Rick_D

Ever have a stinging thing get into your shirt while riding? Been a looong time for me but happened again today. Riding at a good clip then something is stinging, wandering, stinging, wandering, down my chest. Ripped the shirt up and shook whatever (never saw it) away, now nursing several painful welts.

Notes to self: bring antihistamines. Epi pen? Perhaps.

That's all. Winter approaches and the flying things will be gone for awhile.

XxHaimBondxX

Do flying things ever go away in California?

Rick_D

Trick question! :-)

In my part mostly, but on the coast and in SoCal, perhaps not so much.

frdfandc

I've been stung a few times myself. Not fun when your clipping along at 20 mph. I still see stingers once in a while to this day. Haven't really had a good solid frost yet.

rsbob 

I too had a stinging thing fly down my jersey and nail me a couple of times but doubt it flew up from Cali. Had a honey bee in my helmet which was a panic, but my all time fave was getting stung on my lower lip which swelled up to the size of a very large lip thing.

MarcusT

Yes, has happened to me, but had another place just as bad; under the chin strap of my helmet, stung me numerous times before I could stop and remove the offender

Rick

A stinging swarm got on me in 1978. I believe they were hornets. A deputy saw it happening and tried to help me out.

50PlusCycling

I once rode through a swarm of bees flying across US 27 in South Florida. Luckily, I’m not allergic to stings. I recently got bit by one of those red back spiders which Australians were kind enough to export to Japan. It had web under a bench at the park, and decided to bite me on the lower leg as I sat on the bench as I was relaxing in the midst of a long ride. The bite was nasty, my ankle and foot swelled up, and walking was a bit painful, but after a week, the swelling and pain are gone, and all I have is a red blotch where it bit me.

BTinNYC 

Riding the trailway this summer a bee flew into my mouth and stung the inside of my lip before I could spit him out. Not allergic, but it was a bit of shock. I was thinking; did that really just happen?

noimagination

Sure. Fortunately (1) I noticed right away; (2) I was wearing a full-zip jersey; and (3) the bee/hornet/wasp was confused/disoriented/traumatized rather than aggressive, so I was able to quickly sit up, rip open my zipper and free the little guy before she/he got in any stings.

Otherwise, I've gotten stung twice on rides, once when the poor guy got stuck in my helmet strap just in front of my ear. The second was just this summer, I guess I hit a hornet with my leg, he stuck on and decided to sting my quad just above my knee.

Annoying and a little painful, but nothing dramatic.

A fun one (only tangentially related to the OP): I mistakenly left my helmet outside on the deck to dry overnight. It wasn't too damp the next day, so I put it on and rode off. About a minute later, I felt something on my face, quickly stopped, brushed an earwig off my face, took off my helmet and shook out another 5-6 of the little suckers. Then, enjoyed a full-body shudder of disgust before riding on. It must have been amusing to passers-by to see me screeching to a halt, ripping off my helmet and frantically rubbing at my head and shaking my helmet.

Good times.

indyfabz

Yes. A couple of times.

I also got stung in the groin area during a descent. Just missed my man parts by about 2”. Happened at the end of a day of riding during an organized tour. A volunteer game me a baggie of ice to put down my shorts. Talk about shrinkage.

joesch

Yes in the jersey are pains till removed and once had a spider that was probably sleeping in jersey and awoke deciding to show its displeasure until I think I crushed. The bee in the ear is also really disrupting

tomato coupe

Never use "man parts" and "2 inch" in the same sentence. Just sayin'.

RB1-luvr

I ran over a bee nest in the ground with my lawn mower once, and in addition to about 15 stings on the upper body, one got lodged under the tongue of my shoe and hammered me a bunch of times in one spot. So fun. Lucky for me I'm not allergic. Took a heck of a nap after from the adrenaline dump.

XxHaimBondxX

may want to mow more often.

Pantah

Imagine that but at 60mph on a motorcycle. Had the face shield up on the helmet and at that speed, simply hitting the business end of a bee is enough, no effort required on behalf of the bee.

rosefarts

I’ve been nailed by bees or wasps maybe once or twice a year for about as long as I can remember.

I rarely even see the bees offender, so that says to me wasp. When I find a stinger in the ouchy part, there’s confirmation of the bee.

I don’t have problems with them, other than I don’t like to hurt. My wife has had enough reactions, which so far are treatable with diphenhydramine, that she’s started carrying epi.

genejockey 

I had that happen to me at 35 mph on a bicycle. I don't know what kind of stinging insect it had been, but it hit me in the lip before spattering across my teeth. Tasted bitter.

I did once take a June Bug to the forehead at 60 mph in an MGB. That was startling.

posse

Been stung on multiple occasions and stung multiple times on several occasions. You haven't experienced cycling until you've had the pleasure of stinging creatures seeking refuge in a half zipped jersey on a hot summer day.

Kai Winters

Also stung a few times over the years but the worst...IMO...was in a road race. I was in a 6 man break and we were all good riders so it was going to succeed...UNTIL a F...ing stingy thing hit me in the forehead just above the glasses. It proceeded to sting me right between the eyes...thought I was going to die lol. Started swatting at my head and yelling...the other five riders are looking at me like I lost my mind. They dropped me and I pulled out of the race, it hurt so bad. They asked me after the race WTF??? and when they saw my swollen forehead they 'laughed' the rat bastards. That was back in the '90's and I still haven't forgiven or forgotten lol.

bikingshearer 

My one and only bee sting ever was when one little butthead flew under my glove. I have no idea how it managed that, but it did and it hurt. My arm swelled up from finger tips to my elbow and the swelling in my wrist was such that any bump in the road was transmitted straight to my wrist bones. Not painful, but an odd sensation for the next day or two. (I was in the middle of a long-distance solo self-supported tour, so just heading for home was not an option.)

I watched one friend have a bee fly down his shirt and sting him on the chest. I watched another friend have a bee hit him on the cheek and hang around long enough to sting. Neither friend particularly enjoyed the experience.

streetsurfer

As a driver, I received many stings due to wing vent windows. I don't recall getting stung on a bicycle. Motorcycle, yes.


...yellow jacket venom can demyelinate nerves.

Some other fun facts:

frdfandc

Just your first hand description gave me a full body shiver.

Champlaincycler

Got into a yellow jacket nest late summer. They were in a small pile of crushed stone I use for my patio that had a few hay bales on it. Took a bale apart for mulch and my wrist was on fire, like I was slashed. Took a few seconds to realize what was up and ran like hell. They were inside my boots stinging my ankles over and over, so had to take them off before getting inside the house where a dozen of them followed me. Must have been stung 40-50 times. Was ok, but the adrenaline was flowing. Took almost 10 days for the itching to stop. Still creeps me out.
On the bike, I've been stung a few times. Seems it happens when going downhill at speed and we just collide and they decide to hang on. Always wear decent size glasses/goggles.

grumpus

I caught a wasp in my mouth, spat it out and sucked hard on the lip where it had stung me, which presumably removed some of the venom - I didn't get much swelling. I was chastised for uttering an obscenity on a "family friendly" ride.