Hello again: Last week Jamie had a good handle on the "soft pedal" term. It can be used as Jamie suggested to control speed in close quarters and big fields. It's very easy to do with a fixed gear, which is how riders control gaps and tightness in the field, but a little more difficult with freewheel. For strategic riding the exercise needs to be taken a little more deviously. Letting a step fall out is the way to relax and rest while in a pace line or in a field, more commonly referred to as soft pedaling. If done correctly the rider backs off just enough on pedaling to take one rpm less for so many strokes so the other riders don't notice that he's lost a stroke. Tricky. because when you're in a line you don't want the others to know your resting. It's a matter of always tryng to get an advantage without giving yourself away. So you "soft pedal" Stepping into and through really go together. Riders who haven't been trained or taught how to push properly and lift their legs to reciprocate the down motion don't understand the action of stepping into. How many times have you been out riding and as your just rolling along some rider will fly past you on a longer downhill or tailwind section. Then when the next grade comes or if you turn a corner into the wind, you reel him in. That's because they can get a big gear rolling but when it comes to stepping into the ratio, the knowledge and power to apply the principles of biomechanics is lacking. So you step into the gear to keep it moving to pick up pace or counter adverse road condition and then if the effort is needed because the situation is longer or farther, then you have to "step through" to keep the rpm going which needs more horsepower. You can step into it without stepping through for a short effort, but you can't step through without stepping into it first. Every once in a while I'll roll back to somebody, then pull along side after they've passed me and when I'm next to them ask them why they are shifting down and going so slow when they just went by me like I was standing still. I casually ask them as I start to go by why they don't step into it and keep the pace going without shifting way down and losing momentum. The look of consternation on their faces when they're a getting a little comeuppance is very soothing to my psyche. I try to be gentle on them, but can't help tweaking them occasionally when I notice their body language and attitude suggest they're hot stuff. Can't do it like I used to, gotta mellow out now, not riding hard enough. Shucks! I'm running out of terms, kept a list. As I get some more together I'll jot them down and resume somewhere down the line. Thanks to all of you who worked along with me, and hopefully all the list members will have had a little fun living the old terms along with me. All this is as I heard and experienced it over the last 65 years, and it's been fun sharing with you all. Ted Ernst Palos Verdes Estates, CA