jparsons

Hello Everyone,

I am a new member. I ride my bike to work everyday. It is not too far~only 2 miles one way. I love riding. My problem is we often get thunder and lightening storms in my area. I don't care about getting wet but I don't want to die from a lightening hit. Can anyone tell me if I am crazy to be considering riding in a T storm? How dangerous do you think it really is? Thanks, Julie

Map tester

By written agreement with my wife, I will not ride during a lightning storm. For some reason, she wants me around. Sometimes I just wait for the storm to pass, other times I'll call her to pick me up.

I guess it depends on where you are riding. Downtown NYC would be different than rural Colorado. Here is a link about a motorcyclist that was killed by lightning.

NOAA story about motorcyclist killed by lightning

oboeguy

Lightning + cycling is a not a good idea. There was a thread about that somewhere on BF recently. I don't remember the details but it was enough to convince me to get indoors should I see flashes of lightning while riding. Try the search, I guess.

Edit: Welcome to BF!

JohnBrooking

That NOAA analysis is interesting (I never knew they tracked individual lightning flashes), but it seems like a lot of work to come to the conclusion that yes, motorcyclists can be killed by lightning (obviously, as the hospital had already concluded as much) and that they might not want to ride in thunderstorms (which anyone with a brain could have concluded from the first fact). I was hoping that they would get into the probability based on various factors like location and presence of other structures, which would better address Julie's question, but they didn't. But I agree about factors such as the presence of other tall structures (especially ones with lightning rods) making a difference. Still, why risk it? (Unless you're an adrenaline junky, then you take your chances.)

rule

If you can hear the thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightening. I don't risk the ride or even being outside in the open much on those days.

Pat

From the posts above, you can get the idea that riding a bike in a thunderstorm is not the best of ideas. It is a good idea to take shelter. If you are out on the road, you can often get on someone's porch or in the eve of a roof or under a bridge for shelter or in a convenience store and wait the storm out.

Now deaths by lightning vary quite a bit by state. Some states have almost none and others like Florida and Colorado have quite a few. Now I understand that most of the lightning deaths in Colorado are hikers above the tree line and I think most here in Florida are golfers. I guess waving around a long metal object with a thunderstorm approaching is not the best of ideas.

AndrewP

If you a riding on a road between tall buildings you should be OK, but if your distance away from the buildings is less than their height you should move into shelter. Sheltering under a lone tall tree or btidge is not a good idea.

Keith99

Let's put things in perspective. Are you riding on a road with cars on it? Any Lightning is most apt to hit the 'target' that has the 'shortest' route to the ground. As someone else already mentioned that means tall buildings. It also means any car is a better 'target' than you are.

So how many cars have you seen struck by Lightning in your life? How many cars have you seen in accidents because of water slickened roads? Can cars hit bikes? Remember in a heavy rain the excuse 'I didn't see him' is now a very real possibility.

So unless you are riding on a road on a ridgeline with no cars on it your danger from the more mundane auto accident or bike only accident is still AT LEAST 100 times as great as getting struck by lightning.

Roody

Lightning hits where lightning wants to hit. It does not always strike the tallest object in the area. It may strike a low object or even the ground itself. Additionally, being close to a tall object that is struck by lightning may be just as toasty as being struck yourself. Recent high-speed photography has revealed that lightning strikes sometimes "start" at the ground, travel to the cloud, then return to the same location on the ground or a different location.

I have seen four cars that were struck by lightning. They were parked next to a building with a high smokestack. I don't know if all were hit by the same bolt or if there were multiple hits. Their rubber tires were completely burnt. Cars form a Faraday (sp?) cage. The electrical charge usually flows around the outside of the car's metallic skin, and people inside are often unharmed. Bikes do not provide the same protection.

powerhouse

Hi, Julie. I don't think you're crazy to be considering riding in a thunder storm: I just don't recommend that you do it. I rode during a thunderstorm once through open countryside where buildings and trees were few and far between. We made it through just fine for most of the way. However, one person was struck by lightning. After that, we were piled up in a farmer's barn taking shelter standing in cow dung up to our ankles until the storm passed. Since then, I either didn't ride in the same type of conditions at all or at least found shelter in better conditions.

What happened to the person who was struck by lightning that day? He was laid up in the hospital for a couple of days, being more shaken up than anything else. But he was fortunate to have survived it. He has since gone back to bicycling a little more the wiser.

May something like that never happen to any of us.

Peace,

Brian

nova

Your as safe on a bike as you are walking no more no less. Unlike cars bikes are not a faraday cage. A faraday cage is like its name implies a cage made of some form of metal. What happens in one is lighting strikes it and is carried along the bars mesh plates what ever to the ground. This leaves the ocupent untouched. They have other uses as well. Some hospitals have turned roms with sensitive equipment that can be damaged by cell phone signals. They do this by addign copper wiremesh placed under the wallcovering.

Bikes obviously are not a cage and dotn surround you with any type of metal. Your rubber wheels are no defence at all. I suppose in a dry thunder storm they might make you a tiny bit safer than if you was bare foot but so do your shoes. T-storms + bike = bad idea

Paul L.

