silentben

... at 40+ miles per hour. I was just finishing up a ride out to Pescadero and back and coming down Woodside road just east of 280. This is a pretty common place for me to be at the end of a ride. Since my house is only a couple miles away and it's a nice straight downhill I like to ride pretty hard and see how close I can get to the speed of the cars

Well today was no different and so I was tearing down the hill when I saw what I only really remember as a "small black floaty thing" directly up ahead. I stopped pedaling, ducked my head down, and maybe even closed my eyes. I thought it was just an insect but after I hit the first one, I got pelted by at least a couple dozen more. They were ricocheting off my helmet and hitting me in the legs and torso. Meanwhile I'm still doing 30+ mph with my head down not looking at the road at all!

Only when I finally made it through the swarm did I look down and see one bee still clinging to my jersey and another on my arm warmer. I brushed them off and got away without a single sting. It's a good thing the shoulder on that stretch of road is so wide and smooth or things could have gotten nasty.

Other than that it was a great ride and was my first time descending west Alpine (lots of fun!) and riding on Pescadero and Stage roads. Distance was 67 miles with 7000 feet of climbing and I'm finally feeling ready to tackle the Tour of the Unknown Coast

kuwahara

gnarly!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JaRow

You've got some serious testicular fortitude, maybe a little luck too.

msincredible

Yikes! Makes me appreciate the full-face helmet I wear on my Duc.

platypus

I also rode through a swarm of bees yesterday on Pierce. Seriously hairy!

x136 

On the bright side, at least it wasn't a pack of dogs with bees in their mouths, and when they bark, they shoot bees at you.

subframe

yikes, I was up on Pierce, glad I missed the bees!

velogirls

interesting. I rode through a swarm today on 84 just inland of San Gregorio. several of them got stuck in my helmet, but I didn't get stung.

last season was the worst for bees since I've been riding in 1999. is something changing in the environment?

oaklandcyclist

It's been an insanely great wildflower season throughout the state. Coincidence??

Funny you mention that... a bee flew in and got stuck in the teeny tiny top vent of my Shoei just last week.

ahpook

must be springtime!

glad you came through ok, ben.

DanteB

Twice this year I've ridden through swarms of bees. I did get swung on the first one, right in the crouch.

1jacktripper

I rode through a tiny swarm on Pierce Road last summer and did get "stung" on my left pinky. Afterwards, I learned that you should not try to pick out bee stings by hand because there's a bulb at the end of the sting that, once squeezed inevitably in the process of hand-picking out the sting, all toxins are released into the end that's stuck onto your skin.