Answering the question that was asked...

When I moved from flat bars to drop bars, it took me a couple of months at an average of 150 miles week for my neck and shoulders to get used to holding my noggin out in front of me instead of right on top of my spine. This was with a terribly conservative bar height and reach. (READ: A short riser stem.)

It was closer to six months before I was genuinely comfortable.

Then it was a year before I started moving the bars out and down.

As my flexibility and core strength have improved, my bars have moved out 3cm and down 7cm in the years since, but always in small increments. All year this year I've been toying with the idea of moving them out another cm. With three bikes, that means three stems, so the economics are holding me back.

For the record, then as now, I spent 95% of my time on the hoods.