Bee in my sleeve.

[aleng]

So... the other day I had got off my bike after riding and felt something crawling on my arm (not cool). I don't know why but my first reaction was to feel it with my other hand to see if there was something actually there. Upon touching my sleeve something bit/stung me so I immediately dropped my back pack, ripped my jacket off, and watched a bee fly out of my sleeve. This got me thinking about how I would have responded had I been riding at the time of the sting. Or if it had been a spider... I freakin hate spiders.

Does anyone have a good story about being bitten/stung while riding and how you handled it without flipping out?

Heaven forbid I have a spider crawl across the inside of my visor as I'm traveling 85 on the e-way. I'd loose it.

[calscrazy]

yes do tell. i am deadly allergic to bees,wasps, yellowjackets, etc. that is prob my biggest fear. i know i would just freak out.

[hyphen]

I actually had gotten stung on my neck while I was riding a few months ago.  I was going maybe 40 or 50 on the freeway in moderate traffic conditions.  I felt something kinda tickling my neck so I did what you did, took my left hand and put it on my neck.  Right then it stung me, just left of my adam's apple.  It was such a unexpected shocking sensation that I almost let go of my throttle grip (don't ask why, it was an involuntary reaction).  But I realized what I was doing so I gripped really tight and sort of swiped at my neck frantically.  Luckily, I didn't flip out and lose control.  I pulled over as fast as I could (almost side-swiping a car in the process).

I took off my helmet and looked in the mirror, it was throbbing, and the stinger was still in my neck.  So I pulled it out and chilled out for about 10 minutes to calm down.  I guess I got lucky, but I always ride with my head tilted slightly down now.

[knightrider]

i was on a ride with a bunch of local ducs and going through the mountains, i ran into a bee, hit me right in the adams apple.  i didnt know it was a bee but it kept hurting moreso than normal when i hit bugs(im like a bug magnet) so i waited til we stopped for gas and asked someone to take a look at it.  they took out the stinger and we kept riding.

[DY]

The space between my helmet chin and jacket collar feels really vulnerable right now.

The only bug experience i've had was on the freeway, i saw a gnat crawling around the inside of my face shield.  Got all crosseyed looking at him and started to get dizzy, so i just ignored it.  Good thing gnats dont sting!

[johnster]

The space between my helmet chin and jacket collar feels really vulnerable right now.

Yeah, It always makes for a fun ride when you get one of those little buggers  stuck inside your helmet after he got sucked in through the gap in front of your chin + your helmet, isn't it??   


Usually openning my visor lets'em out. I would imagine it's only a  matter of time before a bee stops by to say hi!!   

[somegirl]

Someguy once had a bee in his helmet on a group ride (he was sweep).  We wondered for a little while what happened to him, but he managed to get rid of it and catch up with us eventually.  I did have to tease him afterwards about having a "bee in his bonnet" though.

[Adamm0621]

Well, it wasn't an insect, but a few years ago a friend of mine was riding his bike over to my place for a few beers.  He was running a little late so I gave him a call to see if he'd left his place yet.  Turns out the reason he was late was because he had just laid down his bike.  He had been going about 45 mph down the road when the driver of the car in front of him, flicked their lit cigarette butt out of the window of their car and it hit him in the eye.  He lost control and low-sided.  He was wearing a full face at the time but had his tinted visor up because it was getting dark. 

I drove out to meet him, and wait for the to finish up their paperwork.  His bike was rideable, so we took it back to my place, and then just let the beer flow.

BTW... the driver of the car in front of him was cited at-fault for the accident, and was fined for littering. 

[CDawg]

I was riding near Deal's Gap when I felt a sharp pain on my left chest.  I kept riding and tried to not let it take up too much of my attention.  Wehn I got tot he hotel about 3 hours later, I discovered I had a swelling.  Something had bite me through one of the perforation holes in my Vanson leather! 

I think know that a bee/wasp was on me or in my helmet would be more scary than actually being bit.

[somegirl]

BTW... the driver of the car in front of him was cited at-fault for the accident, and was fined for littering. 

That's awesome.   Sorry about your friend's accident, though.

[DY]

I just got back from a ride and found half a bee(forward half) crawling around on my thigh.  This thread came to mind as I looked dilligently for the "hazardous half."    Never found it. 

[TiNi]

remaining calm, when it comes to bees, is easier said then done 

[ScottRNelson]

I was stung by a bee a few months ago just after I left San Luis Obispo heading north.  I hit it at 65 mph and it managed to strike the four square inches or so of bare skin between the top of my leather jacket and my helmet.  I was stung on the right side of my neck about half an inch below the top of the collar on my jacket.  I knew right away by feel that it was a bee sting, even though it had been a few years since my previous bee sting.

I pulled off to the side of the road and felt on my neck, but couldn't feel anything.  So I put my glove back on and headed on up the road.  It was still stinging occasionally and once in a while when my collar touched my neck just right, it felt like more poison was being pumped into my neck.  Lucky for me I'm not allergic to bees.  This was also the trip where my clutch was starting to fail due to an air bubble or something in the hydraulic fluid.  Not a real enjoyable ride up Highway 1 and back home.

Four hours later when I finally made it home I looked in the mirror, and the stinger was still there.  Apparently every time anything touched the venom sac on the stinger, it would pump a bit more into my neck.  With a proper mirror, I was able to easily get it off.

I'm sort of surprised that a bee can hit you a 65 mph and still sting you.  I'm sure the bee died, either from the impact or from losing its stinger.

[CairnsDuc]

I got stung while out riding to get my open license, I was cruising on the highway with a group of about 6 people with the Instructor following along in last place, part of the ride involved a cruise up a local mountain range to the look out/turn around point, I got stung on the neck just before the base of the range (Meaning no place to stop and check what it was) and spent most of the ride up wobbling around trying to retrieve this little bastard (Not knowing what it was, I didn't want to stung again)
Got to the turn around point and jumped off the bike and ripped off my helmut and jacket, by this stage the instructor was standing beside me laughing his ass off!
He had come up to tear me a new one for my careless riding, once he saw what I was doing he realised what had happened.
Pulled out the stinger, but my neck was sore for days afterwards, passed the test though! 

[DCXCV]

A bee bounced off my chest and landed between my pant leg and the tank going about 45mph.  Didn't know until I felt the sting, looked down, flicked it off my leg and rode the rest of the way home with a sorta painful thigh.  Obviously would have been worse if I was allergic, but I'm not so bees have never bothered me too much, but I was grateful it didn't bounce up into my full-face as some smaller flies have on occasion.