Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

Stung....

Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

Stung....

Old 06-24-19, 03:25 PM
  #1  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
Thread Starter
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Stung....

.....by a bee!!! And it hurt!!! 😩
It got me in the back of my neck, right by the hairline. This was the second time this year, so really weird, especially since the last one before that, was around 40 years ago. 🤔 I'm gonna have to medicate myself now, just as a precaution. 😁😉
stardognine is offline  
Old 06-24-19, 03:37 PM
  #2  
Cyclist0108
Occam's Rotor
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 7,248
Mentioned: 61 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2366 Post(s)
Liked 2,331 Times in 1,164 Posts
Did it hurt?

Was it Africanized?
Cyclist0108 is offline  
Old 06-24-19, 04:51 PM
  #3  
BikeWonder
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 327
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 75 Times in 52 Posts
Originally Posted by wgscott
Did it hurt?

Was it Africanized?
Good point.
Although I prefer to believe it was educated in Western Bee Society.
BikeWonder is offline  
Old 06-24-19, 06:58 PM
  #4  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
Thread Starter
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Originally Posted by wgscott
Did it hurt?

Was it Africanized?
Of course it hurt. I started a thread just to whine about it, didn't I? 🤪😉
As far as being Africanized, my generation was taught in school, that it's rude to ask a bee where it's from. 🤔😋😁
Otherwise, I didn't notice any swarms chasing me, so figure I must be OK. 😁😉
stardognine is offline  
Old 06-24-19, 08:12 PM
  #5  
spinnaker
Every day a winding road
 
spinnaker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 6,538

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale SR500, 2008 Trek 7.3 FX, Jamis Aurora

Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3394 Post(s)
Liked 63 Times in 46 Posts
Originally Posted by stardognine
.....by a bee!!! And it hurt!!! 😩
It got me in the back of my neck, right by the hairline. This was the second time this year, so really weird, especially since the last one before that, was around 40 years ago. 🤔 I'm gonna have to medicate myself now, just as a precaution. 😁😉
Wah Wah.

Come back and complain when one smacks you square in the face and almost knocks you off of your bike like happened to me. Got me in the cheek at about 15mph. Hurt like hell. Lucky I am not allergic or it could have been ugly.
spinnaker is offline  
Old 06-24-19, 08:14 PM
  #6  
spinnaker
Every day a winding road
 
spinnaker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 6,538

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale SR500, 2008 Trek 7.3 FX, Jamis Aurora

Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3394 Post(s)
Liked 63 Times in 46 Posts
Originally Posted by wgscott
Did it hurt?

Was it Africanized?
It can be worse. They could be South American.

spinnaker is offline  
Old 06-24-19, 08:48 PM
  #7  
ktk90w
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: East Asia
Posts: 36

Bikes: 2012 Surly Ogre, 2008 Fisher Wahoo

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
At the risk of engaging in oneupsmanship, this seems the appropriate place to complain about the time a bee flew into my nostril while riding on a bike path.

I don't actually think it stung me, because my nose didn't remain sore or swollen for a long time, but my nose was bleeding, and snot was flowing freely. Not my favorite bike riding memory.
ktk90w is offline  
Likes For ktk90w:
Old 06-24-19, 10:53 PM
  #8  
Happy Feet
Senior Member
 
Happy Feet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Left Coast, Canada
Posts: 5,126
Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2236 Post(s)
Liked 1,313 Times in 706 Posts
Originally Posted by ktk90w
At the risk of engaging in oneupsmanship, this seems the appropriate place to complain about the time a bee flew into my nostril while riding on a bike path.

