Now for my noob question.
I just picked up a trek 7200. The gear shifters are 1-3 on the left and 1-8 on the right. The first question I asked the guy at my LBS once I tested the bike was " Whats the proper method of changing gears, when going from 1-8 to 2-1. " He told me he would just leaves the left shifter (1-3) in the "2" position at all times. That didn't really help much.