Hondo Gravel

Stung me on the top of my head good thing I had on a skull cap. Luckily I’m not allergic. Any such stories of encounters such as angry squirrels? Share some of them.

DrIsotope

I live where bees have not gone down in number at all. I read a lot about the great loss of honeybees, but that's not here. My first year on the bike, I was stung 4 times, including 3 inside the helmet. Only twice the following year. I later bought a Smith Overtake helmet, which has that Koroyd mesh in the vents, so bees can't get in. I didn't log a bee sting that whole year. I cracked that helmet about a year and a half ago and had to replace it with one with traditional vents, but have been lucky-- a single sting in that time, but one of the worst to date-- the bee got stuck between the helmet and the frame of my sunglasses, and stung me right above my right eyebrow. Felt like getting stabbed in the eye. The worst ever was on the front of my left thigh, right through the bib shorts. The stinger broke off in my leg, and I would have fits of itching for about 3 months. There was a reddish lump over the stinger until it was absorbed. Bees, man.

genec

I like to wear bright orange and yellow shirts and jerseys when I ride... well, I must have looked like a giant flower to this bee. I was returning from a ride, had my jersey zipped open, and a bee went straight at my chest and stung me right in the chest. No, am not allergic either, but burning pain radiated from the center of my chest all the way home... about a 1/2 mile. Pulled out the stinger when I saw it in the mirror.

BTW I used to where orange long sleeve T shirts while doing yard work... found out bees seem to be attracted to them. I know wear a tan long sleeve T.

GrainBrain

I wear a long sleeve white under armour shirt that seems to infuriate birds. Red winged black birds will swoop at me often. Killdeer are more entertaining in that they'll take turns flying just infront of me calling out the whole time.

DrIsotope

I have noticed that the buzzy ladies have quite good collision avoidance... up to about 12mph. I've flown through veritable clouds of bees, to where I can hear the humming in the air, and not had a single one come into contact with me, so long as I'm doing about 10-12mph. It's the downhills that get me-- I don't think the bees are hitting me so much as I'm hitting them. I've had 15+ "bee strikes" on a single ride-- when a bee hits or sticks to me, but doesn't sting. Most easily noticed on a darker jersey, little dots of pollen.

After the rainy winter, the same area that's overwhelmed with bees this year has tiny little frogs-- about the size of a quarter-- and I spend every ride in that area trying not to run over those little dudes. I dunno why they feel the need to cross the road. They just do.

indyfabz

This guy knew not to mess with my bad ass lest he get a Chuck Norris style whoopin', only worse. The following day I saw Mrs. Bigfoot

DiabloScott

Once on a long fast descent, a bee flew into the neck of my unzipped jersey - or maybe I kind of scooped him up. He started to sting me out of fear so without slowing down much I pinched him to death through the jersey. At the bottom I told my riding friends and they thought that was an impossible story, but then I shook my jersey and the dead bee fell on to the ground, and his stinger was still throbbing and stuck in my skin.

Didn't get much venom in me but it did burn for a couple days.

DrIsotope

She. If you get stung by a bee, it's a lady. Male bees (drones) do not have stingers, and generally do not leave the hive. All of the pollination work is done by female bees.

tyrion

My helmet has mesh on the front vents, but one time a bee outsmarted the system and flew in my mouth.

skijor

I could use mesh in my front vents. Although I've never gotten stung on the noggin, I have the occasional who-knows-what fly into one of the front vents (they are big). I did have one fly in my mouth a few years back. Yes, whatever it was it stung my tongue. Had a helluva cough/sore throat for the following two weeks. Also had one fly down my unzipped jersey when on gravel backroads. Little bastidge got me in the belly.

DiabloScott

Also had one hit me in the eyeball once - no sting but a hard impact...couldn't see to ride for about 20 minutes. That was the last time I ever rode without glasses.

canklecat

I think I've been stung by a bee once on a bike ride, and it wasn't in the helmet. You guys must be awfully sweet. I do get hit by lots of June bugs and other flying critters. Another friend has been stung multiple times on some rides, but not through the helmet that I can recall.

Seriously, though, check out the Smith helmets with Koroyd mesh (the cheaper Smiths lack this feature) and new Bontrager WaveCel helmets. Some friends have both and like 'em.

I just got a new POC Omne Air Spin and can imagine a bee or other bug getting scooped into that thing. It really scoops air better than my Bell helmets. But I can see how a bug could get trapped in the air scoops.

Maybe I'll start wearing a Kevlar skullcap.

Zedoo

A squirrel ran out of a bush and collided with the side of my front wheel.
At night I heard rustling in the tall grass next to me. I looked back and saw a skunk's tail sticking out of the grass.

RubeRad

My son took a beesting through a helmet vent once. I got stung in the thigh once when my (loose) shorts scooped it up. I recently got stung on the arm, that bee bounced off my chest first. And I remember one time my son and I were riding (rolling fairly fast down a gentle downhill, maybe 15-18mph) and rolled through a cloud of bees, like Dr I said, more like we were hitting them. No stings that time

And one time I was riding up University in Seattle (had a summer research gig at UW) and hit a pigeon that was on the ground and didn't get out of the way fast enough.

coffeesnob

I had a bug fly in my mouth a few weeks back.

Zinger

When I was painting standpipes and water towers commercially in another life, we used to set our skyclimber cable up on the ventilator base atop them. They were usually around 80 to 110 ft. tall with a straight vertical ladder to climb up and down.

Well yellowjackets too often liked nesting in those vents and would follow the set up man nearly all the way down the ladder stinging. A couple of times it happened to me with about a half dozen hits each time. Luckily yellow jackets don't have the punch of a bumble bee. They also don't take to being sand blasted very well.

BTW, if you have access to baking soda you can make a thick paste of it with water and coat those sting spots and it will shorten your feeling the stinging time.

FiftySix

All my insects on two wheel stories are from motorcycles.

One time I was following a buddy across some railroad tracks in a rural area and took a direct bee or wasp sting to the side of my belly. That sucker went in at my collar and migrated south and stung me on the way out of my untucked shirt.

Another time I was riding with my faceshield up and a bee went into the right side of my helmet. That bee must have gotten dazed as I had time to pull over and shake it out of my helmet.

Yet another time I was riding with my faceshield up with sunglasses on and large dragonfly hit me square on the bridge of my nose. I was going fast enough that the dragonfly turned to splattered goo. The sunglasses kept the goo out of my eyes, thankfully.

dynodonn 

I never had any problems with bees while riding a bicycle, but plenty of times on my motorcycles. Full face helmets, and buttoned up jackets became SOP while operating at speed, even on the hottest days.

skijor

All of the gear, all of the time. Though sometimes it sucks.

noglider 

I had a bee fly into my helmet. I kind of panicked and ripped my helmet off really quickly. I was still in motion. I didn't look where I was going, and I crashed into the back of a parked minivan. I didn't hit that hard and didn't get hurt. I burst out laughing at it all. I was on my way into a luncheonette. I told the owner what had just happened, and it turned out that it was her minivan. But I hadn't damaged it.

leob1

Had lots bounce off the helmet and glasses. Your hear the 'tink' of them hitting the helmet, then wait to feel them buzzing or crawling on your heat. No stings there so far.
I had one walking on the inside of my glasses, that freaked me out.
One flew in my shirt, I felt something crawling around inside, so I kind of swatted at my shirt and WHAM stung me right in the middle of the chest.

Will G

I've had the bee down the jersey and got stung. I've had a few hit my helmet and I thought into the vent. Anyone driving by probably thought I was having a seizure if they saw the panic stop followed by a frantic removal of my helmet.