Legs Larry's Debunking Of Recumbent Myths
These unorfadox bicycles attract many comments, usually from disgruntled riders or former riders of upright bicycles.  They are usually of the form "All cats are black"; thus it takes but a single white cat to disprove them.
Myth
Refutation
"Adding a front fairing to a short wheelbase recumbent has no effect on its speed" Provided the fairing is designed with aerodynamics in mind, it will make a considerable difference to speed.

Case #1: Mr JTC "Murph" Murphy.  In 1990 and '91 my unfaired Kingcycle SWB was considerably faster than his unfaired Kingcycle in races.  On one occasion, though, he borrowed one with a front fairing and murdered me instead.
Case #2: Brent Meredith at Darley Moor, 14/07/2002.  Race 1, on a Kingcycle with homebuilt correx tail fairing, average speed 38.5 km/h.  Race 2, same bike but with homebuilt correx front fairing added, average speed 42.2km/h.
"Recumbents can't climb" 2001 running of the Alpetramp in Denmark, 125 km / 78 mile road race with 2000m / 6600' of climbing.  Mark Olaf Slot on a tail-faired Optima Baron low racer wins by six minutes.

Climbing speed - any speed - is a matter of simple physics - power versus drag.  Now it may be the case that a given rider may be be able to generate the same power in the recumbent position as he can in the upright position, but that's not the same thing at all.
"Recumbents can't do standing start sprints" Trying to compare riders of equal abilities at low altitude and on similar tracks, we find Frederik van de Walle's Challenge Jester faster over a kilometre than Urs Freuler managed in his amateur days.  That's the same Urs Freuler who went on to become a star on the six-day circuit and stage winner in both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, by the way.

We also find that not only did Rob English's customised Bike Friday (which did win the drags in Brighton 2001 with Sam Whittingham at the helm) not win the 200m standing start sprint at this year's European Championships, but also failed even to make the final.
"Recumbents can't sprint at 70 km/h" Bram Moens and Frederik van de Walle have both been electromagically timed at speeds in excess of 70 km/h.  And in neither case did they have a team-mate or three leading them out.

Moreover Rosmarie Bühler covered the final 200m of the 1 Hour TT in Lelystad in 2002 at 59 km/h as a result of having Ellen van der Horst breathing down her neck.  In the flying 200 m, she did 55 km/h.  Rosmarie is a chef in a hotel, she is not large and while it ill-becomes a gentleman to reveal a lady's age, I do know that her fortieth birthday has been and gone.  It seems therefore not unreasonable that the strongest male riders may be capable of a similar feat, but at ten or more kilometres per hour faster.
"Uprights are faster in events on real roads" Take the prologue time-trial of the 2000 Tour de Seine et Marne - a stage race for national and international level amateurs.  3.2 km.  Fastest upright: 3:39.  Fastest recumbent 3:29.  The latter in the dark.
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