I have plain pedals and wear ordinary athletic shoes when I ride.

My seat is adjusted rather high (or so it seems to me) in order to have enough room for my long legs to almost fully extend when I'm pedaling. This makes starting and stopping awkward, and I guess I've been using cheats too much because the two times I've had to stop unexpectedly, I've fallen both times. Right now I have some very nasty bruises! So I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong.....

First of all -- the cheats -- ordinarily when I'm riding, if I need to stop I'll slow down close to a curb so I can put my right foot on the curb and then get off. OR I roll onto thick grass on a slight incline which makes it easier to stop. Enough of that nonsense -- I need to learn the right way.

I assume that anybody who has their seat adjusted correctly is going to have the seat too high to be able to put their feet down on the ground while they're seated, right? So, how do you get on and off the seat?

My thighs will appreciate the answer, I assure you! And my elbows, hands, etc.