green427

I was enjoying a 2 hour excursion in a state park's MTB trail until I rode through a swarm of bugs while huffing & puffing.

15 minutes after gagging, coughing, and spitting, the bugs finally came out of my lungs.

psalm

I did the same thing a couple of weeks ago, I didn't choke on any though but one got stuck inside my helmet. I had to stop, take my helmet off so it could get out. That bee was angry, ANGRY I say. I kept trying to get it away from me. A few people rode by me asking if I was okay. I must have looked like a drowning man asking for help. I just yelled out "BEES!" I finally had to ride off with my helmet hanging from my bars to get away.

perspiration

dude its bad...i go through clouds of gnats and my arms come out black. makes me want to shave my arm hair.

GeoBigJon

I have yet to hit a cloud of bugs while riding my bike. The only cloud of bugs I have hit lately was in my vehicle have been swarming bees.

kevinvin

Eww.. I have had that happen.. covered in bugs, I unfortunately run into stinging things about every other ride.. Had a big hornet get me on the leg 30 miles into a 50 mile ride.. Bad day. so far I have never hit a deer... but I did watch a guy on a TT bike drop because a group of turkeys decided to run out in front of him..

LongT

I was racing at a velodrome one night. The lights ALWAYS attract bugs. Just about going into the sprint I got a mouthful of a VERY large moth type flying thing. Coughed, choked and what seemed like a powdery substance made me a bit thirsty because it dried out my mouth. Disgusting!!

Bill

Mr. Beanz

Sheesh! The river trail we frequent has swarms of mosquitoes in certain areas. I'm always in front but somehow Gina seems to be the one to swallow.

Riding in the mountains, I've hit swarms of bees, MTB off roading too. Once on the bike trail a hornet(?) stung me right over my heart. By the end of the ride, I could feel it in my heartbeat. I was worried about having heart attack or something.

aenlaasu

Ah the bug swarms. Gagging on them is bad. I also hate it when the gnats and no-see-ums get behind my glasses and end up in my eye. Then as I swerve wildly toward the shoulder, I can feel it wriggling around until I get it out. *shudder*

bautieri

Bah, I just chew them up and swallow. It's a free miniature protein snack

dcrowell

If you see them up ahead, close your mouth! If you don't see them, well, what bautieri said.

marmot

I hate walking into a gnat swarm, because the damn things seem to enjoy being around your head and you can't get rid of them. They have trouble keeping up with a bike: yet another reason to never walk when you could be riding.

EKW in DC

Yeah they can be abundant on the MUP along the river that's part of my commute. I've swallowed a few, coughed some back out, but have gotten better about avoiding them.

The worst encounter I've had was when I once managed to swallow a full-sized regular house fly type thing. Yuck. I've had some pretty good size bugs bounce off my face too. If you're going fast enough it can hurt a little.

TrojanHorse

LMAO, Mr Beanz, you should consider rewording your post.

I caught a monster flying bug of some sort once, went straight down my throat and I immediately went into a huge coughing jag. I don't think I ever got it out but I'm still grossed out.