Road Cycling - Bugs!

in the past 2 days i have swallowed 3 bugs. its just awful. they get lodged in the back of your throat and you gag and drink water. they taste AWFUL and its no fun at all. is there any way to aviod this, or should i be a man and deal with it?

in the past 2 days i have swallowed 3 bugs. its just awful. they get lodged in the back of your throat and you gag and drink water. they taste AWFUL and its no fun at all. is there any way to aviod this, or should i be a man and deal with it?

keep your mouth closed?

Be like Mike?

Be like Mike?
:roflmao: :lol: :lol: :roflmao:

in the past 2 days i have swallowed 3 bugs. its just awful. they get lodged in the back of your throat and you gag and drink water. they taste AWFUL and its no fun at all. is there any way to aviod this, or should i be a man and deal with it?

mmm, protein.

seriously, does this happen to anyone else?

seriously, does this happen to anyone else?

I have learned to spit better! Yes, it happens to a lot of people. I damn near inhaled something when I was pounding up a huge hill, mouth wide open and sucking in great gobs of air, and, unfortunately, some sort of bug. I spit him out, but only after I lost all momentum and had to drop into the bail out small cog on my triple.

This year in Maryland we are having the 17 year cicadas. I wasn't riding the last time, but I remember them being as thick as flies in some spots. The surgical mask may be a good idea this hear!

I was being a smartass before. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

It happens to everyone.

I think if you can't spit 'em out, you just have to gulp 'em down. Last year I posted about swallowing something that felt like a South American giant cockroach in the back of my throat. I swear, I thought I felt it trying to crawl back out.

All in all, I'd rather have a bug in my throat than a bee in my jersey. That has happened too. It wasn't good for either the bee or me. I survived, though. The bee didn't.

Turn your head to the side when you ride. :) Wait, then they'll end up in your ear.

I've swallowed a few in my time.

55/Rad

what is it about bees that make them want to be in your jersey and helmet?
I had one try to get in my helmet a few rides back....didn't stop riding but it was very perplexing until the thing cleared out.
spit out a few bugs today (nice story about the one crawling up the throat!)
as well as getting beaned on the arm by some large insect, probably a bumble bee....that hurt, and on the helmet too *thwock*...always kind of a startling surprise.
the cicada thing will be brutal in some areas to be sure

really nothing you can do except grin and bear it (and clean your teeth after the ride :D)

Keep a water bottle filled with ketchup (catsup??).

Think of it as a foreign delicacy - akin to fried cockroaches covered in chocolate, or something like that.

Use the ketchup to wash the critter down.

I have been told by a park naturalist that one bug has as much protein as an entire protein bar.

GOOD NUTRITION, and yes, we have SWARMS along the creek and river trails, and I eat at least one per ride.

2 ideas:
Wear a bandana 'bandito' style to cover your mouth.
Learn to breathe through your nose.

A wise man once told me....."Carry lots of water and swallow hard". :D

Yeah, some bugs taste bad, and some bugs just taste awful. If your in Florida there are these things called "love bugs" and they taste the worst. I caught one while running once, damn they are nasty. Peace.

Yeah, some bugs taste bad, and some bugs just taste awful. If your in Florida there are these things called "love bugs" and they taste the worst. I caught one while running once, damn they are nasty. Peace.

Don't know what a "love bug" is but it can't be worse than a "lightning bug". :eek:

Don't know what a "love bug" is but it can't be worse than a "lightning bug". :eek:


Love bugs are nasty lil creatures. I have never eaten one, but I'll bet they taste nasty, too!

http://www.attictrinkets.com/recipeVI/lovebugs.html

http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/luvbug.html

http://www.floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe00508.htm

Another bad thing that is floating around right now is the fluff from cottonwood trees. This stuff looks like falling snow this time of year around the Willammette and Clackamas rivers in Oregon.

i think i'd rather swallow a bug than get hit in the face with one. that happened to me yesterday. i was ripping down this hill, and came around a corner, almost slammed into someone's trash can and recycling bin that they left in the street, turned to look forward again and ZZZZZZZZZZIPSMACK!

i think the worst is getting one in your eye though.

i think the worst is getting one in your eye though.

