Being struck by lightning
05-22-17, 05:36 AM
#27
Full Member
05-22-17, 09:35 AM
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,614
Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1066 Post(s)
Liked 780 Times
in
502 Posts
...............So off we went me trailing behind him. Around 3pm now and the rain begins to pick up, quickly turning into a terential downpour. Next thing I know we were riding in water that was flowing (or pooling) on the trail. Then, I heard a rumble of thunder and eventually the sound of lightning (I think we can all agree that even though it's visual, it has an distinct and disturbing sound). There was a second thunder/lightning combo which sounded closer than the first. This is when (someone mentioned early in this thread) "I felt a weird vibe about where I was and the "air" around me. It was as if o felt something bad was about to happen. It was then that I started to realize that the strikes were seemingly right on top of us. By that point we were several miles in and quickly trying to get back to our vehicles. Then a third roll of thunder and the nastiest, loudest snap, crackle and pop of lightning I've ever heard...at that very moment, my front tire instantly goes flat..........
Living in FL I am very aware of close strikes. The tingling of hairs/skin, the crackle/snap of air, the light and thunder, the ozone smell that can follow a strike. Have had it happen around my house and while riding home from work. I was caught in a Fl afternoon frog choker when the strike was on a tree as I bicycled past it.
05-22-17, 09:43 AM
#29
pan y agua
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,299
Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 712 Times
in
366 Posts
Anyone carry a one iron cycling?
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
05-22-17, 09:44 AM
#30
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: New Rochelle, NY
Posts: 38,670
Bikes: too many bikes from 1967 10s (5x2)Frejus to a Sumitomo Ti/Chorus aluminum 10s (10x2), plus one non-susp mtn bike I use as my commuter
Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5767 Post(s)
Liked 2,540 Times
in
1,406 Posts
????
__________________
FB
Chain-L site
An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FB
Chain-L site
An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
05-22-17, 10:23 AM
#32
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,614
Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1066 Post(s)
Liked 780 Times
in
502 Posts
Not to be too technical, but the flash and sounds happen pretty instantaneously if very close but when thunder occurs before the lightning flash there is some distance between you and the strike. BTW, lightning can strike 10+ miles away from the actual rain cloud.
Living in FL I am very aware of close strikes. The tingling of hairs/skin, the crackle/snap of air, the light and thunder, the ozone smell that can follow a strike. Have had it happen around my house and while riding home from work. I was caught in a Fl afternoon frog choker when the strike was on a tree as I bicycled past it.
Living in FL I am very aware of close strikes. The tingling of hairs/skin, the crackle/snap of air, the light and thunder, the ozone smell that can follow a strike. Have had it happen around my house and while riding home from work. I was caught in a Fl afternoon frog choker when the strike was on a tree as I bicycled past it.
05-22-17, 10:32 AM
#33
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Hudson Valley, NY
Posts: 32,983
Bikes: Merlin Cyrene '04; Bridgestone RB-1 '92
Mentioned: 325 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11954 Post(s)
Liked 6,611 Times
in
3,469 Posts
By the way, in case some haven't noticed, this is an old thread so don't respond to somebody who posted 13 years ago.
__________________
See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
05-22-17, 10:57 AM
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sin City, Nevada
Posts: 2,885
Bikes: Catrike 700, Greenspeed GTO trike, , Linear LWB recumbent, Haluzak Horizon SWB recumbent, Balance 450 MTB, Cannondale SM800 Beast of the East
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 523 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 227 Times
in
179 Posts
That one by PepeM was a good one. Take apart an old flashlight battery (standard or alkaline) and you will find a carbon rod in the center that conducts electricity. Maybe not as good as steel and aluminum but darn close. Being inside a car works because the metal body and frame acts as a Faraday cage to conduct the lightning strike instead of you. BTW, the lightning might be going from ground to cloud instead of the other way around. If you want to see where lightning storms are you can go to this site: https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzo...ex.php?lang=en and it shows strikes within the past two hours.
I just took a course on weather hazards offered by BSA and lightning strikes were one of the topics covered. Enough Scouts have been killed or injured recently to make this a hot topic.
Get off the bike and get as low as possible to the ground. If there is a dry ditch nearby get in it. Underpasses and trees are a bad places too. Getting into an enclosed shelter offers the best protection.
I just took a course on weather hazards offered by BSA and lightning strikes were one of the topics covered. Enough Scouts have been killed or injured recently to make this a hot topic.
Get off the bike and get as low as possible to the ground. If there is a dry ditch nearby get in it. Underpasses and trees are a bad places too. Getting into an enclosed shelter offers the best protection.
