A while back I started commuting by bike to work on a regular basis. My route from my house takes me down some residential streets to a paved path to some more residential streets and then onto a major route into the downtown core. So, first thing in the morning I’m not too challenged for the first few kilometers and by the time I’m fully awake, I’m ready for the traffic. Actually, I enjoy riding in the traffic and I’ve yet to have a serious incident. Oh, I’ve been yelled at a couple of times (not my fault), and been cut off a couple of times, not unexpectedly because if you’re paying attention to your situation you can usually see it coming, and I’ve never been “doored”, the thing I’m most concerned about.
But, today on the way home I discovered that there are other kinds of hazards out there beyond, traffic, pot holes and pedestrians with dogs on long near invisible leashes. There are bees! Thankfully, this encounter was on the bike path and not on the road in rush hour traffic. Suddenly, I hear and feel a thwack on a bug hitting my helmet and then going between the helmet visor and just above my sunglasses, instantly followed by quite a painful sting!
Wow, talk about a surprise. I’m frantically wiping whatever it is out from under the helmet while coming to a panic stop. I really didn’t want to get stung a second time. It left a really nice red welt and hours later it’s still stinging quite a bit. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been stung like this, however it’s starting to settle down and I’m sure that by tomorrow it will be gone, I hope.