Ride in lightning?

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

07-22-05 | 10:42 AM

#26

rs_woods

Senior Member

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 250

Likes: 0

From: New Orleans

Bikes: Trek T80, Trek SU200, Trek SU100, Giant Bowery

The greatest risk associated with riding in a lightning storm is probably blindness. If lightning strikes a tree or something across the street from you (if you are lucky enough to have "trees" on your commute), you will be temporarily blinded from the extreme light and that could result in a spill.

07-22-05 | 10:58 AM

#27

mac

They see me rollin'

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 784

Likes: 1

From: Los Angeles

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale T2000

Quote:

Originally Posted by sethw

Ride the Lightning was an excellent album.

I'm a bit concerned about this since I'm going to be riding across the desert and mountains in the Southwest and all the weather reports on Yahoo! say thunderstorms, scattered thunderstorms, and isolated thunderstorms for every single day of the week!

07-22-05 | 12:03 PM

#28

I-Like-To-Bike

Been Around Awhile

Joined: Oct 2004

Posts: 30,654

Likes: 1,974

From: Burlington Iowa

Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

According to a published research paper by Miller M, Azrael D, Hemenway D. at your National Library of Medicine, between 1979 and 1997, "...almost 30,000 people died from unintentional firearm injuries, half of whom were under 25 years of age..."

How many of them were bicyclists? Any?

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

Sorry, if I have pissed some people off. I actually like a lot about the United States and Americans. And yes I have been to the U.S.A. on at least a dozen occasions, so I am not completely ignorant—just partially. I simple feel that the lightning thing is stupid and made a dumb mistake of bring up the politically loaded firearm issue as a comparison. My point was to compare it to more probable concern

Apology accepted. Your point is well taken. It was stupid to make snide comments about US culture in order to make your valid point about an irrational concern over an insignificant risk - A risk probably slightly less insignificant than cyclists dying from unintentional firearm injuries while cycling.

07-22-05 | 05:49 PM

#29

biodiesel

Senior Member

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 542

Likes: 0

Here's the safest way to ride.

Don't ride at night.
Don't ride an hour after dawn or two hours before sunset. (Mosquito/ West Nile time)
Don't ride beween 11 and 3 the peak heat/ sunburn times.
Don't ride during thunder or lightning storms.
or fast downhills... or on tuesdays...
umm. so ride only sunny days between 8-11 during the summer months?

Nah, I'll eat fatty food and ride without body armor 40mph in city traffic half naked with West Nile bugs in my teeth, drinking beer on a 100 degree day...
(I'll still hide under a bridge if the lightning is too close, I picture the arc pattern of a lightning blast, through my hands then back to the bike through my... um carbon seatpost! Ouch!)

07-22-05 | 06:30 PM

#30

Cadd

Senior Member

Joined: May 2002

Posts: 1,452

Likes: 0

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

If I was riding my bike in a storm and a person in the “Lightning Desperation Position” I would likely injure myself as I fell off the bike in a moment of absolute hysteria.

Talk about paranoia, I would like to see some objective statistics on deaths by lightning strikes. I think we have more to worry about with cars than lightning.

No joke! I would seriously dismount my bike and walk up to the guy and gently tap him on the shoulders (or the hump on his back) and say in a soothing voice "it's ok, you don't have to cry, let me help you up and walk you back to your bike".

If he doesn't respond, I'll probably use my pinky and push his head to see if he tips over.

07-22-05 | 06:37 PM

#31

jeff williams

I couldn't car less.

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 4,397

Likes: 0

Bikes: Ritchey P-series prototype, Diamondback, Nishiki Triathelon Pro.

Best excuse to ride an aluminium frame. Non-ferrous metal.

07-22-05 | 07:17 PM

#32

I-Like-To-Bike

Been Around Awhile

Joined: Oct 2004

Posts: 30,654

Likes: 1,974

From: Burlington Iowa

Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff williams

Best excuse to ride an aluminium frame. Non-ferrous metal.

Do you also use aluminum ladders when working on power lines? News flash - electricity and magnetism are not the same thing

07-22-05 | 07:47 PM

#33

sethw

Senior Member

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 160

Likes: 0

From: Brooklyn, NY

Bikes: NYCBikes Single Speed, Cannondale M400, Raleigh Technium

I remember years ago, whenever a lightning storm would roll through, my grandmother would go sit in her car, since... you know, the rubber tires and all. heh...

07-22-05 | 07:51 PM

#34

cicadashell

heliocentrist

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 582

Likes: 0

From: ann arbor mi

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

To be honest Cicadashell, I do think that using the unintentional (see DoJ link below) firearm related deaths does decrease the random nature of the events and make them significantly less comparable to lighting strikes. They only represents 3-4 percent of firearm death and I am sure that they are more random than Homicides or Suicides. I do not really get the point of your argument about randomness and then talking about people being around. Depending on you definition of “around” we are almost always around other people; at least like to be. Could you elaborate a bit on your argument?

As you can see from the Department of Justice figures, unintentional deaths, which is what I was talking about do not include Suicides and Homicides. So I would interperet that to mean more random events, like if a child accidently shoots the person that lives upstairs through the floor because he/she was playing with dad’s rifle. Would you interpret the word in some other way?

