Southern California Warning!

Just a fair warning to anyone from out of the area coming to Knott's in a few weeks. This years unusually heavy rains (for a desert climate) have produced an ABUNDANCE of GREAT BIG FLYING BUGS. These bugs, of varying nationalities and breeds, are extremely attracted by the shapely rounded nose of a speedster body. If you own an ice scraper, consider packing it, as you may rapidly lose what little sight you have through the windshield. For the more scientific minded, this experience should provide you with a trove of additional knowledge of air (and bug) flow over the front of the car body. Contrary to some local rumors, these are not condors, but only very obese butterflies. On the plus side, they quickly cover those ugly rock chips in the paint and undoubtedly provide addditional protection form further gravel damage during travel.

"The last thing on a bugs mind as he collides with your car is . . . . his ass!"

Gross. I really don't like cleaning bug splatter off the black spyder. Hey wait a minute, bug splatter - spyder? hmm.. Should prove to be a long drive ducking under the bug splatter!
angela

Geeez!
and to think I was going to wash my car for the show.

NEW...car condoms

Yes now you too can get that new condon look. Originally developped by Nasa and field tested by Johhny Holmes, the new Car Condoms give your car that extra lubrication protection against road grime and bugs. Simply slip on the condom and go. Comes in Super Size and ribbed for her enjoyment.

The new Car Condom go where you wouldn't normally go.

(if your in the US, now the disclaimer at warp speed) the car condom does not protect you from rock chips, thrown beer cans or will it not protect you in an accident. Do not use this as a personal prophylactic, Can cause night sweats and chicken fingers if your hands are not washed immediately after application.

Now there's a T-shirt!

I found out about the bugs just the other day. I was on my way to Laguna Beach Ca via PCH and about 10 mmin into the ride it started.
A spot here and a spot there then total splat! Hundreds and hundreds blood spots and wings it was a massacre.

It took forever to get all the dead bugs out from behind the light grills and off the front of the car. I would remove the grills for the drive down and place them back on when you get to the show.

I found last year that on I-5 south of Sacramento that driving between the orchards on both sides of the road that I picked up LOTS of bees or whatever they were. Hey, that time of the year. Rain X on the windshiels really helps getting them off the glass.

Bruce

Mike:

Ship a bunch down to the guys in Florida - it's "Love Bug" season down there right now!!

It sells by the dozen....small, medium and large. No SUV size...

Ditto about the bugs in Laguna Beach. At first I thought they were June bugs but it's only April and they are not beetle-like. The other night our glass doors were just covered with bugs apparently attracted by the light inside the house. I don't know what they are...maybe butterfly larvae? but they are about an inch long with an orange head. Yuck.

No bugs in Redondo Beach......except the usual...........but,
Last weekend there was millions (probably tens of thousands anyway)of lady bugs all along the strand, like they were all hatched at the same time....very wierd.......almost "twilight zoneish"

HOW TO REMOVE BUGS and old bug stains

Pink hairy insulation used in home construction. Tear off small piece. Dunk in soap and water and rub. Will NOT hurt wax or paint.

John "Florida Love Bug Control"

My soon to be ex wife just drove into socal and back from Vegas early this week and said that the bug situation is no worse than a typical spring. I still think I will try to cover my horn and headlight grills for the drive in. She wouldn't give me bad information just because because of our relationship, would she?

Mark

Seriously, 'Rain-X' was mentioned earlier in the thread... So I am in the checkstand with a bottle of each 'Rain-X' interior and exterior and it hits me, there ain't much difference between interior and exterior glass on my speedster, is there?
Any advice?

Confused, but 56 years old and learning to read the package labels and instructions, in Benicia!(still not up for asking for directions)

Rain-X for the inside of glass has fog inhibitors so when you and your girl are gittin it on, the windows stay nice an clear.

Oh I forgot it's Paul he always has more than one girl in his hot rod. Better get two bottles!

I had my speedster out in California over the winter. One day I took a beautiful drive to the desert outside San Diego. It was great, but there where an abundance of sizable bugs. When I finished the trip there where splat marks all over the front of the car, and in all different colors (red, green, purple). And this on an ivory speedster! It was a mess.

Okay, not a speedster/spyder story, but relevant and funny... I race bicycles. One of the types of racing I enjoy is called Cyclocross. You use a drop-handlebar roadbike with knobby tires, slither around in the mud for 45 minutes and call it race. Most fun you can have that doesn't involve gasoline or getting naked.