Have ridden in thunder before, used to think you could tell if lightening was getting closer or not until two weeks ago when we were climbing the Mogollon rim on Mountain bikes (in Arizona). I told everyone if the lightening got closer than a mile we would get in the truck and wait it out (truck was following us, it was a supported backwoods 6 day tour). Last lightning strike I counted 7 mississippi when all of a sudden I saw a flash and counted 1 mississ BBBAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!!! Needless to say we got in the truck even though we were in a forest of very tall trees. Lightning is pretty funny stuff. I have seen it take some very strange routes to the ground. The last experience I think backs up the idea of if you can hear thunder, probably time to get under cover. Thunderstorms usually pass pretty quickly, no use risking your life to avoid a 20 or 30 minute delay.

Bikemiker

I've been in some pretty good storms up on the rim during monsoon. Kinda scary, but a beautiful area, and I think especially so during the rains.

nova

You made it to 1 mississ before bbbbaaaaammmm try being me back about 6 years ago. 1 minute clear skys the next black the next as i was turnign the corner to my road kaboooooom lightning less than 35 feet from me. I felt not only the shock wave but the heat from the strike . Its no wonder i felt the heat what the bolt hit was a chain link fence with aluminum poles. I went back up a few hours later to see if i could find any what they call petrified lightning (nice wet sand around the pond on the other side of the fence) Thinking id open the gate and check. Well there was no gate. The poles were just gone the chainlink was a melted mass of metal. At any rate i came with in 35 feet of being hit not a fun thing.

Paul L.

Done that too. Was sitting about 30 feet from an outhouse that go hit when BBBBaaammmmm! Everyone looked at each other, looked out, said, wow, and then pieces of the outhouse roof started to rain down.

4SEVEN3

All I have to say is, being in a lightning storm bike or no bike your nutz! Ive seen cars get struck on the radio antenna, so dont think for a minute itll strike the largest thing around. On the motorcycle board Im a member of, we had a member get struck and killed riding down the highway. It killed him instantly and burned the bike to the ground. Just beacuse your on a bicycle or on foot dosent mean it cant happen (as stated by earlier thread!)

nova

Thats a myth. If your out in the open with nothign ver your head (and in some cases even then) your vunrable. Its less about the hight of a object than the charge neg or positive the object has. Example possitive lighting (the worst kind) if you have a higher negitive charge than that 15 story building you have a higher chance of being struck. If your charge is the same or lower you wont. If the buildings charge is positive not only will the positive bolt not hit the building but it will avoide it and find you that much easyer.
Lighting is unpredictable it does odd things some say impossible things.
Lighting can and often does strike the same place many times it will strike untill the charge its after is deleated.
Old thinking was that the charge it was after was depleted after a single strike. What they failed to take in to account is that it could also recharge very fast.

Avoid thunder storms at all costs!

nova

LOL
One strike i seen was a hit to a home tv antena tower you know the ones made out of nice shiny aluminum?
Well aluminum conducts electricy pretty well if not anodized and these are not. So me and friend were driiving to the drive in movie and a storm came out of no where could not see to drive so we pulled over. Waited there and about 5 minutes in to waiting while watching lighting strikes we seen a bolt strrike not 50 yards from us then another 20 yards and then ....... the next one hits the tower. It flashes bright white then a red what we though after image of the tower getting lit up by a close strike. Turns out it wasnt a after images it was the tower being essentialy vaporised. On instant there the next its red sparklies falling to the ground.
Original height 50 to 60 feet after strike zero hehe

nova

LOL
One strike i seen was a hit to a home tv antena tower you know the ones made out of nice shiny aluminum?
Well aluminum conducts electricy pretty well if not anodized and these are not. So me and friend were driiving to the drive in movie and a storm came out of no where could not see to drive so we pulled over. Waited there and about 5 minutes in to waiting while watching lighting strikes we seen a bolt strrike not 50 yards from us then another 20 yards and then ....... the next one hits the tower. It flashes bright white then a red what we though after image of the tower getting lit up by a close strike. Turns out it wasnt a after images it was the tower being essentialy vaporised. On instant there the next its red sparklies falling to the ground.
Original height 50 to 60 feet after strike zero hehe

nova

Cars are 99% safe the 1% that isnt isnt from direct strikes. Think being with in a few feet of a tree that gets hit. The shock wave from the strike can do some masive damage. Cars in them self (metal cars) protect because when they do get struck the surge goes through the cars metal and away from you. Same rules apply thoguh if your touching metal of the car ie windows post etc you can get hit. Thats no diffrent than a downed powerline. If you see one and cant stop from hittign it let loose of the wheel make sure your feet are not on the pedals and hope you coast over.

Its easy to make a car near 100% safe though. Gett a old set of jumper cables and atach that to something on the frame/under side in direct contack with a body pannel. ( a frame stub works greaat) leave the wire bare and dragging the ground. Now when lighting strikes the car it will def find a path to the ground and your protected even more.

But realy if in a car dont worry about the chance youll get hit and injoy natures fireworks

cc_rider

When I've been caught out in a thunder storm, I was less worried about the lightning than I was the high wind gusts, rapid wind shifts, wind-blown debris and the rain driven into my face so I couldn't see where I was going.

Find shelter and enjoy the show.