The Real Speed of a Bumble Bee

Tuesday afternoon, my buddy Dr. Nitrous and I head out for a ride. The good doctor showed up in a bright yellow jersey and a pair of grey and yellow tri shorts. He was looking like quite the fruit cake. I didn't give him too much of a hard time as we've all been there for those mid week rides where we're just trying to piece together exercise clothes between washings.
So we headed out and after a mile or so Dr. Nitrous was on the front with me staying on his back wheel getting full benefit of the draft. I looked between us and there was a bumble bee baring down on Dr. Nitrous. He was keeping pace too. I looked down and we were going 24 mph. Wow. That bee can move! I watched for a little while believing that the bee had to think that the big yellow blob in front of him was a big flower. He had to be thinking that he was going to make a big score. I yelled to the front to let the doctor know that there was a bee bearing down on him. He pushed the pace a little harder and the bee popped. I guess the Lactic Acid must have built up in his tiny wings and he could no longer keep pace. 26 mph did him in.

Being so impressed with the bee's speed led me to google "How fast can a bumble bee fly?". This is what I found. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_fast_can_a_bumble_bee_fly

This site states that the maximum speed of a bee is 20 mph. Ladies and gentlemen I provide you with proof that bees are much faster than stated. Either that or I have found the Usain Bolt of the bumble bee world. Here's the take home lesson: Whether it's 20 mph or 24 mph, you can't out run a bumble bee. Oh yeah, and don't dress like a flower you weirdo.