# Whyare we mounting riding animals and bikes from the left side? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211 "2009-07-16T12:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Simple\_Mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Simple\_Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Mind)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/1 "2009-07-16T12:32:44Z")
Hi, i was wondering how come that we are mounting riding animals and bikes only from the left side? Is this worldwide the same or just a western thing?:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/2 "2009-07-16T13:47:44Z")
Who says we do? I certainly don’t. I always mout my bike from the right side, without exception. The reason why people mount horses from the left side is merely tradition. Your riding instructor does it, so you do it, too. I’ve heard people say that horses that are used to being mounted from the left will spook when someone tries it from the right. Allegedly, the reason why this tradition started is that men used to wear their sword on the left side. So, if they would try to mount from the right, their sword would get in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/3 "2009-07-16T13:53:55Z")
I suspect the real reason is that right-handed people are slightly more comfortable standing on their left leg and moving their right leg around than vice versa. (Think about kicking, or imagine climbing up something and which leg you’d naturally lift first). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/4 "2009-07-16T13:56:46Z")
I never thought about it but I always mount my bike from the right side, and I’m pretty darn Western. I think it’s because of all of the chain and stuff on the left side, and I have more room on the right? But I have never really examined it. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/5 "2009-07-16T14:02:33Z")
I think for many people it’s a question of handedness. People who are handed (right or left, vs. being ambidextrous) usually have more strength and agility in their entire body on that side, and tend to favor it. It’s easier to just stand on your clumsier leg and use the more agile one to swing up, over, and around the horse, bike, mechanical bull, etc. And since most people are right handed, it would make sense that standing on the left leg and maneuvering with the right would be the more common way to do it. D’oh. What Quercus said. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/6 "2009-07-16T14:09:40Z")
Anaamika, your chains are really on the left? Huh. ---
**Author:** ![\_Undecided\_Adrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/eada6e/32.png) [@\_Undecided\_Adrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Undecided_Adrian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/7 "2009-07-16T14:19:25Z")
I agree with Quercus, but tradition certainly plays a big part in perpetuating it. In some German gliding clubs, you need to buy a case of beer if you get in your plane from the right side. If a glider has a canopy that opens to the side, it always opens to the right, except the one that was converted for filming _The Thomas Crown Affair_, apparently because of the frame composition in one scene. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/8 "2009-07-16T14:31:10Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I suspect the real reason is that right-handed people are slightly more comfortable standing on their left leg and moving their right leg around than vice versa. Also, I think right-handed people are more comfortable standing on the left side and holding their vehicle/animal with their right hand. > [@Heart of Dorkness](#): > > Anaamika, your chains are really on the left? Huh. Maybe **Anaamika** is talking about a motorcycle? Bicycle chains are always on the right side, and I wonder if this is the reason (i.e. it won’t get in the way of someone standing on the left side). ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/9 "2009-07-16T14:51:51Z")
Regarding motorcycles, there’s a very specific non-traditional reason. The bike doesn’t sit straight up, it leans on the kickstand. At least on my bike, the kickstand is on the left side. It’s therefore much, much easier to mount from the left, as you can mount the bike and straighten it in the same motion, rather than mounting from the right then pulling the bike up from the left. I kinda think if I tried that I’d wind up dropping the bike from the sheer clumsiness. As for why the kickstand is on the left side, that itself is probably up to the same tradition regarding horses and bicycles. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/10 "2009-07-16T15:02:55Z")
I always mount and dismount my bicycle from the left. To get on my bike, I kick the left pedal forward and parallel to the ground. Then, I hold the brakes and put my left foot on that pedal. To mount the bike, I put my weight on that pedal, and release the brakes. The bike starts moving forward, and I swing my right leg over the rear wheel and onto the other pedal and down the road I go. It’s complicated to explain, but it all happens within a second or two. To dismount, I put my left pedal straight down. I put all my weight on that left pedal and swing my right leg over the rear wheel, and stand on the pedal to one side of my bike as I coast to a stop. When the bike stops, I just step off. I always start and stop with my left pedal. I’ve tried mounting and dismounting from the right - I look like a monkey attempting to fornicate with a football. I can do it, but it just feels wrong - so I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/11 "2009-07-16T15:07:23Z")
Mounting horses from the left indeed is tradition. No special reason to do it from the left except it’s always been done that way. I got my horse used to me mounting and dismounting from the right also and it’s come in handy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/12 "2009-07-16T15:33:24Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Regarding motorcycles, there’s a very specific non-traditional reason. The bike doesn’t sit straight up, it leans on the kickstand. At least on my bike, the kickstand is on the left side. It’s therefore much, much easier to mount from the left, as you can mount the bike and straighten it in the same motion, rather than mounting from the right then pulling the bike up from the left. I kinda think if I tried that I’d wind up dropping the bike from the sheer clumsiness. I thought most motorcycles had wishbone kickstands so they stood up straight. FWIW, when I owned a bicycle I always got on from whichever side I was on. If I had to wheel it out, that would have been from the left just because it was easier to move/lift it on my right. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/13 "2009-07-16T15:34:25Z")
Ok, take your saber, which hangs from your left side, now mount a horse trying it both sides. You’ll quickly find out that if you try to mount by putting the leg which you wear the saber up first, over the horse, it’s awkward and often disastrous. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/14 "2009-07-16T15:48:30Z")
I guess bicycle cavalry _is_ catching on after all. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/15 "2009-07-16T16:04:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I thought most motorcycles had wishbone kickstands so they stood up straight. That would be the Center Stand. The Kickstand is different. Some bikes have both. Big bikes, like Harleys, I believe only have the kickstand. I guess it’s because they are too heavy to use a center stand. At least I’ve never seen one on a Center Stand. I’m sure someone will be along to post a photo of a Harley with a FACTORY Center Stand really soon. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/16 "2009-07-16T16:36:31Z")
I’ve heard that in on the North American plains the natives who adopted horses normally mounted from the _right_ side. I can not, however, find confirmation or denial of that. Circus and stunt horses are often trained to be mounted from either side, which is a pretty minor thing compared to some of what they’re expected to put up with. A horse that’s only mounted from the left might, indeed, spook if mounted from the right, but that’s because horses are creatures of habit. There’s no reason any horse couldn’t be trained to be mounted from either side. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/17 "2009-07-16T19:28:05Z")
But from which side does one mount a **Broomstick**? Er, actually that doesn’t sound quite how I intended… ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/18 "2009-07-16T20:06:58Z")
If you mount a bike from the left side, you are starting the first pedal stroke with your right foot. If you’re right-handed, you want to start with your right foot. So there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/19 "2009-07-16T20:10:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > But from which side does one mount a **Broomstick**? ::guessing:: From behind? > [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > I guess bicycle cavalry is catching on after all. There is a bicycle polo thing that happens here once in awhile. I’ve heard it’s insane. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211/20 "2009-07-16T20:14:04Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > But from which side does one mount a **Broomstick**? That’s strictly between me and my spouse 😛 > [@Rigamarole](#): > > If you mount a bike from the left side, you are starting the first pedal stroke with your right foot. If you’re right-handed, you want to start with your right foot. So there you go. Not all right handed people are also right footed. It is possible to be left footed. Personally, I’ve never worried about it much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyare-we-mounting-riding-animals-and-bikes-from-the-left-side/503211.md?page=2)