I was descending a hill near De Luz when a bee struck my thigh, leaving its gut plug stuck in my leg pulsing. Not a good spot for losing control – I’m at 40mph, cars are at 60mph.
I fish-tailed to a stop and brushed the tool of torment away. Agony.
I get to the bottom of the hill and ANOTHER bee stings me inches from the first one. This was through the shorts, so it didn’t leave its stinger.
But still, agonizing AGONY!

Ouch, good job with mindfulness I'd say.

ouch!

I had a bee land on my nose and sting it while I was riding, and my wife wonders why I insist on riding with some sort of eye wear.

Good fun.
Two people have told me that bee stings have a cumulative effect, that that stings will get progressively worse. But I get at least 3 a year and seem to be building an immunity to them.
My most recent one was on my junk when the bee flew into my jersey and then down into my bibs, but the five before that were all on my left earlobe.
The best is when a yellowjacket flies into your motorcycle jacket--you get a nice row of stings that looks like your arm got stuck in an industrial sewing machine. That's happened twice so far, and the first one was pretty hilarious. I'm doing between 50 & 60, my arm is on fire, and I fishtail into the grass on the side of the road, throw the motorcycle down, strip my jacket off... and the gawddam thing flies off, apparently unharmed.

I was stung on the belly descending a fast swithback on GRR! Geeze! At 30 mph, you have to take the pain long enough (maybe 30 seconds) to come to a safe stop. Dam that hurts!

HTFU. Bee stings are the lulz. I worked for a local bee keeper one summer operating extractor equipment. My record was 26 in one day. Ear lobes and arm pits hurt the most. I've been stung once while riding. Found it to be quite stimulating. Mostly they just land on me or the bike and hitch a ride for a bit.

I don't know what "lulz" means but the initial sting isn't what bothers me. It's the swelling and poison like pouch that I carry around for 2 weeks that worries me.

One year I got stung 4 times within 3 months, each time with the same results. Last time on GRR. Stung on the neck then developed a pouch extending from my neck to my heart/chest area. Late night at the pharmacy a lady suggested I use cortisone 1% cream. It worked, swelling went down by morning but each time I get stung, it seems to affect me more.

Lady also suggested that I place a Baggy filled with ice cubes on immediately after the sting. Where am I going to find a baggy full of ice 15 miles up GMR/GRR midsummer?

Many people develop increasing sensitivity to bee stings (the poison) while others remain the same and yet others become more immune. The same goes for poison oak afaik. You have a very good reason for trying to avoid bee stings with as much zeal as you do. You don't want to end up with it swelling to the point that it causes permanent damage or death.

Also, my mother (health clerk at a school) says that meat tenderizer helps as well.

Meat tenderizer looks more painful than the bee sting!................



meattenderizer by GeatRealPics, on Flickr

The powder, silly!!!

............Do you rub the powder directly on the sting dry or add water to a paste?

I'm one of the people who developed an increasing sensitivity. I used to get stung all the time when I was a kid mowing lawns, working in the orchards, and playing baseball on clover fields. Found out the hard way (on a bike ride, coincidentally) that I'm now allergic to bee toxin and a good sting will send me into full anaphlaxis. So now I carry an Epi-Pen on every ride and put "bee sting allergy" on my Road ID.

Beanz: FWIW, the sting before the anaphlactic episode was on my toe and it swelled my whole leg for a week. The ER doc said that was a sign that I'd reaced the tipping point. So, bee careful. (Get it?)

...........Yeah, I figure I'm growing sensitive from what I've read and heard. As a kid, I got stung, bit and never phased. Now I'm old and delicate. Thanks!

Good question. I'll have to ask her the next time I talk with her. I have a mild reaction to bee stings... and have only been stung twice since hearing this tidbit, both far away from any kitchen products... so I've never been that concerned.

I've also trampled in poison oak 2 or 3 times, and never broke out. *knock on wood*

Those two were stings 2 and 3 for me (There's a Dr Suess joke in there somewhere). First was a couple years ago when (just a few miles from where I was yesterday) a bee was caught between my glasses and my temple. Sucka was like a dentist's drill buzzing. I felt fluttering in my face for a couple weeks as the venom dissipated.

Got a wasp caught in my jersey before. It stung me just below the sternum. Another wasp got me in the thigh last year.

Bringing that bike to a stop must've been a sight to see.

There was minor swelling the first 10-20 minutes, but it went away. I'll be mindful of swelling for subsequent stings.

Thing was, whenever I coasted or eased up, it hurt like a mother. I had to hammer home to keep the agony at bay.

When I got it on the nose, I just kept riding. The endorphins and concentration on my riding made the pain seem nonexistent.

Slurred speech is another unfortunate symptom of progressive accumulation of bee venom in the bloodstream.

Had one fly into my helmet and sting me on the top of my head when I was riding slowly through my suburban neighborhood. As I pulled over, threw my helmet on the ground, and starting slapping the top of my head, my first thought was, "hmmm, I probably look pretty ridiculous right now!"

Had a similar feeling last month when trying to kill the bee in my bib shorts. I was beating my groin unmerciful like a road-side Michael Jackson impersonator; three ladies rode by staring; I shouted "Bee." and they smiled and kept going, apparently satisfied with my explanation.

In retrospect, wish I'd shouted "BEE-HEEE!" and moonwalked a little.

Little sucker stung me right on the genital and now I have an ugly scar that won't come off no matter how much skin creme I rub into it.

Your post is full of win.

Lucky Dawg. When I was stung on the neck, I kept riding as it was in the middle of a hammer fest and the other riders weren't slowing down.
At the end of the ride, the dried stinger was still in my neck. In my case, it only gets worse over the following 2 days. I had a pouch of poison from my throat down to my chest, ick!

Especially since a bee can only sting you once anyway.

I rode into a swarm of bees on my commute home from work a couple weeks ago. One of my worst nightmares. Fortunately I did not get stung.