# Sick of eating flies



## gordonrobb (10 May 2008)

Bit of an old begginer. When I'm out, I tend to be puffing, mouth open, and where I live sometimes that means almost constanty choking on flies. 

What do I need to do to stop them going in my mouth. I had a look in my bike shop, buy all I could see was a pollen/pollutin mask. 

Any ideas?


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## roadiewill (10 May 2008)

keep your mouth shut... more efficient breathing too apparently


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## gordonrobb (10 May 2008)

roadiewill said:


> keep your mouth shut... more efficient breathing too apparently



Wish I could. Just seem to be be puffing a lot of the time. Maybe when my fitness improves, god knows how many I will have eated by then,.


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## summerdays (11 May 2008)

Its extra protein with any E numbers


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## dantheman (11 May 2008)

tasty. just hop you dont run into any bee's





that would be bad...


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## gordonrobb (11 May 2008)

hehe. So isn't there a way people use of covering their face or something?


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## Keith Oates (11 May 2008)

I've never seen a 'fly mask' for cyclists and even if there was it would restrict the amount of air going in via your mouth and so make the breating even harder. Just practice blow out and spitting when they go in but that's easier said then done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Danny (11 May 2008)

Welcome to the forum. 

Try and practice breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. It is the best way of controlling your breathing, and if you purse your lips when you breath out (like you would to give someone a friendly kiss on the cheek) there won't be much room for flies to get in.

If you are really gasping for air I would also look at how you are cycling. Don't ride in really high gears where you have to strain yourself to cycle - instead use lower gears and try and adopt a "spinning" technique where your legs are essentially moving faster against lower resistance.

You don't say what sort of bike you are riding. If it is a mountain bike it will have thick nobly tyres which will make it harder to ride on a road. You can switch to thinner road tyres which will make life a lot easier - you're local bike shop (LBS) should be able to advise. They can also advise you on fitting lower gears if you think that is an issue.

Finally it is better to build up your fitness gradually, rather than going for longer distances that leave you gasping for breath, feeling discouraged, and with a mouth full of flies. Two or three short rides a week will build up your fitness better than one longer ride.


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## LordoftheTeapot (11 May 2008)

You can tell how happy a cyclist is by counting the dead flies on his/her teeth!


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## fossyant (11 May 2008)

As someone who always breathes through my mouth whilst riding, don't open it too wide. With a road bike, your head will be angled down a bit, so that helps. I seem to have eaten at least one each ride recently...


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## Milo (11 May 2008)

Its bees bouncing off you that hurts had one the other day but it did not sting thankfully.


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## Peter (11 May 2008)

Flies are the least of the problems out there. Two years ago I managed to swallow a bumble bee - was spitting out bits of wings for days.


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## andrew_s (11 May 2008)

grow a big bushy moustache


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## john59 (11 May 2008)

gordonrobb said:


> Bit of an old begginer. When I'm out, I tend to be puffing, mouth open, and where I live sometimes that means almost constanty choking on flies.
> 
> What do I need to do to stop them going in my mouth. I had a look in my bike shop, buy all I could see was a pollen/pollutin mask.
> 
> Any ideas?




You could try a 'Buff'. A great piece of kit.

http://www.buffwear.co.uk/

John


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## Bigtallfatbloke (11 May 2008)

I try to breathe through my nose these days , but that isnt possible when I am out of breath. I tend to stick my tongue up behind my top row of front teeth and just open my mouth a little bit...that way it's really difficult to inhale a fly as it will hit your teeth and hopefully bounce out first.


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## walker (12 May 2008)

Yesterday I think I ate the Essex coutryside dry with all the bugs I eat, it's something you have to relearn every summer, but if you need to take a big breath, do it facing downwards.


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## goo_mason (12 May 2008)

I tend to push my top lip out and down over my lower lip. That allows me to gasp and wheeze quite nicely whilst avoiding sucking in any flies...


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## Tynan (12 May 2008)

blimey

suspect the mean London streets don't encourage small insects, I very rarely have any problem, despite leaving my mouth open a lot


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## Danny (12 May 2008)

I'd start practising cycling with your mouth shut. 

With Boris as Mayor, public sanitation is going to collapes and before long London will be plagued with flies the size of locusts


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## Tynan (12 May 2008)

are you suggesting that he isn't going to bring an end to teenage murders?


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## walker (12 May 2008)

thats why you should always where shades, say the unfortunate happens and you get hit once in each eye at the same time, you got a split second to think about stopping, then stopping safely.


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## Mortiroloboy (12 May 2008)

andrew_s said:


> grow a big bushy moustache



_That's_ why David Zabriske was sporting that rather dodgy face ferret for the Giro, before he had that unfortunate tumble. To keep Italian flies out of his gob!


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## Kirst (13 May 2008)

I hate swallowing flies, it makes me vomit. I vomited whilst cycling the other week, but managed to get it all down my arm. I was not pleased.


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## ASC1951 (13 May 2008)

walker said:


> thats why you should always where shades, say the unfortunate happens and you get hit once in each eye at the same time, you got a split second to think about stopping, then stopping safely.


Dead right. Maybe not an issue in town, but I think it's madness to ride anywhere at speed without eye-cover. A bee in the eye at 40mph downhill can have you clean off the bike.


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## Chiefwiggum (15 May 2008)

On my my most recent ride, a speedy little jaunt, I rode around a corner, looking where I was going, mouth open, when what felt like a sparrow hit the back of my throat, quick gulp amd then gone. Lots of coughing, a mini vomit and much water ensued. I don't know what it was other than it was v.big, I think best not to know!


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