My second worst experience with an insect occurred during a race in 1999.

The route descended into a ravine, climbed out of the ravine, turned left ... and then the cyclists pulled a U-turn and descended back into the ravine, climbed out of the ravine, pulled a U-turn ... etc. etc. for several loops.

I descended into the ravine and when I was climbing out, I noticed that there was a camera crew set up near the top of the hill filming the Cat 2 cyclists who were now about to descend the hill. I was laughing because they were all zipping up and trying to look all cool.

I got to the top of the hill, turned left, rode along a ways, then pulled the U-turn and started back toward the ravine.

All of a sudden a MASSIVE dragonfly flew into my mouth!!!!

I could feel it buzzing its wings, and I desperately tried to spit or gag it out .... but it was lodged in there!!

Just then I noticed that I was getting closer and closer to the camera crew. I didn't want the image of me gagging and spitting a dragonfly out of my mouth to be captured, but I didn't know what to do ... this thing would not back out of my mouth!

As I passed the camera crew, I closed my mouth and cycled by looking as calm, cool, and collected as a person can look with a massive dragonfly buzzing in her mouth.

As soon as I was by the camera, I reached into my mouth, and dragged this thing out ........ and then went through almost convulsive shudders at the thought of what had just happened!!

I DNF'd that race.

I also have this fear of dragonflies.

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My worst experience wasn't nearly so amusing.

Late last autumn (mid-May), Rowan and I were on a dusk ride and there were lots of bugs flying around. One flew into my mouth and lodged itself well back in my throat. I coughed, hacked, and tried to spit it out but it wouldn't go. I ended up swallowing it, but almost immediately I was struggling to breathe. It felt like my throat closed up. I also had one of the worst sinus reactions I've had to anything.

I drank water and more water, struggling to get it down, and coughed, hacked, sputtered, and blew my nose, and wiped my eyes, and drank more water.

For the rest of the ride, my throat was burning and felt like I had a large grape stuck halfway down ... and I was fighting to breathe.

I continued to have throat issues for almost 2 months after, and during that time determined that I must have swallowed a rove beetle. Definitely NOT something you'd want to swallow.

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Of course those are only two of many insect stories ... and two of many other cycling stories. I've been cycling regularly since 1990 ... a lot of things seen and done in that time.