Stories From My Past: Bicycle Sadness - The Bee

All the discussion of stingers in my previous story got me thinking about this one. Rent-A-Zilla and the Project Imp will remember it well... this happened only a year or so ago.

At my previous job, I lived just a few minutes from work. I could easily ride my bicycle to work, so I did fairly regularly. I rode on a bike / pedestrian trail that was right next to a lake. It was a pretty tranquil ride, most days.

On this particular day, it was hot. The day would eventually turn out to be around 100 degrees - the morning was already steamy. I was pushing along, no pedestrian traffic, no worries. Then, out of nowhere, a bee buzzed in front of my face, matched my speed, and just hovered there a few inches in front of my eyes.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I don't do well with stingy thingies. Especially when they come out of nowhere like that. I'd love to be able to say I was cool under duress. I'd like to claim that I was calm and steady. Instead, I have to admit to going "Spaz" with rather dramatic results.

I tried to swipe the bee away from my face. I tried to do this without actually letting go of the handlebars. This was ungood. The result was that the bike swayed wildly to one side. I overcorrected about 6 times, swaying like a madman to the left, right, left, right, and then finally was dumped rudely into the grass next to the bike path.

I quickly got up to look for the bee. Thankfully, it was gone. Then, I took stock of myself, and was badly confused. I was soaking wet! The grass still had morning dew on it, and I had slid several feet after hitting the ground. I may as well have jumped into the lake itself.

I was wearing a white shirt, too. Well, it was covered in mud and grass stains after my spill. I absent-mindedly started to brush at the mud to see if I could clear it off. The mud spread, instead. I didn't notice at first, because I was still on the lookout for the bee. When I did look again, I realized why... my hands were sliced open in places, and I was spreading a solid layer of blood all over my shirt.

I had to go back home. The white shirt didn't survive the ordeal. Project Imp found great joy in this story, also. :)