Has anyone else been stung by a wasp while riding?
Today it was very hot so there were lots of wasps around and I was literally 2 km from home when I saw a wasp come towards me and hit my face. It scared me for a second but I didn’t think anything of it. Then about a minute later I felt an itch in my bra and a second later I felt a horrible stinging pain on my right breast and a moment later another one. By this point I was so freaked out but I was in the middle of a crowded field and couldn’t get it out so I had to bike with the wasp stinging me to the back of some houses to get it out. By this time I’d been stung 5 times on my boob and twice on my stomach when it got out. It hurts so much but I’ve been stung so much while riding this summer so does anyone else have wasp problems

Many, many, many, many, many years ago I was out on the motorbike with a full face helmet when a wasp got inside the helmet. I still had a couple of miles to get home and when I arrived and took my helmet off, apparently my face fell out of the helmet. Swollen face, swollen neck and shoulder in the most horrendous John Merrick style. The second time it happened was just as bad. I still don’t like wasps.
On the upside we did convince a mate’s gilfriend that a spider had crawled into my eye and laid eggs. She hated spiders. 😈

I got a bee sting right in the throat on the motorbike one time, only a few minutes from home so it was “Hmm, am I allergic to bee stings? Actually where it is, it can probably cause me bother regardless of whether or not I’m allergic… How do I get the sting out? I’ll ride home with my head at 45 degrees and hope I don’t die before I get there.”. Turned out I’m not allergic but I still spent the rest of the day not able to swallow. Wee bastard.

Nasty OP.

No never. FWIW I would have had no shame undressing as required to stop being stung again ! I get the feeling me undressing would render the field less crowded.

Hammering down a steep road in France years back, wearing a long-sleeved riding shirt with the sleeves pushed up after it warmed up, a wasp got caught in the material and stung me repeatedly, eight or nine times, in the crook of my right elbow. Hurt like buggery, and left a deep-seated ache that lasted for months.

Never been stung – but all of the experiences of above seem a bit rotten!

Hornet on arm while cycling past nest. Hurt like **** for a while but faded. Next day couldn’t bend my arm or grip things with hand which had swollen like a balloon.

I got a wasp in the back if my jersey while on a road ride a couple of months ago. I managed to kill it by smacking myself on the shoulder. I must have looked like a nutter to anyone driving past. I pulled into a gateway and took my jersey off to see what had happened. The little b*****d had stung me 4 times on the shoulder blade, once on the neck and once on the back of my ear.

I hadn’t been stung until this year and I was stung on two occasions in 2 months. The first was not bike related. I got stung on the back in bed!

got stung under the jersey once when i had stopped, they are very light footed…gave it a whack, it died.

I once had a bee fly into my clenched lip/corner of mouth, spat it out in an instant, it hurt but didn’t get time to sting me thank god!

Stung in the neck by a bee once on the motorbike but never a wasp! OP – id have been butt naked to get rid of that mofo! – on the boob too! 😯 Hope you exacted revenge on it! 😈

I usually get stung once a year when on my bike. This year the little bastard got stuck under my helmet on the top of my forehead. I cooled the sting with water then carried on with my ride. All was ok until the next day when the whole side of my face had swollen like a balloon and I looked more like the elephant man than usual. Took three days for the swelling to go down.

Yep, a bee flew straight into my mouth whilst riding recently. It stung the inside of my lip before I spat it out and was excruciatingly painful. My mouth/lip/gum was very swollen and uncomfortable for a week.

I usually get a couple a year from wasps getting stuck in my helmet, tempting fate but none this year. To date wearing a helmet has definetly caused more harm than good though.

On a side note – Cider vinegar is supposed to be good for taking the ‘hurty’ out of wasp stings. Perhaps a tiny bottle in your riding kit if they are an issue? 🙂

Occasionally. Got stung the other day on my leg whel doing 20mph on my roadie.

Worst was years ago when the guy riding in front of me hit a nest. He got stung about a dozen times. Most on the face. I was more fortunate and only got about 4 or 5 and not the face. Not fun.

First time ever for me yesterday – got stung on the neck 1/2 a mile in to a 53 mile road ride and had to ignore the pain for 3 1/2 hours :-/

Got stung under the helmet chin strap half way round a 40 mile road ride, bloody painful and quite a lot of swelling though i got the little blighter !

Smallest oab had the same as op last week. Wasp down front, rucksack straps wouldn’t allow wasp to escape.
A third nipple was added, as well as double tummy sting. 🙁

Yes; last week, but wasn’t too painful, as it was an ichneumon wasp, yet worried that it might have been laying eggs. No swelling, so think I’m not a host.

I got stung on the adams apple mid decent on “oblivion” at alton towers… the photograph is me holding the sting in my fingers… mouthing the words “WTF”

Yeah, had two stinging incidents on the bike.

First was a wasp that got beind my sunglasses and stung me in the eyelid. Not funny, and i’ll gladly murder every wasp i see since then.

Second was last year in the alps on the Col de Vars. Got attacked by around 5 wild bees. Really didnt know what to do at the time, so sprinted up hill legs spinning at 120rpm whilst beating myself with my helmet. Fortunately they left me alone after about 1km. Was then left wondering if my heart rate was maxed due to some allergic reaction or from sprinting 1km up a mountain.

