Ride #2 just finished and I am really warming up to the bar end transmission. It seems appropriate for the kind of ride that I am finding myself engaged in.....slow down, take in the scenery, oh yeah- shift occasionally. Today, while climbing a long grade (probably 6-7%) I was in my middle (34) chainring and decided that I'd go down to the 24 ring. I screwed up and shifted to the 46 and then moved my hand back to the brake hoods. I immediately realized I was going to get myself in trouble if I didn't react pretty quickly. I was able to move my hand back to the bar end, quickly shift from the 46 to the 24 and salvage the effort without toppling over.
I may have a second helping of that crow.