General Cycling Discussion - What Bugs Have You Eaten Lately?

I went riding last weekend with my brother in law and a friend around 7:30pm. At around 8pm it started getting dark, so we started picking up the pace. There was very little wind, so for the last 4 miles or our ride, we were easily doing around 19-20mph. All of a sudden a huge flying insect hits me on the side of my face and brushes along my mouth. It was the nastiest thing that happened to me in a while! And this sucker was huge... it felt like it was the size of golf ball. I'm glad I wasn't talking or breathing hard through my mouth, otherwise I would've eaten the damn thing! How many of you guys had a similar experience?

I mostly just eat gnats. They go down easy enough. A quick swig of water washes them down.

I did gag on a large beetle last year. That was not fun. I couldn't get it to come back up, so yes, I swallowed him.

I do not eat bugs. I inhale. Mostly midges which look surprisingly like gnats, but don't swarm the same way.

I only ride with my mouth open when I'm bored.......or hungry.....

I try to just enjoy the protein and not think too much on "who" it was. :::bleeck:::

Prolly fruit fly larva in the nectarine I ate this morning. I like my fruit very ripe.

I try to just enjoy the protein and not think too much on "who" it was. :::bleeck:::

That's how I ended up with my ex-wife.... (so sorry)

On a more serious note, I've found I'm a lot less weirded out by bugs when riding a bike than when driving, sleeping, sitting at my computer, whatever. The one exception is a bee in the helmet.

I ate a small grasshopper the other day. I had just polished off a bag of tortilla chips before I embarked on my ride home. As I rode I felt something in my mouth and thought it was a rogue chunk of chip that had broken loose from the back of my teeth. I started chewing on it and immediately realized this was no chip. At that point I attempted to spit it out, but it was mostly consumed.

Kind of nutty tasting.

I love this thread!



I ate a small grasshopper the other day. I had just polished off a bag of tortilla chips before I embarked on my ride home. As I rode I felt something in my mouth and thought it was a rogue chunk of chip that had broken loose from the back of my teeth. I started chewing on it and immediately realized this was no chip. At that point I attempted to spit it out, but it was mostly consumed.

Kind of nutty tasting.

Ewwww, but funny :)

For myself, the latest one I had was some sort of stinging/biting insect flew into the helmet straps by my hear and proceeded to panic and bite/sting me. It was creepy :notamused:

I ate a small grasshopper the other day. I had just polished off a bag of tortilla chips before I embarked on my ride home. As I rode I felt something in my mouth and thought it was a rogue chunk of chip that had broken loose from the back of my teeth. I started chewing on it and immediately realized this was no chip. At that point I attempted to spit it out, but it was mostly consumed.

Kind of nutty tasting.

LOL... You didn't feel it move or anything? :eek:

Ants are very tangy.

Ants are very tangy.

So we're bug connoisseurs now? I've never tried an ant. I'll keep that in mind. I can't say I've run into one while cycling.

Tastes like chicken!

So we're bug connoisseurs now? I've never tried an ant. I'll keep that in mind. I can't say I've run into one while cycling.

I actually have tried an ant, but not on the bikes.

I used to work with a guy from Columbia. He'd go home to visit family every year. One year when he came back, he brought a tupperware container full of queen ants fried in butter. He told me back home they eat them like popcorn, then proceeded to pop a few in his mouth.

Me and another guy decided that if he could eat these things, we could too. So we grabbed some and tried them. For some weird reason it was harder to put my hand into the bowl than it was to eat the thing. A whole crowd of people gathered to watch us eat these things, as we were the only ones who would.

The flavor reminded me of a corn nut. The texture was kind of like popcorn.

This was right at the end of our shift. The other guy who tried it with me went home, grabbed his wife, gave her a deep kiss and then said, "Guess what I just ate?"

My wife and I went to a movie that night with some friends. As I was standing in line for the tickets, I felt something in my teeth. I reached in and yanked out a leg that had been stuck there. My wife nearly fainted on the spot.

Was recently riding a local rail trail soaking up nature (apparently in mouth open wonderment) when wham, something bit or stung me right in the tongue. Spit that sucker out but pain level high, immediate swelling moderate. Lasted for about 2 hours before relief set in. Note to self....pack ibuprofen in tool roll.

I swallowed a Bumble Bee once. Actually, it went in my mouth, and was caught in my thoat, and I decided to swallow it, rather than have it sting me inside my thoat. If it had stung me inside my thoat, I could've had difficulty breathing.

It didn't kill me. That's all I can say.

Best I saw was a guy on a beach cruiser at the beach tooling along with a cup or beer and a bee flew into his ear. He freaked and went flying off into the bushes and came up proud as hell that he didn't spill a drop. yep it stung him in the ear. but hey, the beer survived. funny as heck. He did not eat it though.

I ate worms once. Deep fried in a scarily hot chilli sauce in a Johannesburg restaurant.

Very ick, but I'm not sure if it was the worm or the chilli.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8089/img3099o.jpg

The other night I wanted to do a few intervals but pretty much relented to an easy paced ride since the bugs were so bad. When you can see the bugs hanging out at the edge of where the sun is hitting a shadow on the road....so thick you can feel them hit every inch of your face as you try and not breath....eww as you pass through a cloud of insects.

I can take it most times but just at that right night, at the right time it is just too many freaking bugs. My wife always loves the bug cover face look when I get home too and thats after I've wiped with the glove before coming in the house. Good times.

Bugs are why I wear safety glasses while riding. Im in South Carolina and bugs rule, here. I get plastered by big ones, and those thick, choking clouds of pesky no-see-ums. I haven't eaten any lately, but that is because I've learned to smile between my teeth.

Ate three this morning for breakfast not sure what kind they were, not very tasty.

Ate three this morning for breakfast not sure what kind they were, not very tasty.
I know, huh? I dont know what all the hubbub about eating insects is. I get that they may be efficient sources of protein and are renewable and all that jazz - but they really are not very good.

just the usual gnats ....

Just polished off a Maine lobster and a baked potato!

MMMhhm....Yummy! :)

No one else here has encountered the Japanese beetle on a ride? I haven't eaten one (yet) fortunately. But when you hit them, you know it. It's like hitting a rock suspended mid-air.

No eating bugs, gulping gnats or crunching beetles for me because I keep my mouth tightly closed as part of my breathing regimen. If I open it on my ride I consider it a minor failure and work to correct it.