I feel your pain. Wait til a bee goes into your ear canal and stings you. That was not pleasant at all. Get a helmet with a net in it. They definitely help .

Can you recommend an aero helmet with a net but that also has vents for air flow and to keep cool?

I gotta try that one. Me: hey love, I gotta by new expensive tri gear....." for health reasons". Wife: go home, you're drunk

Ha. Just made me giggle.

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It's not about what you've done, it's about what you're doing!
@trecca17

I use a regarding Rudy Project road helmet with the net in it. You could probably rig something up on any helmet though.

Tri today, got stung at 1 km into the bike ride (sprint) on the front of the ankle. Damn that hurt, felt even worse on the run.

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Ian

Had a yellow jacket get in my bike shoe this am. It popped me at least 3 times before I had to stop and get it out.

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Let food be thy medicine...

I feel your pain, literally. Twice is as many rides on the same route this summer something flew in my sports bra and stung me right on the boob. Husband was out of town the first time, so that big red welt was fun to explain when he came home... haha. I also put on a shirt with a wasp in it this summer; that was fun. He got me at least three times.

Sadly, I'm not sure there's much we can do about it unless we carry a can of bee and hornet killer with us.

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http://mediocremultisport.blogspot.com

I think some people are prone to being stung. I was stung three times last week--while gardening, while running, and while riding. I think it is a body chemistry thing.

Panty hose over your helmet, along with some tape or super glue, will keep the bugs out of your hair. As for the rest, maybe wear long sleeves and zip up your jersey?

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

Got stung by a wasp on a training ride on my right thigh. . . . hurt for a moment, but did not notice it at all later as other areas of my body were complaining louder . . .

There's definitely some truth in that with some insects. I seem to emit mosquito pheromones or something - if I'm in a group on holiday then nobody else seems to be safe as the bugs all go for me. Certainly my wife never gets stung if we're sharing a bed. Running is the same, there are certain routes I can't go on during the summer unless I coat myself with insect repellent as otherwise I'll emerge from the woods with a cloud of insects following me for the next mile. Not sure that can possibly apply on the bike though with the speeds involved, when I hit bugs on the bike it's more that I'm riding into them than that they're chasing me, they don't have much choice in the matter.

To the OP I'd say all you can really do about it is make sure you always have glasses on (good sign of a novice cyclist is one who thinks that eyewear on the bike is just sun protection and goes bare-eyed on cloudy days!), and keep your mouth shut. Everything else is a compromise between 2 evils - you can wear a zipped up long-sleeve jersey and a net over your helmet, but you're trapping a lot of heat doing so. Personally I'd rather deal with the possibility of the sting than the certainty of the extra sweat!

Also, keep your jersey closed.. A wasp flew right in and decided to sting me several times whilst riding 40 kph.
Im telling you.. it must have been a pretty spectacular sight.

I'll second keeping the jersey closed. Last summer I did a 112 mile bike ride and decided to do a few laps around a local park as a cooldown after finishing the 112. I sat up and unzipped my jersey and enjoyed the breeze on this hot day. I was just casually riding along when I get a sudden, sharp pain in my abdomen. I think to myself "geesh, I must not have ate enough, I've never had cramps like this before" and told myself I should probably head home. As I start riding home the pain seems like it's spreading and going further down. Well, long story short, I get home, take off my jersey and bibs and found a hornet that found it's way into my open jersey, got caught under my bibs and proceeded to sting me as it got lower and lower into my bibs.Sucker was still alive and I had 3-4 major stings and then a few other smaller stings. My private bits were all protected, thank goodness but it did get close to the nether regions! All because I decided to unzip my jersey for my cooldown!

TL;DR - unzipped jersey for cooldown, got stung by hornet 7+ times and now I never unzip my jersey.

I've been stung by wasps a couple of times when they got caught in my bike helmet. The last time I was able to sit up, take my helmet off and get the wasp out and put my helmet back on without stopping. Did it on instinct, but looking back it probably would have been safer and wiser to pull over and stop.

The last time I was stung was at the pool. Something got me on the back of the shoulder while swimming some freestyle.

Mark

The rudy project wing span is awesome. You can change out the front vents to be mesh, open, or closed off!

That happened to me on the last interval of a vo2 set, "ow, my legs hurt... ow my legs hurt... ow... my legs hurt... ow, my face hurts... wait what?"

Out of curiosity, are you guys getting stung with your jerseys open wearing full zip or partial zip jerseys? I frequently climb with my jersey fully unzipped (I pretty much never ride with it partially zipped), never occurred to me that a wasp would get stuck there.

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All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. ~Gandalf

I had a severe reaction to a sting a few weeks ago. Whatever it was got into a vent on my helmet and stung me on the head.

I came out in a very painful rash and my face and throat started to tighten, presumably from swelling. I ended up in hospital and now have to carry an adrenaline auto-injector with me at all times.

My TT helmet is fine - no vents. But I researched the best bug proof helmet for training. Most have nets on the inside of the vents which, as far as I'm concerned, is no good. But the Casco speedairo has serious bug mesh on the outside. It's not a cheap option, but it does look good and is a very nice helmet.

It's certainly worth considering, in my view.

By the way, I use a Kask Bambino for TTs now because the visor can be jetisoned very quickly should a nasty stingy thing get itself inside the visor.

I'm not sure how aero this helmet is, but I bet it offers great protection

Most bugs explode on me and then I end up wiping their guts off during the remainder of the ride. It's like the bugs are having a draft fest...