Pounding Pavement

The time has come. I knew it was inevitable. But I have decided that I need to give up the dirt for a bit. I will be sticking to bike paths and very select road routes for the next couple of months. This makes me sad as I love mountain biking. It is the right thing to do though.
Here is an observation about riding on pavement--I am much more prone to getting stung/bitten. About two weeks ago, Chris and I were coming back from a little road jaunt. We were just a few blocks from our house on a descent when I saw it for a split second. Then it hit me in the neck. I ran into a bee. It got stuck there. It took a few moments to get to a stop and the bee was still buzzing in my neck. I pulled it out but it did not stop the pain. That lingered for a bit until I got a cold compress on it. The potential itch and swelling hung around for a week.

Painful lil' buggers

This weekend I was cruising a canal trail when suddenly I felt the impact on my lower lip. I spit it away. It tasted bitter and felt big. I hoped it was nothing, but I slowly felt my lip swell and heat emanate the area. I thought maybe my water bottled had not heated up yet; it had already. By the time I finished though the swelling had receded and/or fallen some into the area below my lip. Thus I did not look completely ridiculous or like a battered woman.
I will take bug incidences like these over vehicular-human incidents though.