Bee's and Bikes
 

Bee’s,
So I am out on a 100 ride and I get hit by not one bee but three! :mad: The first one gets me in the stomach. Great another 3-4 days of pain and scratching. But then, yet another one slams into my helmet, and I start to feel something moving around… of course off comes the helmet.. Fortunately I did not get stung. Then a bit later a third bee bounces off my helmet… This makes the total for the year up to 5. Maybe considering how much I ride, 5 in a year is not too bad of odds.. But this is getting real tiresome.

Does anyone have a good method of what to do to take the sting away and speed the recovery?

I have yet to have this happen to me, as I have never been stung by a bee. However, I am kind of scared, especially since Folsom is near Roseville where I have recently moved to :(

I used to wear regular glasses until one day a bee hit me just above the eyebrow and he dropped down onto the inside on the lens. Pretty freaky trying to stop and get the glasses off with this multi-legged furry bug thrashing around on my eye lid. I now wear glasses that fit tight to my face.

Also, occasionally I would notice wasps around my bike and I got stung on the hand twice. I noticed Gatorade spills on the frame and now I wipe them off right away so as not to attract the wasps.

Depends on what you're calling a bee. If you're talking about a honey bee, then simply use your finger nail or a credit card and scrape the stinger out of your skin as quickly as possible. It'll stop hurting fairly quickly. Other stinging insects such as wasps and hornets don't have a detachable stinger so this method doesn't work. I have honey bees so this has been the only one I've ever worried about.

Borrow a lit cigarette. Knock the ash off and hold the cherry 2 or 3 mm above the sting (close enough to feel lots of heat but far enough out not to get burned). Hold it there as long as you can stand it (again, without actually burning) rest a few seconds and repeat 2 or 3 more times.

The heat breaks down the protein - that's what causes the sting/itch. Works great for skeeter bites but I haven't tested it on bee stings. Fortunately I haven't been stung since I was a kid.

You might also try making a paste out of water and baking soda and dab some on the sting

What kind of sunglasses were you wearing- if any? I used to get hit by bees on a regular basis-particularly around sunset. They seemed to be making a b line right for my face. Fortunately they always seemed to hit my cheek then bounce off and I never was stung.

After I switched from mirror finish shades bee collisions all but ended ( although I still have the rare encounter). I think the reflection of the sun threw off their navigation or the UV refraction fooled them into thinking there was a tasty flower ahead.

^^^
Do you usually have no problems finding a lit cigarette on your rides?

I was stung by a yellow jacket today, a nice treat after a hard ride, ugh.

I was out on a ride, it was cloudy and in the 50s last week. I got stung right thru my tights above my knee cap. I didnt see the bug and I didnt find a stinger so I guess it must have been a hornet since their stingers are not barbed. Man that hurt, it swelled up big too for 3-4 days and then went away.

At first I could not believe something could sting me thru those tights. I thought it may have been a spider that was in the tights when I put them on but I did not find one or any part of one in my tights when I took them off.

I've been stung by yellow jackets (aka. wasps) 3 times this year. It happens. If you're allergic, make sure to carry your sting kit.

If you're itching for 3 days afterwards, you should be tested for bee allergies. The get worse every time you are stung and can become deadly.

You should keep one in your roadside repair kit, not lit though, it wont last very long if it is. It's standard equipment, everyone knows that.

On one of my regular rides there is a bike bridge (no cars) that must have a hive under it. Every time I cross it there is a bunch of bees (30-40 maybe) swarming around. I wear tight fitting glasses and my helmet has a screen in the front vents. I keep my mouth shut and sit up to help make less places they could get stuck. I have to ride right through them, no problem so far. I also keep my speed up.

I was tagged in the lip a couple of weeks ago. Whatever it was, it was freaking huge. I felt like I had taken a jab to the face. Then, my lip swelled up massively. It was not much fun. I pulled a big stinger out, but I never knew exactly what it was. I have also been hit by a few yellow jackets. Every time I am stung, it is while descending. I dont think they are ever trying to sting me as much as I am just smacking into them.

yeah this summer i got stung by 2 yellow jackets, 1 bee, and ran into a ton without getting stung. (they really like going in my jersey)

I have to stop riding with my mouth open. I can't imagine how painful a sting in the mouth or throat would be--or how horrible it would feel to have one of those things in my mouth.

The tight-fitting glasses are also a good idea. I guess I should just bite the bullet and buy a pair of prescription sports goggles.

I never heard of a lit cigarette. Humm, I will have to get a carbon-fiber ashtray for my bike.

I think I will tryout the credit card..

bees suck...

riding motorcycles most of my life I can attest to that...

no way would I want stung in the mouth or on the eye area... HOLY CRIZAP that would suck!

goggles huh?

-10 for a spelling edit :D

I've been stung in the mouth by a yellow jacket. Not while riding , though. It was in my post ride beer. My lip puffed up real big, and I was laughed at all day long.

Or borrow one from one of these guys: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=592316

This time of year bees get a little wacky especially in cooler climates like up here in the Northeast. Just hangin outside and I find that they seem to be kinda sluggish and buzz people constantly. In the summer they more or less mind their own business.

One nice thing about the big freeze we're having now... my riding is bug free.

The wasps were horrible this year... they thrive in the dry weather while hornets and skeeters like the rain and it was dry here.

Worst bug incident was taking a wasp to the face at 145 kmh while motorcycling...

I got stung by a bumble bee, which are usually not aggressive at all. Hit my face and fell onto my chest and stung almost instantly. I am allergic, so I race home, fell from dis-orientation (not hurt, on the grass) and raced in the house to take a benedryl and another tablet. OK after about 5 hours.
Girlfriend is on the phone to 911 but all was ok.

Scary, so I now carry my pill and an instant release benedryl wrapped around my wrist in a small pill case.
Not in winter of course but squirrels are just as scary. Little critters seem to bee line for your spokes.

Be careful to all:).

Carry a book of matches with you, use the sulfur on the tip of them, a little of water or spit and make a paste. Put the paste right on the sting. Should stop the itching in a second or two.

Works for me anyways.

True, if you ride in a sparsely populated area one may not be fast at hand however the OP asked for advise on how to "speed the recovery".

Irritation from stings/bites can often last 1 or 2 days until the body naturally breaks down the foreign proteins. The cigarette method quickens the process. If you want to spend some $ you can buy a " bite pen" at most drug stores- it works the same way only with chemicals but I find a lit butt cheaper and less painful than the pens.

arent there killer bees in america?