I don't actually think it stung me, because my nose didn't remain sore or swollen for a long time, but my nose was bleeding, and snot was flowing freely. Not my favorite bike riding memory.
Imagine what the bee went through!
Happy Feet is offline  
Likes For Happy Feet:
Old 06-24-19, 10:57 PM
  #9  
veganbikes
Clark W. Griswold
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,280

Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4253 Post(s)
Liked 3,866 Times in 2,579 Posts
I got stung by a wasp recently them suckers are nasty. Luckily not a on ride because that would have made me crash. Luckily not allergic but that sucker hurt and it still hasn't healed after 2-3 weeks.
veganbikes is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 05:34 AM
  #10  
geoffs
Full Member
 
geoffs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 322

Bikes: Co-Motion Mocha Co-pilot, Habanero custom commuter, Seven Axiom SL, Seven Axiom SLX, Blom Track

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 79 Post(s)
Liked 12 Times in 10 Posts
When I was touring in BC many years ago I had a bee get caught inside my sunnies and sting me on the eyelid. Instantly blind in one eye at 30+kmhr.
Three days before I could open my eye enough to see. Not a good experience. I don't like bees.
geoffs is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 07:40 AM
  #11  
Rob_E
Senior Member
 
Rob_E's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 2,709

Bikes: Downtube 8H, Surly Troll

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 303 Post(s)
Liked 22 Times in 21 Posts
Hung up my hammock tent last week Monday. Ducked under the tarp to make an adjustment and came out in a hurry. Stung right between the shoulder blades. I did not locate the hive, but I must have disturbed one with my tent. There were almost a dozen bees on or hovering near my tarp. Obnoxious part, apart from a welt that was still itching yesterday, is that I couldn't relocate my tent until the bees had chilled out, which wasn't until almost dark. Actually I unhooked the hammock and pulled it out, but the tarp continued to be an object of fascination for the bees for some time afterwards. It hadn't been 40 years since my last bee sting, but it had been a while. Not long enough, though. Still, I suspect I got stung through the tarp and my shirt. The itching was annoying, but in the past there has been a lot more localized swelling as well. I figure I got off easy.
Rob_E is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 09:26 AM
  #12  
Mountain Mitch
Senior Member
 
Mountain Mitch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Back-of-beyond, Kootenays, BC
Posts: 741

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix Exp ert Road and Specialized Stump Jumper FS Mountain; De Vinci Caribou touring, Intense Tracer T275c, Cramerotti, Specialized Allez, Condor

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 162 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 53 Posts
Originally Posted by veganbikes
I got stung by a wasp recently them suckers are nasty. Luckily not a on ride because that would have made me crash. Luckily not allergic but that sucker hurt and it still hasn't healed after 2-3 weeks.
Besides whether you’re allergic to bees or wasps, their stings can become infected. If it still isn’t healed after 2-3 weeks I’d get a Doc to look at it. May need an antibiotic.

I’ve been stung on the head before while riding. Some helmets now have screens in the venting to at least take care of the ‘bug in the bonnet’ problem.
Mountain Mitch is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 09:37 AM
  #13  
riverdrifter
Senior Member
 
riverdrifter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 543

Bikes: 1985 Cannondale SR500, 1990 Cannondale ST600, 1993 Cannondale M700

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 170 Post(s)
Liked 272 Times in 105 Posts
OP sorry to hear about your sting. I hope you recover quickly.

I'll throw in my sting story. Last summer I had just popped open a bottle of beer taken one drink when I got distracted for a moment or two. I returned to my bottle and took another swig, a wasp had flown into it, and stung me on the lip as soon as I got a drink. It hurt for sure, but the worst part was I spilled my beer. Actually I threw my bottle and screamed. My wife says it was pretty funny.
riverdrifter is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 02:05 PM
  #14  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
Thread Starter
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Originally Posted by spinnaker
It can be worse. They could be South American.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APUWOoUqQho
Good stuff, Maynard. 👍 It always helps, to keep things in perspective. Or something. 😁
See, something told me to acquire extra mary juana, and I did so right on time. There's no telling how bad this could have been, without it. 🤔😁
stardognine is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 02:09 PM
  #15  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
Thread Starter
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Originally Posted by riverdrifter
OP sorry to hear about your sting. I hope you recover quickly.

