descending--pedal vs. coast ?

[Miranda]

Maybe this is part "style or art" of hill riding, vs universal...

But, when descending... do you pedal normally? Or coast?

Personally, when I first started riding, and not many hills, I would coast. By the time I got to the top, I was happy for a down hill coast break.

Then a few things changed...

One... I figured out by clicking all my gears and pedaling, my stats of average speeds overall were better with pedaling.

Two... rolling hills became a blast to ride, vs work, because pedaling down-hill made the next immediate up effortless.

Three... riding w/big guys 175#s pushing a 53/39T, vs. 120# ME on a 50/34T compact... I needed to pedal with everything I had + run outta gears to not get miserably lost behind them descending.

Soo... I'm on auto-pilot to "pedal all out" downhill.

Well, in this other thread I have going, that is part of how I passed these peeps that later decided to follow my wheel. And the ride peeps my last club ride were hill "coasters". And a bit slower going up than me. Now... I'm still way humble here. But... after the big guys experience, I'm finding it hard to go back to coasting. UNLESS... I am outta gears & maxed out my cadence... then I coast outta necessity (i.e. big grade).

Is pedaling down-hill rude if your ride partner's are not? I don't want to seem like I'm ditching them. If I'm further ahead after the hills... I slow, grab a drink, and wait until they join up. I felt like I was getting a vibe that I should ease off... it's just hard to un-program to go back.