I was bee-headed
After finishing another day at the best job in the world I was on my way home to the best family in the world on Friday when it happened.
I was about a kilometre from home, enjoying the perfect, Perth, Spring weather when I spotted some kind of flying bug heading in my direction. With me travelling at around 35 kilometres per hour in one direction and the bug heading fairly quickly in the other it was impossible to identify what kind of bug it was.
It hit my helmet and I assumed it would do what 99.9% of bugs do upon coming face to face with my helmet - bounce off. A second or two later I accomplished two things simultaneously. Without even seeing it I knew instantly that the bug hadn't bounced off and at the same time I positively identified the bug as a bee.
After becoming lodged in one of the plentiful air vents of my helmet, the bee panicked and decided that I was a bad person who should be punished. It forcefully shoved it's rear end into my forehead. OUCH!
I've never understood that mentality. I would have gladly taken off my helmet and let it fly off yet it sacrificed its life on the assumption that I was an aggressor. By assuming the worst, we both lost out.
Meanwhile, back on the bike, as the pain started ramping up, I said a number of words under my breath and pulled my bike up in super quick time, thus shredding a small patch on my back tyre. I unclipped my helmet, yanked it from my head and threw it down onto the grass by the side of the road. The bee also fell to the ground and started writhing around as its life slipped away. I knew that by stinging me the bee would surely die but I must admit that my right shoe helped speed up the process.
I wiped the sting from my forehead then calmly picked up my helmet, glasses and my iPod mini headphones. I reassembled myself and headed home with a throbbing, stinging pain in my forehead.
I ended up with a red blotch surrounding the area of impact for a while and it was sore for a couple of hours. Not a great overall result but considering I've cycled tens of thousands of kilometres and this is the first (and hopefully last) time it's happened, I reckon I'm doing OK.
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