I have a friend in another state who built up a 1940s Bianchi racing bike equipped with those Campagnolo "Cambio Corsa" levers. (And, by the way, they required special very long dropouts with notches inside them to help keep the axle indexed parallel on each stay, so they were actually not "quite" so scarey as I always had thought). He assumed it would be an easily learned technique; he discovered it was definitely not instinctive to someone reverting back from modern derailleurs.

He still takes the bike out occasionally... to keep himself humble. He also invites other riders (typically Cat-2 racer friends) to try their skills... and to make them feel stupid and clumsy, as well.

I read somewhere that the famous Italian champion Gino Bartali was a master with those shifters, and could change gears so fast and smoothly he would not even break his pace.

Not for me, thanks! Sometimes when I'm waiting at a traffic light, I'm still impressed that I can simply step back onto my pedals and effortlessly start out riding again... without just falling over sideways like an awkward 3 year old trying to balance on his first two-wheeled bike.

Yeah, good to remember the past.. but also to appreciate one's own (sometimes extremely modest) accomplishments.

Cheers!