I referred to my legs in reverse, above, I see...)

What sort of mount do you use? A fellow shortie friend of mine somehow manages to clip her left foot in while moving, then hops herself up onto the saddle, I think. I can barely get my foot clipped-in from a standstill and when I'm road riding I clip my right foot in first and unclip my left at stops. I think this is going to mess with my head for trying the sort of mount that she does.

Another question is re: pedal systems. I have Shimano 2-bolt SPD (I think m520). I really struggle finding my pedals and frequently end up pedaling for a while without being clipped-in...is it me, or the pedals, or both?

[SheFly]

(I'm dismounting to the left, I referred to my legs in reverse, above, I see...)

What sort of mount do you use? A fellow shortie friend of mine somehow manages to clip her left foot in while moving, then hops herself up onto the saddle, I think. I can barely get my foot clipped-in from a standstill and when I'm road riding I clip my right foot in first and unclip my left at stops. I think this is going to mess with my head for trying the sort of mount that she does.

Another question is re: pedal systems. I have Shimano 2-bolt SPD (I think m520). I really struggle finding my pedals and frequently end up pedaling for a while without being clipped-in...is it me, or the pedals, or both?

I noticed the reversal

I do NOT try to clip in before mounting. Like you, I use SPD pedals. The way I explain it to people from a walking perspective is: Step (left), Step (right) Step (left and kind of push off) and Over (with right). You want the inside of your right thigh to brush the saddle. What I learned this year, is that when you are doing this, you want the bike to be IN FRONT of you, otherwise, you are trying to catch up to it.

I don't worry about being clipped in right away, but find my pedals eventually (pretty quickly) once I am pedalling.

This like doesn't make a lot of sense in writing - it's much easier to demonstrate.

SheFly

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It's too bad I don't live near you...all of the CX training sessions in this area are still an hour away. We pretty much live an hour away from everything.