# Tired of swallowing bugs. Any good masks?



## fiziks (Jul 22, 2016)

I'm tired of swallowing bugs. I'm also a mouth breather, just like my father and his father before him. So, "keep your mouth shut" doesn't work for me. And since I have a day job, neither does "don't ride when bugs are out". So does anyone know of a decent mask for keeping bugs out but still allowing easy breathing? 

I saw this Plain Mask but it looks cheap and not real secure. Anyone use one of these? How did you like it?

I've also considered just getting a dust mask, cutting a hole in it, and stitching/gluing in some window screen into it. Any other ideas?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

If you ride an a more aerodynamic position they won't fly into your mouth.

Shoulders down, head down, go fast.


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## Keoki (Feb 13, 2012)

fiziks said:


> I'm tired of swallowing bugs. I'm also a mouth breather, just like my father and his father before him. So, "keep your mouth shut" doesn't work for me. And since I have a day job, neither does "don't ride when bugs are out". So does anyone know of a decent mask for keeping bugs out but still allowing easy breathing?
> 
> I saw this Plain Mask but it looks cheap and not real secure. Anyone use one of these? How did you like it?
> 
> I've also considered just getting a dust mask, cutting a hole in it, and stitching/gluing in some window screen into it. Any other ideas?


https://www.trainingmask.com/training-mask-2-0-black-out


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## jkl1224 (Sep 24, 2016)

I ate 5 last night and only 2 tonight. Learning how to keep my head tilted down and seems to help more.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Oh for pete's sake, if it bothers you that much just get one of these.


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## blackfrancois (Jul 6, 2016)

if i rode in Lafayette during love bug season, i'd wear a mask too.

or china.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

velodog said:


> Oh for pete's sake, if it bothers you that much just get one of these.
> 
> View attachment 316451


That's actually a pretty good idea.


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## Wetworks (Aug 10, 2012)

Protein aids in recovery. Enjoy your free meal.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

fiziks said:


> I'm tired of swallowing bugs. I'm also a mouth breather, just like my father and his father before him. So, "keep your mouth shut" doesn't work for me. And since I have a day job, neither does "don't ride when bugs are out". So does anyone know of a decent mask for keeping bugs out but still allowing easy breathing?
> 
> I've also considered just getting a dust mask, cutting a hole in it, and stitching/gluing in some window screen into it. Any other ideas?


Anyone who is not a mouth breather when riding is not riding very hard. Learn to keep your head down and look through the tops of your glasses.

As someone who has ridden with a wired jaw I can assure you that there is no screen that will keep out anything but the biggest bugs and still allow free breathing. I swallow a few bugs every season and it hasn't killed me yet.


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

The problem is not swallowing them, the problem is when they go down your windpipe to your lungs. I think that light screen would be best, your going to look like a dork anyway, it might as well work.


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## Roland44 (Mar 21, 2013)

velodog said:


> Oh for pete's sake, if it bothers you that much just get one of these.


That will do the job just fine


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

I breathed in a ton of them on a MTB ride Friday night an an inland trail parallel to the beach. It was a freakishly warm fall evening. It was awful. Normally I use posture to minimize it but on a trail at dusk I needed to be looking up...


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## fiziks (Jul 22, 2016)

I do try to keep my head down and look over the top of my glasses. I also stick the tip of my tongue on the roof of my mouth so that the bugs hit the bottom of my tongue first. But like PBL, it's at dusk on a tree-lined trail when they are the worst and I have to keep an eye out for kids, joggers, etc.

And yes, swallowing one isn't as much an issue as inhaling one... hard to suck in air when you are trying to cough up a lung. I inhaled bugs a couple times two weeks ago and almost crashed the bike.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Damn they were thick today, have been lately. Annoying as all get out.


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

I went on a grasshopper eating kick one summer after watching a lot of "Bizarre Foods". I actually started to enjoy them, other than the prickly rear legs, and could definitely tell the difference between those that had fed out of my herb garden vs those in the wheat fields I rode by during a supported century ride. 

I had a ball watching the faces of others at the aid stations, "no, keep your Power Bars, I'm alright with these little guys". True story.


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

dir-t said:


> I went on a grasshopper eating kick one summer after watching a lot of "Bizarre Foods". I actually started to enjoy them, other than the prickly rear legs, and could definitely tell the difference between those that had fed out of my herb garden vs those in the wheat fields I rode by during a supported century ride.
> 
> I had a ball watching the faces of others at the aid stations, "no, keep your Power Bars, I'm alright with these little guys". True story.


You gathered them from the wild on a stop or rest break? Or, did you find loads of them, figure a way to store them them, then carry them in a breathable sack? Or did you fry them first or preocess them in some way? Couldn't you just pull the back legs? I'm completely freaking fascinated if that isn't evident... haha. I had a co-worker who ate loads of termites when he and his family lived in Namibia. They were fried and salted. He said they were like pumpkin seeds but crisper and lighter. They were actually good according to him and his wife. And they were a crucial source of fat. I'll at least try pretty much anything, as long it isn't shellfish or eats shellfish... Regional flavor is completely natural. Honey is effected in a huge way by where the bees pollinate. But so many foods, including all farm level dairy, minus the factory dairy stuff... what mama cow eats has a huge effect on the milk and an even bigger effect on cheeses made from the milk. Cheese is a seasonal food even though we don't treat it think of it in that way in our world anymore....


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Just stick your tongue out and catch them like a lizard. 





PBL450 said:


> They were actually good according to him and his wife. And they were a crucial source of fat. I'll at least try pretty much anything, as long it isn't shellfish or eats shellfish...


I draw the line when it comes to rodents. 




PBL450 said:


> Regional flavor is completely natural. Honey is effected in a huge way by where the bees pollinate. But so many foods, including all farm level dairy, minus the factory dairy stuff... what mama cow eats has a huge effect on the milk and an even bigger effect on cheeses made from the milk.


This is also very evident with fresh eggs. The eggs you buy in the supermarket are already about a month old and have very little taste. A fresh egg will have the taste of whatever the hen ate recently.


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

Lombard said:


> Just stick your tongue out and catch them like a lizard.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh absolutely! Fresh eggs are very local. I grew up on a farm and eggs were our principle cash crop. We did lots of other things, but we made most of our money on our eggs. We did the organic thing way back in the day and sold to local health food stores. We managed our free ranging hens diets pretty carefully. I still smash egg shells to bits from growing up with shells that required a real whack to break them. I buy local still... I love them and eat at least a dozen a week.


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## Tachycardic (Mar 31, 2013)

Besides the options noted above, you have the following to choose from:

1) View Speed Glasses: View-Speed Cyclops Glasses 

2) Snorkel: https://www.swimoutlet.com/p/speedo...&color=43140&gclid=CJbJgIr_8M8CFUZehgodUTIPvQ 

3) Anti-pollution masks: https://www.theguardian.com/environ...anti-pollution-masks-respro-totobobo-biologic 

4) Ride in a different area or at a different time.


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

Tachycardic said:


> Besides the options noted above, you have the following to choose from:
> 
> 1) View Speed Glasses: View-Speed Cyclops Glasses
> 
> ...


I'm sure you could find a way to attach this to a helmet?

3M Professional Faceshield  Clear Lens, Model# 90028-80025 | Eye Protection| Northern Tool + Equipment


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