From my almost-daily diary at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm
10/01/04- SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT RIDE (or, "The Return of The Claw!"😉.
Big group, including Kevin, Steve, Karl (could be Carl, not sure of the
spelling), Rob, new-guy Bart, Jason & Donald from the shop and myself. This
was to be the day for the most-furious attack ever on King's Mtn, a
challenge none of us were prepared for, but all but two of us were dragged
into, literally kicking & screaming. About one half mile down from the top
of Kings, where that final opening is with the house to the right (on the
hillside that often has snow in the winter), we were ruthlessly attacked
from behind. If you're familiar race tactics, that's the best way to do it.
Still, it came as a complete surprise... we were literally stung. By yellow
jackets. Six of us got nailed by yellow jacket stings/bites, almost
entirely on our tail ends. At first you think that maybe there's something
that got caught in your shorts, perhaps something that fell onto your seat
and you sat on it, maybe a twig. But it felt a lot sharper than a twig, and
when you hear others yelling at the same time, that just doesn't seem
likely. And when you feel it a couple more times...
The amazing thing was that nobody saw them coming. No sounds, nothing
flying around. These guys literally came from nowhere, attacking almost
entirely from the back, and going ruthlessly for our shorts. Weird. All
except at least one, anyway. One that figured the extra weight I had put on
in Hawaii might have insulated my tail end a bit too much for the desired
effect, so this guy goes for maximum effect- he nails me between the fingers
of my right hand. Not a good thing. Last time that happened, my arm
swelled up like a football. This time I was fortunate to have Bart riding
with us, who had brought along Benadryl, just in case something like this
were to happen. I accepted his offer and rode on, hoping that, perhaps, the
Benadryl would keep my body from reacting in the usual fashion.
I didn't feel quite right up on Skyline though, and with that many stings,
I wasn't sure how I might react (for what it's worth, when I went to Kaiser
for the time my arm had swelled up like a football, they told me it was a
"severe toxic reaction", not allergic, just a source of discomfort until the
swelling goes away). Probably from the adrenalin rush I didn't feel quite
right though, so Bart & I headed back down 84 while the rest of the gang
continued towards Old LaHonda.
I thought I was doing pretty well yesterday, with pretty minimal swelling.
Got me thinking that perhaps Benadryl, taken quickly, is a miracle cure!
But such is not the case. This morning my right hand looks semi-grotesque
(actually, my kids probably think it looks less so, since they think it's
gross that my veins are normally so visible, and they certainly aren't
now!), swollen to about twice the thickness it should be. The skin is
pulled so tight that it's difficult to clench a fist, and yes, it itches
like mad. Kinda looks like a claw. No pain though, just itching. In a few
days it will be back to normal, but I'd sure hate to try and wear a cycling
glove now, especially since I'm not sure it's finished, er, growing. Like
one of those cartoon guys who drinks some potion and starts growing to
twice-normal size, and all of his clothes start shredding.
Let's just say I'm thankful the stings in my tail end didn't cause a
similar reaction.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member