Re QUOTE
At this point I don't have mastery of either a FWD or a RWD recumbent, just the experience that the learning curve is less for the latter and that inappropriate reactions to a crisis, real or perceived, can be more serious on a FWD. I do have mastery of a DF bike, however, after riding one all my life and doing many, many highly technical descents. It's fair to say that I never feel unstable on a DF bike unless I do something stupid like going too fast on an unknown hill, which I am old enough not to try on purpose. Based on what I know from friends who have crashed on DF bikes, if you ride on the edge, your number will come up one day and there is likely to be very little you can do to avert it, even when you consider yourself an expert. Partly this is because we don't, for obvious reasons, practice crashing. It's bit like a car driver on ice. If everyone was required to practice on a skid pan before getting a license, the roads would be a lot safer, as most drivers do the wrong thing instinctively. The equivalent for a bike would be the "descending skills" class I took last year (for DF bikes) where the correct technique for fast cornering was taught and practised to the extent possible. I have yet to find any equivalent for a recumbent. The techniques for a DF bike that involved body positioning and bike angle for cornering radius and solid wheel/road contact simply don't seem applicable to a recumbent. It's interesting that the class, which was given to the San Francisco Randonneurs was prompted by a crash where an otherwise experiencedf rider crashed on a high speed descent on an increasing radius corner because he did the wrong thing (instinctively, presumably).
Given that, I agree with Dan that it should be possible to master different styles of bikes and, to the extent possible, do the right thing in a crisis. The issue for me right now is the frequency with which mini-crises occur on the CB, often without any obvious explanation, something that just doesn't happen on my DF bike. But I've been riding a DF bike so long, I've probably forgotten how it all started, although I do recall (stupidly) riding no-hands around corners at the tender age of 5.
