Gnat Rider
Category: Cycling/Running/Fitness...
Posted Tuesday, June 05, 2007 at 02:37 PM [GMT-6]

One of the unfortunate side effects of the otherwise beneficially copious rainfall we've received this year is the proliferation of teensy bugs (a scientific term). We're just now beginning to experience the joys of swatting mosquitoes, but just as annoying was what I encountered during this morning's bike ride.

Riding through clouds of swarming gnats was almost enough to make me wish that the usually ubiquitous west Texas wind hadn't taken the day off. I have a windshield on my Easy Racer, but there were times when I had to put one hand over my mouth and nose (which probably made me appear even weirder than usual to passing drivers) to keep from ingesting more than my minimum recommended daily allotment of insects (which, for the record, is so small as to be indistinguishable from zero).

At the risk of sharing TMI, I'll also tell you that the post-ride cleanup was also a bit tedious, requiring the removal and disposal of gnat carcasses from clothing, arm and leg hair, beard stubble, and even my scalp (I never thought I'd miss the minimally vented bike helmets from the 80s -- remember the Kiwi?).

At least they don't bite (except euphemistically), unlike some of the critters we often encounter on our rides.