Rebecca Rusch is the Bee's Knees

Summer may be just finishing up but the bugs are still out, and no one knows that better than KT Tape Athlete Rebecca Rush.  The three-time 24 Hour Mountain Biking Champion may be nicknamed The Queen of Pain but even she can get thrown for a loop by little flying pests.  From her official website she writes about her run-in with a bee. So I’m out enjoying a leisurely ride on my road bike.  My friend Karoline and I are riding, catching up on gossip and enjoying a summer ride on the bike path. Flick…something hits me in the face at the top of my glasses and goes behind my glasses.  It’s a bee and gets stuck on my cheek just below my eye and proceeds to sting the living S%#T out of me. I brushed it off and Karoline checked to see if the stinger was still in my face.  It wasn’t and we were almost home, so we kept rolling.  20 minutes later at home, I saw Greg and his riding buddies finishing up a ride.  They laughed at the progressive swelling under my left eye. It was red, but seemed like no big deal.  It was puffing up FAST.  I popped some Benedryl, put some ice on it and proceeded about my business.  The weird droopy feeling on my face made me keep looking in the mirror.  Four hours later, it was considerably worse. I went to bed figuring it would be gone by morning.  When I woke up, my eye was swollen shut!  OH MY. I opted against a mountain bike ride due to my impaired vision.  I went road riding instead and did hill repeats on Galena Summit. It’s a little better and I can now see out of my left eye, but it’s still not pretty. I’m going to a party tonight wearing big Jackie O. glasses. We love that Rebecca just keeps on truckin’ through the pain and inconveniences with such a positive attitude and spirit - a sign of a true champion. In response to Rebecca’s unfortunate incident we thought we’d share a link to a site with some good insect bite and sting information specifically aimed at mountain bikers.  Enjoy!  How to deal with bug bites and stings.