Quoted message said:As the weather turns nice, clouds of midges and gnats are
starting to form. Larger and less clean biological
specimens are also air-borne and thickening.
Quoted message said:Remembering - how could I forget - the day on my kick-
scooter when I swallowed a large bluebottle (ah, that
savour of rotting melon lingering at the back of my throat
for the rest of the week ...), and being conscious that on
a cycle, one
Quoted message said:sooner or later ends up opening one's mouth to breathe, I
want to ask you people if there are any standard solutions.
Well insect encounters on a bike.
I recall doing a ride with a couple of friends. It was fully
loaded touring in Michigan. The pesky deer flies would come
out of the woods after us and you could watch them fly after
your buddies. It was hilarious seeing them go for all they
were worth a few feet behind the other person's head. We
varied our speeds and discovered their max was about 12 mph.
On another ride, a friend of mine and I were riding in
Michigan and it was a Sunday morning. There was some mist
and light rain early on. From time to time, we would go
through a cloud of gnats. Gnats like hanging out near tall
objects like mailboxes ("tall" is relative). Anyrate, we got
pretty hungry after awhile but we kept going and going and
there was nothing open. Finally we came on a small diner
that had trucks parked in front of it and even a few Semis.
So we stopped there. The place was pretty well packed but we
got a spot at the counter. The truckers saw the gnats
plastered on our still wet faces and they really got a laugh
out of that one!
I now live in central Florida. I rode around Lake Monroe
Sunday. On the way back there was a slight downhill with a
tail wind and for some reason you can really go on the
section of road with those conditions. I was cruising at 25
mph. I had to keep my mouth closed though because the love
bugs were out in force and they were bouncing off of me like
hail. Love bugs probably haven't been anywhere bad but I
wouldn't want one down the wind pipe. Love bugs really are
not "bugs" at all (bugs are hemiptera). Love bugs are
actually a kind of fly that got imported from Argentina and
now seems to reside here in FL with the sole purpose of
getting splattered on people's cars.
I also get stung about once or twice per year. I think the
stings are from wasps and probably Polistes but I am not
sure because usually by the time I feel the sting, the
insect is long gone.