Quote Originally Posted by mickchick
Last night, I picked up my wonderful new (used) bike from my LBS (they assembled it for me--I bought it from someone who shipped it to me). This bike is an upgrade and is a beauty (a limited edition Terry--LBS mechanic was very impressed with the quality of the bike). I've been riding a Terry Classic that I love, and it has straight handlebars, breaks/shifters within easy reach. My new bike has drops with the brakes/shifters in the usual place, which, of course, is not the usual place for me! Do any of you experienced riders have any tips for adjusting to drops? I probably will ride more upright for now, but I like to be withing easy reach of my brakes. I also got a combo clipless/platform pedal installed on the bike, but I'm going to take my time before I try to clipless side
Most riders spend a lot of time riding with their hands on the brake hoods. This gives you an upright position with your chest open, and the brakes are easy to access. You can also pull on the hoods if you need leverage, especially when standing out of the saddle! I've only recently started using the drops, and that only for really intense efforts where I need the aerodynamic position and the leverage from my big leg muscles.

Good luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of road riding!