Fifty Plus (50+) - Today was my lucky day because.....

I didn't get stung by the honey bee that got stuck inside of my jersey. I usually ride with a sting kit, because of my allergic reactions to bee/wasp stings, but due to the temperatures today (mid-40s), I didn't think that I needed to carry the kit. I was into the last 5 miles of a 30 miler when, something hit my lower lip. I checked the front of my jersey to see what it could have been, but nothing was there. Upon licking my lower lip, I tasted a bitterness that I associated with some kind on insect. Strange, because the temperature was around 48 degrees. Not thinking anything about it, I finished the ride home, put my bike away, and proceeded upstairs to get out of my cycling clothes. When I hung up my long sleeved jersey, what flies out, but a rather large, angry honey bee. It flew to the window, where I caught it and flushed it away. Lucky me!!! There might be something to global warming!

I don't have the jersey problem but Bugs in the helmet get me. I always finish up with a very quick stop and getting the helmet off as quick as possible at least 3 or 4 times a year. I am not bothered by bugs but the noise is horrendous.

Glad to hear that you are OK. Anaphylactic shock is dangerous. Bee and wasp stings account for more fatalities per annum in the USA than Bears, Gators, Sharks and poisonous snakes combined. I think the smaller the animal the more dangerous it is.

You want to hear a funny story. Back in high school my friend Pat was riding in a pair of regular jean shorts. A bee ended up in the back of her shorts, in the nether regions. She got stung and was so mad, rather than got off the bike, squeezed the thing to death. What a way to go.

I laugh every time I hear a bee story because I don't think that one can be beat.

Frederick - I'm so glad that, with your allergy, it wasn't worse.

Me - 1976. Motorcycle. Gorges de L'Ardeche, Half way down France on the east side. A beautiful windey road. I was young and stupid, and it was hot. Unzipped jacket down to the bottom of the zip but still attached, billowing like a parachute. You guessed it - cloud of wasps and hornets. I trawled them all up. I managed to stop and hoick off the jacket, but not before a lot of stings.

I've never felt so sick before or since. Spoilt the rest of the 2 week vacation. Owee, painful.

Henceforth, whatever the weather, I'm zipped from boots to helmet!!

I got a bee in my bonnet once (OK, my helmet) and I panicked. I ripped my helmet off while riding, and I ran into a parked minivan. It was right in front of the store where I was going. I told the owner what happened, and it turns out that I had run into her minivan! I didn't injure myself or dent the minivan, so I was able to laugh about it.

Yup had it happen too. After a ride, I put the bke away, went into the house. I felt a tickle on my chest. I thought it was just sweat running down my skin, so I rubbed it. Felt the tickle again, not thinking any thing of it, I rubbed it again. Felt it again, rubbed it again, WHAM. Stung dead center on the chest. Squashed it aginst my skin.
Then there was the time I had one walking on the inside of my glasses...

I can't tell you the number of times I've felt "something" go into my jersey and have tried to squash it between my fingers, without it touching my skin. Usually I'm stung once or twice a year and depending, on the species of bee/wasp, only get a "localized" swelling that stays for a week and itches like he**. I happened to think that the bee yesterday could have bounced into my mouth instead of my jersey. That may have required a 911 call!!! :eek:

Glad to hear that you are OK. Anaphylactic shock is dangerous. Bee and wasp stings account for more fatalities per annum in the USA than Bears, Gators, Sharks and poisonous snakes combined. ...
Is the human population becoming increasingly sensitive to insect stings, or are the stingers becoming more potent, or are active folks accumulating larger lifetime exposures and eventually succumbing? When I was a kid, one only extremely rarely heard about significant complications from a bee sting.