Attack of the Mosquitoes

[funk my fixie]

Hey gang
Out on my cycle last night, whilst singing to my favourite songs on my phone, (Does anyone else out there feel the need to sing when on a quiet road or is it just me?) I suddenly heard that ubiquitous sound......KTCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. "Oh B@ll@£ks," I thought "a flat." I jumped off and moved over to the grass edge, lined with bushes so as not to be in anyone's way should they come along.

Now, I know Mosi's are about at this time of year and that they love the dying light of the sun, but blimey these guys were going for it hammer and tong. I would say I am average at my inner tube replacing speed which is probably about 10 mins and in this time the little critters managed to put bite marks on just about every area of my body.

I must have looked so funny if you had been behind me, one minute I am singing to some ELO the next minute I am taking my bike apart and doing some mad rain dance waving my hands violently around in the air, and all the while showing someone with Turret's Syndrome how to do it properly.

By the time I got home I looked more like I had had an attack of Chicken Pox although a good shower and half bottle of Aloe Vera gel remedied the itching. The moral of the story, buy some repellent for summer evening cycles.

 

[biggs682]

.try cycling on the isle of mull , many moons ago i took a weeks holiday there cycling , got bitten loads went back a few years later work related and still loads of midges

 

[Doseone]

I strongly recommend this stuff. A mate of mine was a Swedish paratrooper and used to have to hole up in the forests in Northern Sweden where there are terrible mosquitos and would use nothing else. It stinks mind and is actually a pretty good human repellant too!! I've used it and can vouch for it's effectiveness over and above deet based products.

 

[Peteaud]

I sing (well wail) as i cycle.

Last night was Sea of heartbreak as i cycled through Sea.

 

[Nihal]

Attracting Mosquitoes,never a good thing

 

[Globalti]

To the OP, they weren't mosquitos, they were midges.

Mosquitos are 5 to 20mm long and midges about 3mm long. Mosquitos leave a few big, very itchy lumps and midges leave hundreds of little red blotches.

 

[Andy_R]

To the OP, they weren't mosquitos, they were midges.

Mosquitos are 5 to 20mm long and midges about 3mm long. Mosquitos leave a few big, very itchy lumps and midges leave hundreds of little red blotches.

Unless you're allergic to them in which case they leave hundreds of big, very itchy lumps. Commonly known as the Caledonian Luftwaffe.

 

[Berties]

I am taking full advantage of the light nights and come from work at 9pm and when you hit the areas with rivers the midges get attracted by the lights and you have to make sure you keep your mouth closed,like riding through a sand storm,nasty little blighters the may fly we get are bigger they actually stick to you,or get stuck in your helmet and buzz,stick to your face or glasses,terrible ride if you forget your glasses

 

[roadracerash1]

No way you too? I was taking a short cut through a foresty area yesterday and i kid you not about 10 of those blighters were on my at any one time. I've come up in huge blister type spots all over my body. Not nice. If you see a news report of a forest fire starting it will be me torching the area with a flame thrower killing ever single one of those mosi's that got me yesterday.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

I'll never forget when I was out with my mates in the Highlands. We saw a nice little spot by a river for a barbecue. While the smoke was billowing we were fine - but then we put the BBQs out! The little blighters descended on us with such ferocity we had to pack everything quickly and run to the minibus. Safely inside our steel cage we could actually see a cloud of midges coming towards us. Soon they enveloped the minibus - and started to find their way down the airvents! Did they do this because they'd learnt it or was it luck on their part? We were sure they'd done it before and knew exactly what they were doing!

 

[Globalti]

Midges are attracted by exhaled CO2, they need to get blood in order to be able to breed before they die so they're pretty desperate.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I strongly recommend this stuff. A mate of mine was a Swedish paratrooper and used to have to hole up in the forests in Northern Sweden where there are terrible mosquitos and would use nothing else. It stinks mind and is actually a pretty good human repellant too!! I've used it and can vouch for it's effectiveness over and above deet based products.

'The smoke from the open fires made up with fungi or dry rot'

Sounds wonderfully like a good single malt!

 

[Doseone]

'The smoke from the open fires made up with fungi or dry rot'

Sounds wonderfully like a good single malt!

Unfortunately it doesn't smell quite as nice!!