I'm comfortable on any of my DF bikes. 400k in the mountains? No problem. The really weird thing about recumbents to me is that they look fast, they should be fast, yet even though I'm an old, slow geezer, I've never been passed by one while on one of my singles, on the flat, up hill, or descending. I usually go by them like they are standing still. Except for the special case of fully faired HPVs, though I've passed those by the side of the road on really long rides, never to be seen again, I think because of the lack of ventilation. They overheat, dehydrate, or something.
Now that I'm almost 70 and only ride tandem with my wife, we've been passed by a couple of 'bents, but passed more. I mean, really! 134 y.o., and a watts/kg of 1.54 and we go by them? I really, really don't get it.
On the first half of the recent one-day STP we were just barely passed by two 30-something athletic-looking men on (in?) a recumbent tandem trike. We could outclimb them, but they could outrun us on the flat. Like I said, really? We saw them stopped at the midway point but never saw them again, so maybe they were doing the two-day. They looked quite uncomfortable. The thing's frame had like no give in it so every little bump jarred them badly. Shaken baby syndrome. When we see a big hit coming, we just stand and don't feel a thing.
Did I mention that we're very comfortable?