A riding lawn mower is provided and includes a frame (30), a cutting deck (20), an arm (75) and a stay (10). The cutting deck (20) includes an underside that can be directed downwardly toward the ground (99) for mowing. The cutting deck (20) also includes a pivot point (1) and a cutting deck attachment mechanism (4) separated from each other. The arm (75) is connected to a lifting mechanism and connects the cutting deck (20) with the frame (30) so that the arm (75) is configured to lift the cutting deck (20) from a lower position to an upper position. The stay (10) comprises a first end (80) and a second end (82), where the first end (81) of the stay (10) is configured to connect to the cutting deck attachment mechanism (4), and the second end (82) is configured to connect to a frame attachment mechanism (3) of the frame (30) so that, while the cutting deck (20) is lifted at the pivot point (1), the stay (10) maintains at least a predetermined distance between the cutting deck attachment mechanism (4) of the cutting deck (20) and the frame (30), thereby tilting the cutting deck (20) as the deck is lifted.
