I use C-r constantly. But sometimes I need to find a command, and then edit it before running it. What is the proper way to exit "search mode" and go into the normal "edit" mode?
ISTR pressing one of those keys would obliterate the part of my line where I was writing, putting in ^B characters.
I can't replicate it now on my test box; it works exactly the way you say it should. It may be a terminal issue; I'm currently on Windows using cygwin to ssh to Linux.