Over the past few months I've made good headway on adding the DF to my cycling habits. It's taken some real discipline to do so because, as most of us know, DFs simply hurt. The usual suspects: neck, shoulder, wrist, back, saddle sore.

I've mitigated the discomfort by adjusting a few things:

adjustable stem to lessen my `leaning' over the handlebars;
double padding of the handlebar where my wrist presses down;
tilted the saddle so that the only part of my butt that touches it are the seatbones; (this dramatically reduced the friction that was beginning to cause tissue soreness);
raised the seat post so that I could get good torque on the pedals both when in the saddle and when pedaling out of the saddle.

Other things improved simply as a function of time on the bike:

But a few things remain problematic:

glutes and hamstrings are muscle and tendon that are both strengthening but need to be watched so that reasonable stress doesn't become abusive strain and injury;
even with the `Gutr' the sweat pours down over my face and messes with my glasses (in the reclined recumbent position the sweat just rolls down my neck);
I'm slower on the descents and flats simply because, no matter how I scrunch myself, I'm a bigger wind sail (less aerodynamic) than on my Bacchettas.

I go anaerobic faster primarily for two reasons:

the heart has to push blood vertically more so than on the recumbent;
the discomfort of being in the saddle, the sore glutes and hamstrings make standing on the pedals, out of the saddle, a relief. This results in me being tempted to `hammer' more. (I could just reduce cadence and lean / relax when standing but ... I haven't allowed myself to do that -- yet).

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There is no question in my mind that the DF is fun.

I'm faster when climbing;
it is a more dangerous position (endovers are worse than full body road rash) and that affords me a completely stupid sense of thrill (call it a death wish if you want);
I find myself `racing' other DF riders --- simply because there are no other recumbent cyclists out here to race on a pick-up basis.

BUT ....

The DF is ungodly uncomfortable;
I would never consider riding it more than 60 - 80 miles in one `sitting.'
There is no comparison of the `enjoyment' factor between the DF and the recumbent.
- I look forward to the recumbent as a form of pleasure, giving me the opportunity to see the world around me when I'm riding. Comfortably. Can't do that on the DF.
- On the DF I'll always be aware of the discomfort factor. Not so on the recumbent.

Training