05-22-17, 11:05 AM
#35
aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,498
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7346 Post(s)
Liked 2,452 Times
in
1,430 Posts
It's easy enough to find youtube videos showing people struck and surviving. Not that you should chance it, but sometimes, people survive.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
05-22-17, 11:05 AM
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,892
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4791 Post(s)
Liked 3,918 Times
in
2,548 Posts
A small data point re: current, voltage, time of exposure and consequences. (This with AC, not DC.)
Many years ago I connected a circuit between my sweaty hands. We never replicated the circuit, so I don't know for sure that the voltage was, 110 or perhaps 220. (I was running bailing wire across ceiling joists what we were going to stuff insulation over. Reached around a beam to staple the next wire and contacted a conduit that was apparently hot with my right wrist while I held the bailing wire in my left. The current instantly stopped my breathing and heart. I stayed fully conscious and fully aware I had to do something quickly but my entire upper body was frozen. After about 10 seconds I tried "kicking" with both legs as hard as I could and just managed to straighten them enough to lose my balance. (I was on a step ladder, feet about 5' above the floor.) Fell in slow motion, hit the floor flat on my back and my heart started back up. That fall took minutes in my perception. (But luckily for me, it was fast enough that my co-worker who saw me struggling onthe ladder with no idea why didn't quite get to me in time. Had he caught me, how long would it have been before he figured out my heart stopped?)
It was about 24 hours before all the fog cleared for me I and I was back to normal.
Ben
Many years ago I connected a circuit between my sweaty hands. We never replicated the circuit, so I don't know for sure that the voltage was, 110 or perhaps 220. (I was running bailing wire across ceiling joists what we were going to stuff insulation over. Reached around a beam to staple the next wire and contacted a conduit that was apparently hot with my right wrist while I held the bailing wire in my left. The current instantly stopped my breathing and heart. I stayed fully conscious and fully aware I had to do something quickly but my entire upper body was frozen. After about 10 seconds I tried "kicking" with both legs as hard as I could and just managed to straighten them enough to lose my balance. (I was on a step ladder, feet about 5' above the floor.) Fell in slow motion, hit the floor flat on my back and my heart started back up. That fall took minutes in my perception. (But luckily for me, it was fast enough that my co-worker who saw me struggling onthe ladder with no idea why didn't quite get to me in time. Had he caught me, how long would it have been before he figured out my heart stopped?)
It was about 24 hours before all the fog cleared for me I and I was back to normal.
Ben
05-22-17, 11:07 AM
#37
Senior Member
I just took a course on weather hazards offered by BSA and lightning strikes were one of the topics covered. Enough Scouts have been killed or injured recently to make this a hot topic.
Get off the bike and get as low as possible to the ground. If there is a dry ditch nearby get in it. Underpasses and trees are a bad places too. Getting into an enclosed shelter offers the best protection.
Get off the bike and get as low as possible to the ground. If there is a dry ditch nearby get in it. Underpasses and trees are a bad places too. Getting into an enclosed shelter offers the best protection.
05-22-17, 11:18 AM
#38
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sin City, Nevada
Posts: 2,885
Bikes: Catrike 700, Greenspeed GTO trike, , Linear LWB recumbent, Haluzak Horizon SWB recumbent, Balance 450 MTB, Cannondale SM800 Beast of the East
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 523 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 227 Times
in
179 Posts
I haven't a clue as to why the underpass would not be safe but I figure that the course would not have nixed it as a place to hide if it were safe. Perhaps it is the fact that the overpass is the highest point around and may attract lightning with it completing the path directly through whatever is under the overpass.
05-22-17, 11:21 AM
#39
LBKA (formerly punkncat)
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Jawja
Posts: 4,299
Bikes: Spec Roubaix SL4, GT Traffic 1.0
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2208 Post(s)
Liked 960 Times
in
686 Posts
Even a 9 volt battery could kill you, if you're smart/dumb enough to figure a way to do it, like this guy apparently did.
1999 Darwin Award: Resistance is Futile
1999 Darwin Award: Resistance is Futile
05-22-17, 12:37 PM
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Southern California, USA
Posts: 10,474
Bikes: 1979 Raleigh Team 753
Mentioned: 153 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3374 Post(s)
Liked 371 Times
in
253 Posts
I've never seen a 1 Iron, but, yes, I carry my 7 sometimes going to the driving range. Not in the past few years however.
When I was officiating soccer if we heard or saw thunder or lightning were shut the game down. There was no judgement as to how dangerous it was. That was the rule.