ANyway, the mud makes a huge mess out of the bicycle chain, gears etc. It was suggested to me prior to a race that I spray the bike with Pam and that the mud would slide off. As this would allow me to shift and race faster, I was all over the idea. At the start line I was carefully spraying my bike with the Pam. Couldn't find the regular stuff at the store, so I had the butter flavored one. People started to laugh at me. I kept spraying figuring I'd show them ALL!!! Well long and short, it didn't work worth beans. In two laps I was down to one gear and flogging it for all I was worth. My only consolation is even though the mud stuck very well to everything, I smelled better (like buttered popcorn) than the rest of the competition.

So don't spray your car with Pam to keep the bugs from sticking. Won't work... angela

Pam will make it easy, no scrubbing, to hose off bugs. ALONG WITH THE PAINT. Ask me how I know.

jkl

Steve, you just haven't lived until you have ridden a motorcycle up a slow curving mountain road and come around a tight corner to discover a SWARM of honey bees moving the queen to a new home. Talk about PANIC! I drove right through them. I thought I got off very lucky - thank god for the small windshield! I finally cleared the swarm and stopped to get what I thought was the last bee out of my open-face helmet. Then for some reason I looked down to where the gas tank nestles into your crotch. The inside of both thighs were loaded with the fuzzy little guys! SECOND PANIC. I was really hoping they did not see all their dead cousins splattered on my windshield and decide to take revenge. With lots of adrenelin pumping, I slowly dismounted the bike and then proceeded to do the wildest "Watusi" dance I could muster on the shoulder of the road. Probably scared hell out of the tourists who passed me. I still get night sweats thinking about the end result if I had worn some baggy shorts!

David, had the same thing happen...Sorta....Had a wasp go down my shirt....pulled over, did the watusi, got stung anyway....
Once got hit in the head by a bird...that smarted....before the helmet days.......

"Once got hit in the head by a bird...that smarted....before the helmet days......."

Ahhhh.... that explains everything :-)

Dave,
This is steve's other half, angela. Haven't (yet) been hit by the bee's but I did have the cause to do the watusi dance involving the motorcycle.

I was riding steve's VFR up in the mountains. It was about a 2 hour ride home. Steve's exhaust is in a raised location (not-stock placement). It is directly adjacent to my right shoe. I didn't have boots on, I had my tennis shoes as I had been camping. After riding the bike an hour or so my foot got very very hot while I was riding on I-5. Imagine how startling it is to look down and YOUR DAMN SHOE IS SMOKING!!! AAAAHHHH!!! Immediately, like right NOW found a spot to pull over and get off the bike. THe whole sole of the tennis shoe had melted and the upper was delaminating from the sole. And it was SMOKING!! I mean how close was it to actually catching on fire while I was riding? And what do you do when you are on a motorcycle going say 60-70 and your foot catches on fire? That is not something they taught me about in the motorcycle class I took. Nobody mentioned "here's what you do when your clothing spontaneously combusts..."

Oh and to boot, the stupid laces had melted on one side and I couldn't get the smoking thing off my foot. Can't even imagine what the passersby thought with me trying to kick off that smoking shoe...
angela

Angela, not to rub it in, but I've been riding a motorcycle to work every day since 1974 (55 MPH speed limit started, and you can only buy gas on odd numbered days). I have NEVER ridden a bike with leather boots. Of course that would only make for a larger fire and even harder to get off my foot, so . . . Gives new definitiion to the term Hot Foot. Or maybe Hot Chick?

Once on the freeway, a truck in the other lane, several vehicles in front of me, lost a section of 2 x 4 a foot or so long. It arced towards me just like a pichers curve ball. I just could not believe the deadly accuracy of that thing as it closed on my head. All at 65 MPH. At the last minute I just kissed the gas tank and hoped for the best. It ricocheted (sp?) of the top of my helmet. Still have the scratch to prove it. It's an adventure out there!

David, keep that helmet with the scratch and be glad you had it on! Best of all, glad you were paying attention because had you not ducked... I normally ride in work type boots but I find myself sneaking the tennis shoes in regularly. I am much more mindful of foot placement on Steve's bike though after the melting incident. The worst part? When I got home and showed him what happened he was like 'WTF? Look at that **%@ on my exhaust!'

Just spent about 6 hours cleaning the spyder for Knotts. That way the bugs in California have something really nice to splatter themselves on... angela