Stung!

OUCH!

Those damn hornets...yellow jackets...whatever.

I suppose that's the thanks I get for actually making an effort to get out there today to test out my injured leg/groin muscle.

There I was minding my own business on a two-lane, wide open road when suddenly my left thigh above the knee felt like I had just gotten an electrical shock. Instinct had me swatting at my thigh, and as I did I could see a big old hornet falling by the wayside.

What I don't get is how they can hit you and sting you all at the exact same time. No warning at all.

For some reason this one was bad. It started swelling up and turning red all around it. The picture you see is after I rode home and had ice on it for about five minutes.

I went back out to do three laps of my neighborhood crit course, but that dang thing was still stinging so bad that I called it quits.

As for the old injury, it felt pretty good. However, all I am doing is spinning at a higher rpm, putting as little pressure on my legs as possible , just to be safe. The comeback is still not complete.

I stopped to take this photo of the path at the pond turn-around of the Lake Lap Loop. It's really over-grown now and reminds me of what it must be like to ride through frenzied fans on those Tour de France climbs. I could see getting stung there, but of course that wasn't the case. Wide open road. What were the chances?

Glad to have gotten the chance to at least put 20 miles in and feel OK. Not so glad about the hornet incident!

2021 OUTDOOR RIDES

RIDE ROUTE: Lake Loop. 2 laps + Neighborhood Crit, 3 laps

MILES: 20

AVE. SPEED: 13.3 mph

WEATHER: WINDY, 20-25 mph, sun, 82

TOTAL OUTDOOR MILES 2021 SEASON: 737.6