Quote Originally Posted by bikeless in WI
But the flat bar thing for me is not about "where are the brakes". It's about sitting up straighter. If I spend much time bent over it puts a strain on the flexibility of the ostomy wafer. Don't want that coming loose!!! I'm also concerned about neck pain. I wanna be comfortable -- back and neck straight, shoulders relaxed, and so what about wind resistance since I've never been fast anyway. But yeah, less rolling resistance should help me keep up with at least the back of the pack ... and finish.
Then, if I understand correctly, your solution has to come from frame geometry, not from handlebar type. That's what I meant about a tourism bike (those that you can use with panniers). You can have the best of both worlds: a relaxed geometry to keep you relatively upright, and drop handlebars to give you better steering (especially downhill) and more options for your hands, to stretch your back once in a while, etc.

Good luck!