I experienced this a couple weeks ago, left a bug wing floating in my eye that took twenty minutes to get out. Something creepy about seeing a black wing stuck to your eyeball in the mirror.

Something creepy about seeing a black wing stuck to your eyeball in the mirror.

it'd make a good album cover though.

Chew them up quickly before they bite/sting you. Little black bugs are the worst, I come home with them stuck all over my body, no fun getting one in the eye.

i think i'd rather swallow a bug than get hit in the face with one. that happened to me yesterday. i was ripping down this hill, and came around a corner, almost slammed into someone's trash can and recycling bin that they left in the street, turned to look forward again and ZZZZZZZZZZIPSMACK!

i think the worst is getting one in your eye though.


thats hillarious!!! as for the eye, ever heard of sunglasses?

Another bad thing that is floating around right now is the fluff from cottonwood trees. This stuff looks like falling snow this time of year around the Willammette and Clackamas rivers in Oregon.

Yeah, thats stuff was killing me on a ride yesterday...

As far as bugs go its not too bad here in Oregon, though I caught a bumblebee about an inch from my mouth at about 38mph the other day... I think I'd rather have a sore face than to have that thing go in my mouth though :)

I swallowed at least 3-4 yesterday on a late ride. the worst was once when I had a bee fly straight into my mouth, I managed to spit him out but he stung my lip.

I cannot ride with my mouth closed. I can never get enough air just nose breathing unless I am just toodling along at a leisurely pace.

thats hillarious!!! as for the eye, ever heard of sunglasses?

It is easy to tell who does and does not have bugs by replies such as this.

Bugs LOVE sunglasses. They land on the outside and crawl around on the inside. You get to watch as they make their way up and down the inside lens, then they enjoy flicking over to your eyeball.

All the time you are blowing up from your lips trying to get them to fly off your glasses, but this hardly ever works!

So, you finally stop, take the glasses off, remove the bugs, and start up again!

Last year a bug of some sort got down my jersey and between my bosoms and bit me! I was probably unzipped because it was warm.

The real bug season hasn't arrived yet, but mayflies will be swarming around soon, making things really unpleasant. However, they only last about a couple of weeks. However, I have already seen bees, mostly bumblebees the size of baseballs. I hate getting those little gnats in my eyes, I have contacts, so it means having to stop and put eyedrops in.

Yeah, thats stuff was killing me on a ride yesterday...

As far as bugs go its not too bad here in Oregon, though I caught a bumblebee about an inch from my mouth at about 38mph the other day... I think I'd rather have a sore face than to have that thing go in my mouth though :)

I've had a bee sting me inside my mouth. That was about 10 years ago. Since then I've been pretty lucky in being able to spit them back out before they've had a chance to sting.

As far as other bugs go...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=30263

as for the eye, ever heard of sunglasses?

My head's bent down, they zip right between that little slot at my eyebrow.

Reminds me of a shooting class I went to where everybody was using Glocks. The shell casing would fly up and land right between the safety glasses and their eyebrow and start burning in their skin. Ouch!

Reminds me of a shooting class I went to where everybody was using Glocks. The shell casing would fly up and land right between the safety glasses and their eyebrow and start burning in their skin. Ouch!

OUCH!!! Thats gotta be painful. Never had the pleasure of that but I shoot a smith and a ruger. Not sure if the ejection of the spent cartridge is much different though. I'll pay more attention next time I am out at the range.

seriously, does this happen to anyone else?

Yep, just two days ago a hornet or yellow jacket collided with my mouth. I spit quickly, but not quick enough, he stung me on the tip of my tongue...that was a first for me. I'm sure this was an unpleasant experience for both me and the bug! Luckily I'm not allergic to 'em.