Thanks Owlie for explaining. I'm a visual person so a stick figure diagram would come in useful. But I get it now.

Smitty - I will, sometimes, unclip when I'm a bit far from a stop if its very congested and pedal a few strokes with my foot on the platform. But I can't really do this for more than one or two rotations. My clips are not that tight and I generally can get unclipped on the first try - though sometimes I need a second try.

Julie - I have also gone through this and amazed myself that the fear has pushed me up the hill, even at 3 mph.

Thanks everyone - REALLY appreciate the feedback. And as with anything in life, its always helpful to know you're not the only one fearful of something. I guess just something I need to work on.