Recumbent - Thinking about getting 'bent

I'm 55 (about to be 56), got a bad back (2 herniated discs) and hate saddles. That being said, I really enjoy riding my upright, as it's the only thing I've experienced. I have been looking at the recumbent section and am thinking about going to the dark side (?),,,,
Most of my rides are 15-20 miles, with some Saturday rides going 40+, and at least once a month have been doing 50'ish. This year's goals include the PanMass Challenge (110 miles the first day, 81 the second), and quite a few 50-60 milers.
Any suggestions as to style or brand recommendations? I would like to stay under 1200 or so. But even that is not written in stone. Any input would be appreciated....

The standard advice applies first, before any recommendations: Test ride every recumbent model you can lay your greedy hands on. It doesn't matter if the thing retails for $500 or $5000, or whether it's LWB, SWB, USS, OSS, beginner bike or fire-breather. Try them all. Only after that should you start trying to reduce the field of prospects. You can call around to find dealers. If you find bents in a shop, you'll usually find Bacchetta, RANS, Sun, and sometimes TourEasy. You might get lucky finding other brands, or you can search around to find local riders who might let you test theirs out.

You can save money by getting a used one (once you know what you want.) You can also bypass the bike shop and order some brands direct from a distributor if a. you're a competent mechanic and willing to do your own assembly and bug-swatting, and b. you realize that you probably won't find a test ride on those brands, so you are taking the chance that you won't like it.

That said, there are a number of choices in the <$1200 range, and a few more in the $1200-1500 range. The lone Massachusetts dealer I found in a quickie Internet search was Basically Bicycles in Turners Falls. But their homepage is suspiciously out of date and featuring Vision and Burley - neither of which are making bents anymore.

Ditto to what Blazing said on try everything you can. Since there are more styles of recumbent you can get a different 'feel' from each one. Guess that is true for diamond frame too but maybe a little more for the bent rider. I am your age and ride about the same. I have both a long wheel base (Linear) and a short wheel base (Lightning P-38) I like the LWB for a fun slow ride, but can go a pretty good speed too...and the SWB is in my opinion more for speed and gettiing some exercize. So, again, try anything you can to see what you like
Good luck on your search,,, and may your back enjoy what ever you get.

Advice number two:
If you ask here what the best bent is, you'll get a different answer from each of us, because we'll all recommending the one WE like best. If you ask what's the best LWB, it's guaranteed that someone will still recommend a SWB or even a trike. So the advice is, realize that we all have our prejudices and priorities in bike choices, and that will color our answers.

Advice number three:
You can do a lot of research on Bentrideronline.com, along with trying to line up test rides at bike shops. Use BROL's buyer's guide as a research tool to find more models that might interest you, then try to find a user's group or user's forum on the Internet. Many forums are hosted by the manufacturer, many are in Yahoo Groups. Use the owners' group to find an owner near you.

Advice number four:
If you find a few models that really interest you, don't ask if they are good bikes, instead ask the owners what they DON'T like about them. Now THOSE answers can be enlightening, even if the owners like their bikes!

Remember, the research is half the fun! Don't forget to enjoy the process.