so i spent a glorious day on the dragon and cheroloa skyway
get about 5 miles from home...
jacket neck open enjoying the spring sunshine...


WHAP- feel the ole bug to the neck like a million times before

30 seconds later i get a good sting right in the middle of the chest

im clawing and pulling on the jacket at 60 MPH like a fool,
takes me a minute or two to get pulled over, and jacket off

its a bumblebee, which has no barb on its stinger, so he got me 3 times

i keep crossing paths with my local hardware store guy all day as well
this is him on his duke, with his gal following on the R6, girl gotz skills!


so its KLX related- im taking the KLX back to the skyway later this week
and riding some of the USFS roads and trails

 

We need to hook up for some riding. I live just south of Murphy. I like to hit the trails around Tellico and to the south. Lemme know...

 

GB, thanks for the reply

i prob will be exploring many of the DS areas around tellico and the skyway.

i was very sorry to hear that mike has closed T-P outfitters shop
he is a great guy that had a great little shop. i always stopped there if time,
and had hoped to get some DS trail info from him and the ADV type guys

i had really hoped to go to the DS rally near there a couple of weeks ago,
but it looked like it was gonna be a MUDfest, and im awaiting new 244 tires

anyway... i have stayed at kickstand lodge near robinsville several times
its great and will be a good base camp for me to get some DS time nearby
its at the intersection of 28 and 143, just 15 mins NE of Rob-ville
cheap camping, good people and food, cold beer, and great roads nearby

im in knoxville, so all the areas around TP, the skyway, and the dragon
are easy and pretty quick for me to access

it sounds like you prob know the areas south of the skyway pretty well

i would really look forward to get together to ride
my schedule is always open for good days and the opp to ride
im hoping to be riding a good bit before it gets SO d@mn hot very soon

just let me know anytime you will be out and about in the area, - ben

 

I can relate! Last Summer I was on my DR650, by myself, on what was to be a multi-day ride on a leg of the OBDR (Oregon Back Country Discovery Route). I was maybe twenty minutes into the ride, having already ridden 90 minutes just to get to the dirt, and I get pegged right in the forehead between the eyes (given how little forehead is exposed in the average helmet) by something. Bee, wasp, I dunno. It f'ing HURT when it hit too. I didn't see it coming. Just BAM, and OW **** WHAT WAS THAT?? I had to pull over right there.

There was just a little red dot on my skin. It hurt, but that was it. I'm not allergic, but as a precaution I took a Benadryl and some advil and kept going. It smarted for the better part of an hour, then after lunch it started itching.

As luck would have it, I lost some stuff out of one of the side cases on my bike, and I had to turn back to retrieve it. By the time I found it, it was getting late, and my fuel range had been blown. My only choice was to ride back to the north where I had just been to fill up again, which would put me back down where I wanted to camp well after dark. Kinda ruined the whole point of the trip, which was to take it slow and relaxing. So I said screw it and rode all the way home.

Just as well too... when I got up the next morning, my whole face was swollen and my left eye didn't open so well. Better to be at home than in a tent on the trail! So I took more Benadryl, Advil, iced it, and relaxed for the day. It got better by nightfall and all was fine after that. Still, damn bugs!!!

Rob

 

Bees are why I never ride with a motocross style helmet on the road as I have had too many go between the helmet and my head. Sting the heck out of you until you can get it off.

 

I've never had an issue with bees with my ds helmet, but I wear large goggles that pretty much cover the whole area of my face

My on the other hand brother didn't have goggles (at the time) and just wore sunglasses and a bee got trapped by his eye. He is a girl when it comes to bees, he flails and runs and screams like a girl (I sheet you not). Cars thought he was high or drunk because he was screaming and clawing at his glasses out on the roadway.

 

I had a bee fly up my right arm inside my sleeve one day and stung the sheet out of me, was interesting getting pulled over quickly and getting my jacket off. Never had one in the helmet though.

 

Took a bird in the face with a moto helmet on one day also, no goggles just shades and it messed me up pretty good. My blood and the birds blood made it hard to see.

 

this guy was having some big time fun on the dragon on sat, until
the TN local LEOs gave him some souvenir paperwork to take home

i told him they prob just wanted to get a better look at his ride



great day- did the dragon and the skyway
only saw 3 bikes off their wheels

 

Just curious. Did you pull these images off a professional photographer's site? Normally, if they're purchased they don't appear with the proof symbol on them.