lol you make me sound so old putting it that way. I was 14 then. I didn't shift while out of the saddle, which is why I switched to STI after borrowing my friends. With DT shifters in sprinting (more important than climbing since I did crits most of the time), my technique was to throw the lever all the way (hardest gear) and stand up with all of my might. Not as big of a deal in junior racing since the biggest gear was something like a 50/14. Still, it was much easier when I got brifters.