Recumbent cycling vs upright

My buddy has been riding a Bacchetta Giro 20 for the past few years and kept bugging me to give it a try. I found one locally for a decent price and bought it. After riding it 700 miles, I had a financial need and I sold the Giro for what I bought it for, and went back to riding my Fuji Touring.

Now that I've been on the Fuji for a few weeks, these are my reflections on the difference between riding an upright bike vs. riding a recumbent.

Benefits of the 'bent:
relaxed seating position
Comfortable on longer rides.
A bit more aero in headwinds.
Upright head position gives a better view of the scenery.
Better use of gear combinations -- the longer chain line eliminates cross-chain issues.
And it was kinda cool getting "noticed" by bystanders.

But... the drawbacks for me outweighed those benfits.

No ventilation on the back.
Sun in your eyes.
Rain in your face.
Only one riding position.
No riding no-hands.
No opportunity to stand up for extra power.
Difficult to hold a line on steep hills.
Always have to get into the right gear before stopping at lights.
Tight turns require dropping inside foot off the pedal to avoid leg/handlebar and foot/wheel interference.
Longer bike is harder to transport.
No bunny hopping curbs.
On the DF, stopping is easy: swing leg over, coast in on the other foot, and then hop off.
And one of the biggest things was no contribution of upper body muscles, which are very useful on hills or accelleration.

Regarding comfort, sure DF bikes can cause discomfort in the perineal area, but one of the less discussed issues in the bent world is recum-butt, which is caused by sitting on the muscles you are using. It can be reduced by reclining the seat more and better weight distribution, but it's always a threat.

Some people think 'bents are lots slower on hills, and I didn't find that to be the case. I ride some very steep hills, 10-11% grade, and my speed on either bike isn't much different. The difference on steep hills is that you can stand or lean forward on a DF and put more weight on the front wheel. On the 'bent, you're pretty much screwed and unweighting the front wheel makes it much tricker to hold a straight line.

Anyway, I know there's lots of people who love their 'bents -- including my friend -- and I suppose if I had a long tour I might consider one, but for day to day riding, I'll take my DF.