When I was officiating soccer if we heard or saw thunder or lightning were shut the game down. There was no judgement as to how dangerous it was. That was the rule.
05-22-17, 12:45 PM
#41
pan y agua
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,299
Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 712 Times
in
366 Posts
^ the old joke, attributed to Lee Trevino, is "How do you avoid getting hit by Lightning on a golf course? Answer, Run down the middle of the fairway waiving a one iron over your head because not even God can hit a one iron"
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
05-22-17, 12:52 PM
#42
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,546
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5223 Post(s)
Liked 3,579 Times
in
2,341 Posts
due to 2 close calls, I no longer go outside to adjust any patio furniture during a storm & I don't bike commute regularly anymore & so I can choose good weather days when I do
05-22-17, 02:43 PM
#43
Chases Dogs for Sport
Interesting time to resurrect this thread. One of my two "A" bike events of the year is this Saturday . . . forecast to have an 80% chance of thunderstorms.
I have tended to ride no matter the weather. (I rode 29 miles through the most severe part of the Nashville Flood storm.) Maybe I should rethink that.
I have tended to ride no matter the weather. (I rode 29 miles through the most severe part of the Nashville Flood storm.) Maybe I should rethink that.
05-22-17, 02:47 PM
#44
in bagnomaria
I haven't a clue as to why the underpass would not be safe but I figure that the course would not have nixed it as a place to hide if it were safe. Perhaps it is the fact that the overpass is the highest point around and may attract lightning with it completing the path directly through whatever is under the overpass.
05-23-17, 08:26 AM
#45
pan y agua
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,299
Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 712 Times
in
366 Posts
I think there are two reasons for the advice about underpasses.
Tornados is one of them.
The second reason is car drivers tend to stop under underpasses in severe weather, particularly storms including hail, and create dangerous traffic conditions.
The second doesn't apply to cyclists, and the first, tornado's is not going to be an issue in most thuderstorms.
Underwriter Laboratories recommends taking shelter in an underpass, as long as you don't touch any of the structure. How to avoid being stuck by lightning - Lightning Safety Protection Systems, Lightning Arrestor Sources, Lightning Rod Installers, Lightning Protection System Inspection, Lightning Strike Probability & Risk Assessment
See also: https://miami.cbslocal.com/2009/06/23...ghtning-storm/ https://www.kuefler-lightning.com/lig...afety-tips.htm
If there is lightning in the immediate area, no tornados apparent, and no other options, I'm staying in the underpass, not touching any structure, and watching the sky for any sign of tornados
Tornados is one of them.
The second reason is car drivers tend to stop under underpasses in severe weather, particularly storms including hail, and create dangerous traffic conditions.
The second doesn't apply to cyclists, and the first, tornado's is not going to be an issue in most thuderstorms.
Underwriter Laboratories recommends taking shelter in an underpass, as long as you don't touch any of the structure. How to avoid being stuck by lightning - Lightning Safety Protection Systems, Lightning Arrestor Sources, Lightning Rod Installers, Lightning Protection System Inspection, Lightning Strike Probability & Risk Assessment
See also: https://miami.cbslocal.com/2009/06/23...ghtning-storm/ https://www.kuefler-lightning.com/lig...afety-tips.htm
If there is lightning in the immediate area, no tornados apparent, and no other options, I'm staying in the underpass, not touching any structure, and watching the sky for any sign of tornados
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
Last edited by merlinextraligh; 05-23-17 at 08:37 AM.
05-23-17, 08:30 AM
#46
Newbie
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
The third combo that was right on top of me, there was no clear distinction between the time of thunder and strike. There was no time between. the description you're quoting was the first thunder/lightning combo which yes, was probably a little ways off.
05-23-17, 09:58 AM
#47
Mostly harmless
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Novi Sad
Posts: 4,430
Bikes: Heavy, with friction shifters
Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1107 Post(s)
Liked 216 Times
in
130 Posts
Sums it up pretty good:
NOAA's Lightning Safety
NOAA's Lightning Safety
05-24-17, 04:57 PM
#50
Serious Cyclist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: RVA
Posts: 9,308
Bikes: Emonda SL6
Mentioned: 97 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5721 Post(s)
Liked 261 Times
in
99 Posts
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.c83018c82ddc
Basically, it seems plausible a ground current traveled through your front wheel and caused the flat, though I'm sure someone will correct that. Cars struck by lightning apparently regularly have one or more tires go flat instantly.
I'd think your paleness and increased HR would be from the fear and adrenaline rather than any current passing through you, but it does sound like it was a close call. Scary.