Did a century ride today and got stung on the forearm by a wasp with about thirty miles to go. Made the last part of the ride quite miserable. Same thing happened to my wife a week ago.
I’ve swallowed bugs when riding but fortunately not anything that stings. Just wondering if anyone else has ever been “bugged” when riding?
Oh yeah. I’ve had yellow jackets get me on the chest (riding shirtless to work on the tan line) on the face and on the leg. Nasty little buggers.
I tape a penny over the epicenter and it usually improves dramatically overnight… but then I have NO allergies. None! Man am I lucky.
As to wasp yj and bee stings, I know that we used to have an orchard when I was little, and we’d always get stung (honey bees). The first one in the spring would always swell up and get nasty. After that we built up a tolerance, and each one was less bothersome. I noticed that same thing with the yj bites/stings I got a couple years ago. I had one get me in the chest, then a few days later the leg, and not long afterward, just below my Oakleys. Each one was less intense.
So we need to go stir up a hornets nest and take a few stings for the team. It’ll build resistance, pain threshold and character!!
In a bike race about five years ago, something flew between my sunglasses and my face and got stuck in there, stinging around my eye at least twice before it got out. I had a bit of swelling that day, but that was nothing compared to what I woke up with the next morning. My upper and lower eyelids had swelled up to literally the size of an orange, and I couldn’t see out of the eye without pulling the eyelids apart with my fingers so I could see through a little slit. My face stayed like this for four days before the swelling went down. As a result, I get a bit nervous around stinging insects these days.
I normally get a bee in the helmet once a year. I’ve allready got mine this year so hopefully I’m done. I got stung on my right thigh when I was 18, still have a scar from it 19 years later.
jaretj
Whare have all the flowers gone?
Dirt
The bees and wasps seem to get a little more ornery at this time of year. As a head-shaver, nothing sucks more than having one fly into a vent (it’s probably not very fun for someone with hair, either). I wear a headsweat just to have a little measure of protection.
I got stung in the middle of the back 2 weeks ago, while cruising sitting up at about 18mph. That’ll teach me not to be low and aero!
Last week’s ride it was dragonfly time, one pegged me in the shoulder and 20 miles later I got one in the chainring…talk about weird. Then 50 miles later a junebug nails me right in the middle of the forehead at 25mph…estimated closing speed 40+…OW!
At least that’s better than the 2 squirrels I ran over 3 weeks ago on a 120 mile ride. It’s hard to dodge them at 23mph on the aero bars…and even harder to stay upright. Babump…sigh…bad squirrel decision.
I’ve swallowed bugs when riding but fortunately not anything that stings
Got stung inside the cheek while riding to work with a buddy. Never spat with such rage before! Bad taste, cheek got real stiff/sensitive and BLACK inside… I am a little less locacious now.
Bees aren’t too bad around Fairbanks this year, but they got me several times last year. Also got stung during IM Wisconsin last year, fortunately it was minor. I’ve gotten whacked by quite a few dragonflys this year–gets your attention when you see something that big coming at you. Almost whacked a bird on a 40 mph downhill, that’d been nasty.
The only time I have been stung with a full dose on the bike was when a hornet got stuck between glasses and head too. I can’t believe he blamed me for his poor navigational abilities.
Limar helmets seem to have the best bug flow through in my experience. Very short hair helps too. I am also pretty leery about unzipping my jersey very far and providing a large welcoming doorway.