Originally Posted by 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.
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.