I'll throw in my sting story. Last summer I had just popped open a bottle of beer taken one drink when I got distracted for a moment or two. I returned to my bottle and took another swig, a wasp had flown into it, and stung me on the lip as soon as I got a drink. It hurt for sure, but the worst part was I spilled my beer. Actually I threw my bottle and screamed. My wife says it was pretty funny.
That's funny too, right there. Folks, you just can't make this stuff up. It takes a certain skill. 😁😉
stardognine is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 02:28 PM
  #16  
jack002
Senior Member
 
jack002's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Southwest MO
Posts: 785

Bikes: (2) 1994 Cannondale R900, red, Silver Trek hybrid

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 69 Post(s)
Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts
Originally Posted by ktk90w
At the risk of engaging in oneupsmanship, this seems the appropriate place to complain about the time a bee flew into my nostril while riding on a bike path.

I don't actually think it stung me, because my nose didn't remain sore or swollen for a long time, but my nose was bleeding, and snot was flowing freely. Not my favorite bike riding memory.
The bee was riding on the bike path? What kind of bike did it have?
jack002 is offline  
Old 06-25-19, 02:41 PM
  #17  
alan s 
Senior Member
 
alan s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 6,977
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1496 Post(s)
Liked 189 Times in 128 Posts
Originally Posted by jack002
The bee was riding on the bike path? What kind of bike did it have?
Bianchi, of course.
alan s is offline  
Old 06-26-19, 08:54 PM
  #18  
veganbikes
Clark W. Griswold
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,280

Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4253 Post(s)
Liked 3,866 Times in 2,579 Posts
Originally Posted by Mountain Mitch
Besides whether you’re allergic to bees or wasps, their stings can become infected. If it still isn’t healed after 2-3 weeks I’d get a Doc to look at it. May need an antibiotic.

I’ve been stung on the head before while riding. Some helmets now have screens in the venting to at least take care of the ‘bug in the bonnet’ problem.
Yeah I probably should take a look. It has certainly improved from initial but a lot of times my stuff is slower to heal at least these days.

The mesh is nice. ABUS does it on some of their helmets and it is quite nice for those situations. They also do the Pedelec 2.0 which has a integrated rain cover that tucks away in the back and a little USB charged light for a tiny little bit of extra visibility in the darkness.
veganbikes is offline  
Old 06-27-19, 11:23 PM
  #19  
DropBarFan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150

Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 671 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times in 43 Posts
Originally Posted by stardognine
.....by a bee!!! And it hurt!!! 😩
It got me in the back of my neck, right by the hairline. This was the second time this year, so really weird, especially since the last one before that, was around 40 years ago. 🤔 I'm gonna have to medicate myself now, just as a precaution. 😁😉
I'm guessing it was a yellowjacket wasp & not a honeybee. They're very close in appearance. I've been stung by yellowjackets at least a dozen times (incl once while biking) & never by bees nor other wasps. A few years ago a yellowjacket sting caused my forearm to swell up for a couple of days; in my town a local guy was killed after he ran his lawn mower over a yellowjacket nest. Yellowjackets live pretty much everywhere in USA incl Arizona & are much more aggressive than bees. Yellowjacket nests can be very small & nearly impossible to see but those guys will sting whatever comes across their path.
DropBarFan is offline  
Old 06-28-19, 01:27 AM
  #20  
phtomita
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Redmond, WA
Posts: 836

Bikes: '86 Nishiki Tri-A, '84 Centurion PT15, '03 Litespeed Firenze

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 242 Post(s)
Liked 176 Times in 110 Posts
Did you put your own medicine called 'pee' to the stung area? It helped a lot when I used to live in the farm
phtomita is offline  
Old 06-28-19, 09:52 AM
  #21  
tcs
Palmer
 
tcs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 8,580

Bikes: Mike Melton custom, 1982 Stumpjumper, Alex Moulton AM, 2010 Dawes Briercliffe, 2017 Dahon Curl i8, 2021 Motobecane Turino 1x12

Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1646 Post(s)
Liked 1,785 Times in 1,041 Posts
Well, here's a happy thought: between vulnerable and endangered species and colony collapse disorder, bees should be less of a problem for cycletourists in the future.
tcs is offline  
Old 06-28-19, 09:57 AM
  #22  
Rob_E
Senior Member
 
Rob_E's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 2,709

Bikes: Downtube 8H, Surly Troll

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 303 Post(s)
Liked 22 Times in 21 Posts
Originally Posted by DropBarFan
I'm guessing it was a yellowjacket wasp & not a honeybee. They're very close in appearance. I've been stung by yellowjackets at least a dozen times (incl once while biking) & never by bees nor other wasps. A few years ago a yellowjacket sting caused my forearm to swell up for a couple of days; in my town a local guy was killed after he ran his lawn mower over a yellowjacket nest. Yellowjackets live pretty much everywhere in USA incl Arizona & are much more aggressive than bees. Yellowjacket nests can be very small & nearly impossible to see but those guys will sting whatever comes across their path.
Interesting. I have always thought that a yellowjacket was species of bee, and never realized it was actually a wasp. I don't know what the technical differences are, but I do think that yellowjackets can sting and go on with their day, whereas honeybees get one sting in and are done for, I think. I feel like my recent encounter was with a yellowjacket as well. I never located the entrance to the nest/hive, but I did see several hovering close to the ground. Reading up on how aggressive they can be, I guess I'm lucky to have only gotten one sting, especially since after disturbing them and getting stung, I had to go back and retrieve my tent.

In the past, when stung, I've experience some very noticeable, local swelling. This most recent sting was on my back. It was several days before anyone actually saw the sting site, and at that point there was still a noticeable welt, but really it was only mildly itchy and tender and one of the least annoying bee stings I have experienced.
Rob_E is offline  
Old 06-28-19, 10:46 AM
  #23  
winston63 
Senior Member
 
winston63's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 706

Bikes: Specialized Diverge E5 Comp, Specialized AWOL Comp, Scott Solace 10

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 137 Post(s)
Liked 27 Times in 20 Posts
Originally Posted by DropBarFan
I'm guessing it was a yellowjacket wasp & not a honeybee. They're very close in appearance. I've been stung by yellowjackets at least a dozen times (incl once while biking) & never by bees nor other wasps. A few years ago a yellowjacket sting caused my forearm to swell up for a couple of days; in my town a local guy was killed after he ran his lawn mower over a yellowjacket nest. Yellowjackets live pretty much everywhere in USA incl Arizona & are much more aggressive than bees. Yellowjacket nests can be very small & nearly impossible to see but those guys will sting whatever comes across their path.
Yeah, I've only once been stung by a bee on a ride, and it was because the bee somehow got caught up in my jersey. But I've been stung by wasps considerably more often, though not yet this year. Nasty critters and they are able to deliver more than one sting.
winston63 is offline  
Old 06-28-19, 12:57 PM
  #24  
stardognine
Partially Sane.
Thread Starter
 
stardognine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Sunny Sacramento.
Posts: 3,562

Bikes: Soma Saga, pre-disc

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 972 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 643 Times in 468 Posts
Sorry to derail your wasp theory, but these were honey bees, living in those big flat box hives like we've probably all seen on TV or in the movies. 😋
I was definitely in their space, taking a tinkle, lol, but not on purpose. It's an old neglected business, with falling roofs and overgrown weeds.
What surprised me was, I only got stung once. I must not have seemed very threatening, there were definitely backup bees around, too. 😲🤔
stardognine is offline  
Old 06-28-19, 03:58 PM
  #25  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,844

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,640 Times in 822 Posts
Originally Posted by stardognine
taking a tinkle, lol, but not on purpose.
Ahhh. Such are the joys of aging.
Paul Barnard is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.