Swarms of bugs; does this last all summer?

the rec

Hi all,

Over the past few weeks the no. of flys/bugs seems to have increased massivly. Todays ride i recon I went through a swarm of the little blighters at least every 5 minutes and was absolutely covered in them by the end of the ride.

I've only been road cycling since september and am loving it, but the almost contant sound of them rattling through the vents in my lid followed by the feeling of them wriggling arround on my head, not to mention breathing the buggers in is making the rides distinctly less fun.

Now I know most of you are simply going to tell me I have to MTFU and I am still loving getting out in this great weather so don't think I'm moaning. I was just wondering how long this usualy lasts.

Cheers.

navrig

MTFU and shut your gob ;-)

I cycled down the towpath last week and nearly swallowed hundreds of them.

the rec

I suppose it does save on energy bars!!

danowat

It gets worse, wait till later in the summer when the swarms of flying ants and midges arrive!!!!

sungod

it lasts all summer

especially memorable are...

the big crunchy ones that hit you head on, that really hurts

the soft ones that just go splat

the ones that go in your mouth, not sure whether i prefer crunchy or soft, although i think i'm allergic to the crunchy ones

u05harrisb

its gets worse, heres an idea though, pop some mesh on hte inside of your helmet, keeps the air in and the bugs out!

wombar

It's good, free protein. If anything you should be opening your mouth as you go through the swarms

Wait until you get a wasp impacting your forehead at 30mph. That's all kinds of fun :twisted:

Lagavulin

Cotton cycling cap under your helmet. I never venture out without one now.
I was stung by a wasp/bee (hope it was a wasp) on my lip last year while out on my MTB. The prospect of being out on my road bike and the damn thing flying into a vent and stinging my shiny head while I flailed around in traffic led me to invest in a collection of cycling caps.

bompington

At last, a chance to tell an ancient joke:

Q. How can you spot a happy cyclist?

A. By the flies in his teeth.

Scrumple

it will be a hatch from a local pool.....

trout love em

fludey

Yep bugs galore out on Sunday, its even worse when I take my MTB along the canal its a free lunch.
But cant beat one evening last year on way to pub for a quick beer, riding along and swallowed what i thought was a large bug! Turned out I swallowed a bloody wasp n it stung on the way down....throat swole up like anything and did not feel well all night....but still managed my beer so not all bad :P

derosa

There was a cyclist who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why he swallowed that fly,
Perhaps he'll die.

soslow

i have stretched my Buff over my helmet,keeps me cool and stops the bugs getting in.Got hit above the eye by something that felt like a flying ball of spikes,really hurt but it probably died after feeding of me!

Zoomer37

Bugs are nothing. Protein hits. Wait until you get a seagull in the chops.

keef66

About now most of the crunchy ones are pollen beetles. Oilseed rape is in full flower, so they are making the most of it. The only advice I can offer is keep your mouth shut and don't wear yellow.

Lots of bees too I noticed yesterday, also quite excited about the flowering rape.

Later on we'll have the swarms of aphids to look forward to; lower fibre content but just as protein-rich.

I was head-butted by a bumble-bee on Sunday as I hit my maximum 35mph on a particularly fine downhill stretch. They are harder than they look!

the rec

keef66 wrote:

About now most of the crunchy ones are pollen beetles. Oilseed rape is in full flower, so they are making the most of it. The only advice I can offer is keep your mouth shut and don't wear yellow.

Lots of bees too I noticed yesterday, also quite excited about the flowering rape.

Later on we'll have the swarms of aphids to look forward to; lower fibre content but just as protein-rich.

I was head-butted by a bumble-bee on Sunday as I hit my maximum 35mph on a particularly fine downhill stretch. They are harder than they look!

That makes sense. Lot's of oilseed rape fields on yesterday's ride and they made a real racket when they hit my glasses and lid so more likely to be beetles than flys! I was in cow/horse country today and not nearly as bad
I've already had the bumble bee experience. Big old lumps eh?

secretsam

The little ones aren't a problem, can swallow them whole. A bee at a closing speed of 50mph (30 me, 20 him) is no fun whatsoever. Try having someone throw a small pebble straight in your face, whilst descending.

Message to the bees: I AM NOT A FLOWER

Berk Bonebonce

Pollen beetle time - attracted by the colour yellow.

richard205

go out earlier?

I tend to be on the road by about 8am in the current weather and dont find it too bad.

If i however go out on the mtb with friends in the evening....totally understand where you're coming from!

tobermory

Some bugs are tasty the rest i scrap off and put them in a sponge pudding saves on raisins

SBN

I find the ones out in the country side taste a little bit better, this probs down to the siting around on Horse S**** rather than Dog S*** :shock:

Garz

Got back from today's 50 miler and found a bee in my bonnet!

:shock:

AndyF16

Lots of oilseed rape fields hereabouts which are bad enough, but I ventured just into Norfolk the week before last and the road from Pymoor to Welney Wash was unbelievable

For about 3 miles it runs alongside the drainage (Old Bedford?) river which is basically standing water, it was like playing some old arcade game with literally hundreds of bugs shooting towards, and into, you - some of them popped like Space Dust when they got mixed up with your chewing gum!

Garz

Zoomer37 wrote:

Bugs are nothing. Protein hits. Wait until you get a seagull in the chops.

Seagulls are nothing. Wait until you get a brick from a lorry dislodge from speed at you...