Me vs. Swarm of BEES!!

[Running Mommy]

Ok, so this probably belongs on the daily thread, but it was quite an adventure so I opted to give it a thread of my own. So sue me!!
This morning I was out on my "longish" 2 hour ride. I was feeling kind of dead, no spark in the legs, couldn't get any speed, feeling funky. I was out on the new stretch of pavement which is basically in the middle of raw desert as they are just starting to develop it. I had already done one loop and was starting another. All of the sudden an unidentified bug wacks me on the arm, then another, then another. I peek up from my low aerobar position and realize it is BEES coming at me!!!! So I look to the right and see this HUGE (and I mean HUGE) swarm coming towards me.
Ok, this was my official OH S word for poop- moment of the week!!! I'm kind of allergic to bee stings, and it seems that everytime I get stung my body reacts a bit worse. So I carry benadryl, but I've been putting off that appt. with the allergist for an epi pen. (note to self: MAKE APPT) So out of insitnct- and not knowing what else to do- I start HAMMERING, dodging the little suckers as I peddled!!
I was able to get away, but MAN that was CLOSE!! The first thing I thought of was how I had Jenny Ewings angel on my shoulder!! I mean somehow I didn't get stung once. If you had seen the swarm I think you would agree it was a miracle!
Another positive was that I met a cyclist new to the area. I saw him at the turnaround and warned him about the swarm so we hung out at the top of the hill for a few moments hoping they would move on- which they did. While I was talking to him I noticed that his black SIDI's seemed to be of the mtn. persuasion. So I asked him if he mtn biked as well. He said "yeah, I'm actually a mtn biker who owns a road bike", So I told him about some homegrown trails and then offered to show him where the trailhead was. He said he had heard of them, but didn't really know where they were so he was stoked for me to show him. As we were riding to them I had quite a time keeping up with his "leisurely" 18 mph pace, but I did it, so I was happy for that!!
It was a YUMID (as in like New York city in the summer) but kind of cool so there were alot of cyclists out. I saw the usual crew which was nice. Jim the new guy was amazed at how friendly all the cyclists are around here. He's a military guy and most recently spent 6 long years in Vegas were people aren't quite as friendly.
So after all of that it ended up being a nice sunday ride! I came in the house and bricked a 3 mile run on the treadmill... Ahh the life of an arizona triathlete in the summer!
But hey, I have to give it up to that angel (Jenny??)on my shoulder today!! It could have been really bad!
Ya'll be safe out there! Have a nice week and ride strong!!
Denise

[Lise]

Good Lord, Denise, you have the most interesting stories! So glad you didn't get stung! You're right, those kind of reactions just get worse every time.I hate to think of you out in the desert, stung by bees, and dopey from Benedryl. How cool that you were able to connect with the new guy. I imagine he's feeling much happier about his new neighborhood!

I'm doing a work/nap brick today! I really hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, cuz there's no way I'm riding today.

[Tri Girl]

Note to self: when in Goodyear, don't ride with Denise unless I'm uber prepared to deal with any kind of disaster (natural or otherwise).

J/K You have the craziest things happen to you when you ride. Dust storms, wild thunderstorms, crazed bees- man you attract quite unusual circumstances, eh? I would just blame it on Arizona, but I'm a Zonie myself (grew up in Yuma) and never had such crazy things happen to me... must be you.

Glad to hear you made it out OK! Go see that doc this week and get you an Epi Pen (I never leave home without mine).

Be safe out there, Denise!!!!!

[Nanci]

Denise, have you done something to piss off Mother Nature??? Think- not recycling, littering, driving a big SUV- what is it?

First the giant thunderstorm, then the dust storm, now the bee swarm...

You have to find a way to make amends!

Nanci

[Tristnmum]

If it wasn't for bad luck---Den, you'd have no luck at all! Surviving helicopters chasing you from above (Northern California Sheriff's)....and wayward farm workers on tractors.....----Fast forward to AZ! Now we have serial killers, bee swarms, dust storms, and other assorted goodies! Oh Joy!

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO SEE GOODYEAR!

Hey, have to tell you all this because it is so very humerous.... We get "Killer Bee" training---at work. Now, those of you who are familiar with the perils to Law Enforcement in Los Angeles; would you think Killer Bee's are one of them? lol
I almost rolled on the ground in uniform laughing my tush off when we had to go through the darn thing! Gee, I though being shot was the biggest peril I had to deal with!

So---now, I know where to send that training bulletin full of USEFUL tips on how to deal with swarming bee's.

Tip #1---Go in a zig zag pattern, not in a straight line.

Tip #2---Jumping in water won't work because they hover overhead until you get out (pesky little poops!)

Tip #3---Be in good shape because they can chase you very fast for long distances...

Tip #4---Cuz GET AN EPI PEN! Oh, and heck--if you go train with Den, make sure you have an armor coat because you're sure to have some fun on your hands! Love ya cuz!

[Tristnmum]

After I got to the part of the story where you were safe----

My next thought! WAS HE SINGLE! ;-)

[DrBee]

Geez Denise! Yet another adventure for you! Be careful out there!

[colby]

Holy crap! Glad you made it out safe!

We have bees nesting near our house, proximity is bad enough... but going RIGHT through a whole swarm!?

[Running Mommy]

I SWEAR I haven't done ANYTHING!!!!
I chalk it up to this nasty Moonsoon season we have had! The last few years have been tame compared to this! Friday night we had a microburst down at the bottom of the hill and it snapped a palm tree in HALF!!! Ok, now how is it that palm tree's can handle HURRICANES in Florida but be snapped in half by a monsoon here in AZ?? Wimpy palm tree's perhaps?? I dunno?? All I know is the golf course and the road around it was a MESS!!
But yeah, it has been one heck of a season!! The real funny thing is lately I haven't been posting my daily rides because they seem so boring??

But Terrie- AKA tristnmum - AKA my cousin- has been witness to some of my funnier training mishaps. We like to call them "tales from the road"....
In her post above she was referencing some things that happened during various marathon training runs. Once I had a farmworker in a tractor with a trailer full of grapes come up behind me in the bike lane (I was running) and nearly MOW me down!! And then there was the helicopter who was hovering over me and then thought it would be funny to TAUNT me over their loudspeaker thing!! Who knew a helicopter HAD a speaker system???!!!
But my FAVORITE was the drunk migrant who could barely WALK that gave chase when he saw me running by!!! It was scary and funny all at the same time!!
So yeah, training with me is ALWAYS interesting!!!

[Lise]

Yes, "interesting" is one of the words that could be used.

[crazycanuck]

Denise, the police helicopter overhead sounds a bit too weird for me..cool but weird.

What's next...little green men??? Beam me up scotty...

c

[KSH]

Denise... only YOU would run into a swarm of bees!

How scary though... and you not having any medicine on you... very worrisome.

Be safe out there.

That's nice that you found someone to ride with though.

[Running Mommy]

Yeah CC it happened!! It was in my old hood in nor cal, and when I got home my husband said "did you see the helicopter? they were yelling at someone!" I was like "YEAH ME!!!!!" It was the most bizarre thing??!! I guess the sherrifs deputies were bored?? Who knows?? It's been awhile so I can't remember exactly what they said, but I seem to be it a smarmy "how YOU doin??" or something like that??
One day when I was out on a long run I had a cop stop and ask me if I had seen a guy in a certain outfit. He then told me that he was an armed fugitive and they thought he was in the area, so it would prolly be in my best interest to find somewhere else to run!!!
And mind you this is that place everyone supposedly wants to live... The wine country of sonoma county CA!!!!