Yeah, pelting along a canal towpath I could see a wasp approaching in the opposite direction at speed, at this point the ‘don’t look at the magnetic tree effect’ had kicked in and I felt like I was stuck on the rail road straight to wasp town. By now faced with almost certain death things were moving in slow motion and I could see the wasp move into attack mode stinger first and was heading right at my face., “thwack”, I had a wasp lodged in my upper eyelid, I rammed on the brakes, plucked the wriggly little bastard out of my eye before bodyslamming him on the ground and dishing out some foot justice.
It didn’t feel too bad at the time and as I was only just heading out on my merry way I continued on my ride, about twenty minutes later my eye closed up completely and I soon wished I’d gone straight home.

Not a wasp sting but an insect bite on my leg whilst out riding last Sunday has been irritating me all week. Friday night it flared up and my leg swelled and became increasingly painful. A trip to the walk-in centre yesterday and I have cellulitis. At first they were talking about admitting me and getting me on a drip but after I assured them that I’d take complete rest at home I’m now off the bike for at least a week and on antibiotics and an anti-hystemine.

Itches like hell.

Only time I’ve been stung by a wasp/s was my first attempt at an ironman, and it contributed to a DNF. The two stings on the thigh were sore but ok, but then one got in my oxygen sucking mouth and stung me. Couldn’t take on any food or water for about 90 mins, then completely bonked 10 miles into the run.

I got stung on the bottom lip last year during a quick Friday after work blast round the common. I saw a glimpse of this yellow and black thing coming towards me and the next thing I knew it had landed on my lip! fortunately I was exhaling at the time and was spitting trying to get it off, then it stung me. I stopped and did my best to squeeze the stuff out, my main concern was that my lip would swell up so much that I wouldn’t be able to go for a pint afterwards 😐 fortunately I must have got most of it out as thirty mins later it was all fine and I got my pint after the ride 🙂

Not been stung by a wasp since I was a kid but one got me a few months back. Mid trail, ouch, WTF, ouch again, and again! Stopped and little bugger fell out of my shirt. Stung me repeatedly in the middle of the chest. Must have just flown in as I was riding. Hurt like crap and chest went a bit numb, but was early in the ride so MTFU and keep going 😀

Yes, a few weeks ago I got one in my helmet – heard it buzzing and hoped it was a fly, until the searing pain on my forehead! Managed to stop remove helmet and glasses and exact revenge – it was still in there, in a bad way, so I stamped on it in comedy fashion shouting die bastard die! 3 stings on my head hurt like a hurty thing! Hate the buggers

think the most painful in the uk was on the hand by some black parasitic thing with a long tail that really burned.

Got a wasp caught under my helmet strap last month doing around 30mph on a South Downs descent. The sun cream helped adhere him- got a hatful of stings around the temple area- while trying to brake with the left hand and undo the lid with the right.

Bastard.

I got stung on the face today while riding my bike. Going quite fast down hill with my husband behind so I couldn’t just screech to a halt. By the time I knocked it off, it had been stinging me for about 30 seconds. Felt like red hot needle and still hurts now 4 hours later.

Further reading from last week,

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wasp-stings

Yep
Got stung on the forehead last summer in Greece
Within 30 mins the whole left hand side of my face had swollen up from my jaw to forehead. My eye swelled up so much that it was closed up.
Holiday rep made me go to hospital and get tablets and steriod cream
I think you become more allergic the mosre you get stung, not the other way round, but then IANAD

I got stung on the end of the elbow which was pretty inconvenient from a trying to get the sting out perspective.

Someone who was riding with us yesterday posted on FB earlier with all her head swollen after being stung near the end of the ride,she’s now in hospital 😯
Years ago I got stung on the neck whilst riding my motorbike,that was quite painful.Twice I’ve had a bee or wasp inside my full face helmet whilst riding my motorbike,the worst part was when the blighter tried to crawl up my nose!
One time on the motorbike in the south of France some Euro insect got into my desert boots and started stinging my foot.Must have looked a strange sight to passing motorists me hopping round with my boot off at the side of a roundabout…

First wasp sting in 49 years was this Summer. About a month ago – bloody thing got stuck between my fingers while I was riding home from work.

Even before I could release him the little b@stard stung me! Hurt like buggery too 👿

OP – you have my sympathies 😯

Got one today, straight through my vent and instant sting on the head….thankfully no swelling or anything nasty, still throbbing a bit now though.

Club mate also got one on his forearm, always seems to be a few around this time of year…

I wasp on my xc commute this morning when something tried to fly into my left ear. As I could feel it hadn’t instantly found any place better to bee, I brushed it with my finger, and the bugger stung me ear. Not had a bee/wasp sting since childhood so started worrying about anaphylaxis, but I’m still hear!

I got stung on the tongue by a bee while road riding near the Clee Hills.
Felt like being hit in the open mouth by a furry stone, but I think it was a glancing blow as far as the sting was concerned.
It burned a bit, but in one small area and the rest of my tongue felt like I was just numbing up at the dentist! I was worried it would swell up and restrict my breathing – I was a long way from home and help, but it wasn’t too bad considering!

A few years ago stung by a huge hornet on my upper thigh while riding…like a red hot needle being inserted, hurt like hell for 15 minutes; this year same place stung once on the knee and once on my thigh while riding… the knee wasn’t too bad but the thigh one went a bit weird looking after a few days – not sure what it was but it was big and black?

A week ago. Wasp flew into my mouth and stung me on the lip. Surprisingly painful – pain in lip, cheek and gums and noticeable swelling. Not a good look for funeral I attended in the afternoon.

Sting became infected and formed a hard lump. Piriton and bonjela liquid (ouch) have worked but still slightly swollen

Little bas***ds 😉