Searching for the right Recumbent in Southern California

I am new to Recumbent bikes but have used a Recumbent Exercise bike for the last 15 years daily. The issue for me is that I need an XL in the Bikes that I am looking for and they are very hard to find. I found one or two in San Diego, actually the Jett Creek is one size so only one XL and it was too short, and am driving up to Los Angeles, 400 miles away, to test ride the only XLs that the bike shops around here, term is used loosely.

I was able to test ride the RANS Stratus, which made a LWB convert of me, V-Rex, Burley Jett Creek, Cycle Genius, Speedster (XL too small), Sportster and some European beds on wheels. I really liked the Stratus and Jett Creek but am worried that the Jett Creek wont give me the speed that I know I will want after I get back into riding, especially for long distances. I am going to test ride the Velocity 2 XL and see if that position is ok for me, I prefer the more upright of the Stratus. I live in an Agricultural area and the roads are choppy and the dirt roads can have soft spots. I am getting into bikes again for long rides and century rides, which are a lot further than I have ridden before.

Knowing the Bikes that I am going to test ride and the fact that the Velocity 2 is at the very upper limit of my budget, no more please..., and the bikes that I have available to test ride do you guys see any potential problems with the bikes (Stratus LE, Velocity 2 and Jett Creek) I have narrowed it down to. I know that many of you probably scoff at me for having such a low budget, relative, but 1500 is a lot of money to shell out for a bike. Whether I am going to be on it for hours and hours does not change the truth that it is a bike which is only for me and not for my young son and my wife. She is ok with it because I work so much and need to get away from the computer but it would not be fair to go over that and it could be argued... Enough said about that, in 5 years when my son can ride with me maybe the Tandem... Right now I can not break the budget.

Things I want from a Recumbent:

1. Comfort for the long rides. I have not ridden more than 40 or 50 miles on a regular bike and 100 miles seems like a long time...

2. Growth. If it isnt the fastest while I get back into shape that is ok but I would like the ability to make some changes to it to increase its performance if possible. Dont want the Bike to be the issue of holding me back, wont be case for a year or two.

3. Decent speed. I know the Velocity 2 has it there for LWB but I dont know if I like the position and feel of it so that might be a mute point.

4. Reliability and Durability. I am a very busy business owner and dont have the patience nor the time to spend working on a Bike that is giving me problems. Maintenance ok, breaks no.