hehe...back around 20 yrs ago, a bunch of us were cruising in this kids 1970 Fury...big old boat full of kids.....one of those monster cicadas flies in thru the drivers side window, hits him right in the face, (mr Bub-phobic) and falls to the floor, flapping around LOUDLY....Jay just LOSES it....tries to squash the bub, freaking out completely...ends up hitting the gastrying to crush the f**ker and runs the car thru a stop sign pole and into a tree while the whole car was just crying from laughing.

As much as I detest those bugs, they never fail to bring me a smile when I recall that one.

 

My cousin and I ran into a swarm 2 years ago.One damn near took a lens out of his glasses and cut my ear like a razor.Get a faceshield and a good thick shirt and gloves.

 

They make great fishing bait. Just hook'em, so they can skim the water, bass love'em.

 

Wow, I never really heard of this before.You poor bastards got it rough,Long crappy winters and this going on in the warmer months.

 

I can rememberyears ago, at the tender age of 18 I hit one on a 750 Honda during a lunch break. I used to ride to the end of the road at lunch time and wait for the metroliner to come across the river bridge and race it, (110 mph), back then. Had just started backing down, (about 100 mph), when a cicada hit me in the upper left chest. Felt like someone hit me with a bat. Thank God, and the strength of my youth and my fear of dieing kept me on the bike. I lived to tell about it...LOL Been there done that.

Oddly, 10 years ago I moved into a house on the same road that's within 100 yards of the spot where I almost got killed by a bug!!!

As a kid, (try this with your kids), we used to fly them by tying a piece of thread from a spool on one of their legs. Great fun, and you only get a chance to do it every 17 years..>!! LOL !!

Then they sluff leaving behind their "shells" all over the place. Looks like something out of an alien movie.

Did I hear someone suddenly say"full face" is in???? LMAO !!!!!

V1

 

I had one hit me between the eyebrows just above the bridge of my nose at highway speed. It felt like someone hit me in the face with a hammer. I was seeing stars for a while afterwards.

 

The Cicada is a horrible little creature. In Tennessee they are a royal pain in the butt unless you are fishing! Have not been riding a bikelong enough to experience their rebirth but I remember the first swarm I went through in my truck. I thought someone was throwing BB's at me on a trip down I-40 between Nashville/Memphis. I could not imagine how that would have been on a bike. For myself, I have a windshield and I will put a visor on my helmet when they come to life.

FYI...they also love to swarm to sounds. Sometimes they will swarm the sound of a lawn mower (it's a riot to watch) and you should see the girls go crazy when they fly in their hair. I wonder if they are attracted to the rumble of Harley pipes???

 

I know the loud noise the make and I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure I heard one on my way home from work, it was actually the first thing I thought of when I heard it. I'm sure when there's thousands or millions of them that's all you'ld be able to hear. What's strange is that I had no idea it was the 17 year cicada. Is that like the seven year itch? Indiana.

 

About 17 years ago, ok, exactly 17 years ago, I was riding through an older neighborhood on a 45 mph road. Big old trees hanging over the road, dropping cicadas on unsuspecting cyclists. At 45 mph, a cicada hitting the faceshield weighs about eleventeen pounds and hits like a hammer. Plus, you get the oh so pleasant and dangerous bug guts all over the face shield. Kinda hard to see th. rough bug guts. I recommend a helmet and a box of Handi Wipes velcroed to the handlebars. Enjoy, and ride smart. Look at it this way, if you are wearing a full face helmet you might not have to hear what is being advertised on the news as a 90 db buzz. I don't remember how loud it was 17 years ago but then again I was playin' in a local band and couldn't hear anything anyways. News predicts the emergence begins tomorrow.

 

Hit one last year with my mirror, bug guts everywhere! These things are huge.

I have taken a June bug to the forhead and saw stars, cant imagine taking on one of these superbugs, let alone riding through a swarm.