Wasp stings

It might look odd and it wouldn’t be necessary for aerodynamic reasons on a road bike, but an aero helmet with a visor can be great for warding off wasp attacks. It helps to keep dust, dirt and gnats out too. The helmet can get hotter than a standard helmet on a summer day, but I like the fact that the visor keeps all of those insects, stinging and non-stinging, off my face. I probably should use that helmet more often.

Of course, if a wasp managed to get inside one of the air vents on the aero helmet, that might be worse than if you were wearing a standard helmet.

In the past 10 years or so, the only times I was stung was in connection with riding my bike. Sometimes it was due to a collision while riding (the yellow jacket down the partially open jersey is quite memorable) and other times it was just while standing after a ride. I think that bright colors do attract insects of the stinging variety.

What is going on? My mother in law was stung just below her eye while riding (in Iowa). It was the day before they came out here to visit, and all weekend, her eye was basically swollen shut. Ouch!

Holy shizzle!!!! I’m not going to post my history, I’ll treat this real superstitious. I never thought of getting stung while riding….. I wear all black anyway…. I’d rather have a cicada get stuck in my helmet & make me fall and do a bike copter than eat a bee sting to the back of my throat….

I got bit/stung by a huge horsefly on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday. Bit right through my glove onto the top of my hand. My hand itches like a mofo now, and is swollen up compared to my other hand.

I’ve been stung by the usual suspects before, but this is the first time I’ve had any damage from a stupid fly (the thing was about the size of a seagull however, if that counts for anything…)