I am surprised and happy to see the downward trend in firearm related deaths from 1991 to 2001. I wonder what has happened since then?

https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/frmdth.htm

i shouldn't have implied that randomness mattered. my point is that if you divide total deaths from lightning strikes by total number of years, you get a sort of "average" likelihood of being struck by lightening at any moment. but that is meaningless, really, because most of the time, only a few persons are near an electrical storm. if you are not near an electrical storm, your chances of getting struck by lightning are virtually zero; if you are in the middle of an electrical storm, your chances are quite high. the firearm death statistics are a red herring, i think. our exposure to firearms, on average, is greater; that is, there are firearms everywhere. so it stands to reason that your risk of being killed by one, accidentally or not, is relatively high.

i do not want to talk about guns, though. i would rather discuss statistics, and quantitative risk assessment. my point is that it is useful to understand the risks of lightning, and to take precautions when you are in an electrical storm. i think the comparison with gun deaths is not instructive.

07-22-05 | 08:59 PM

#35

jeff williams

I couldn't car less.

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 4,397

Likes: 0

Bikes: Ritchey P-series prototype, Diamondback, Nishiki Triathelon Pro.

Quote:

Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike

Do you also use aluminum ladders when working on power lines? News flash - electricity and magnetism are not the same thing

I was joking. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...3&page=2&pp=25
Lighten up, bad vibes invite strikes.

07-22-05 | 09:19 PM

#36

Hemlock

Thread Starter

Full Member

Joined: Apr 2004

Posts: 207

Likes: 0

From: Central Florida

Bikes: Trek 520

I guess the same line of reasoning applies to shark bites. The per capita rate is really low, but... Figure in that a lot of the people included in the total don't live anywhere near an ocean. Then the number who may live near the ocean but never go there. Then figure your chances if you happen to be a dedicated surfer who goes out more than once a week. Perhaps very early or late in the day (feeding time). Maybe you even paddle out if you have a cut. Suddenly those numbers seem a lot different.

My point with the thread was just that rain wouldn't ordinarily stop me, but the amount of lightning gave me pause. Enough so that I took an offered ride. Not that I though I'd be killed on the spot, but it did give make me think a bit.

07-23-05 | 06:40 AM

#37

I-Like-To-Bike

Been Around Awhile

Joined: Oct 2004

Posts: 30,654

Likes: 1,974

From: Burlington Iowa

Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff williams

I was joking. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...3&page=2&pp=25
Lighten up, bad vibes invite strikes.

Sorry, I don't have a crystal ball and can not read minds; only what you wrote.

You are correct. I should read a lot of the posts on the bikeForum from the self appointed experts and pedants on the subject of Effective Bicycling Correctness and/or Bicycling Risk as a joke. It would make for less aggravation.

07-23-05 | 01:48 PM

#38

biodiesel

Senior Member

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 542

Likes: 0

Yeah, you know i figure you probably die doing what you do. If you surf you stand a higher chance dying surfing than a football player etc. You take chances and life is a risk vs benifit. There's no way to eliminate all the risks in life you run from one into the arms of another.
But biking's not bad, it's not even that high on the list.
As for risk benefit, check out Lancet or British Journal of Medicine research on Bicycling and Bicycle Commuting. (Biking much better for you than not...)

And, hey, no one gets out alive.

07-24-05 | 12:34 AM

#39

Camel

Caffeinated.

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 1,541

Likes: 1

From: Waltham, MA

Bikes: Waterford 1900, Quintana Roo Borrego, Trek 8700zx, Bianchi Pista Concept

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eggplant Jeff

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

I bet you have a much higher chance of getting hit by a stray bullet in the good old U.S. of A., never mind the three to four ton SUVs.

Yeah talk about an extreme stereotype. I've lived in the US for... (cuts his leg off and counts the rings) 27 years now and have never seen a gun fired in real life. The only gunshots I've heard have been from legitimate target ranges (I have a friend who lives near a military base). I've known people who have owned guns but they've always kept them locked up etc.

Hardly a stereotype-by any means!

I work at a medical center, 2 of the six trauma patients my shift last night were gunshot victims (3 were motor vehicle crashes, 1 was pedestrian vs motorcycle). Although this is a large teaching hospital, we're probably still 4th down the list as far as recieving trauma victims goes in the city. That means the other 3 hospitals were allready inundated with victims (diverting patients) at the time these folks had there respective misshaps.

The only time there is anything more than a paragraph on page 10 in regards to these shootings, is when someone prominant is involved, or if something super horrific occurs. Babies/children getting shot usually makes the front page, as do multiple fatalities.

Last edited by Camel; 07-24-05 at 04:10 AM.

07-24-05 | 09:42 PM

#40

Chris L

Every lane is a bike lane

Joined: Apr 2000

Posts: 9,666

Likes: 16

From: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia - passionfruit capital of the universe!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hemlock

I took a ride home from work today. Waited an hour or so for the lightning storm to blow over, and it was still going strong. Torrential rain as well. Would you ride in these conditions?

February 2004. 135km/h winds, 10 inches of rain + lightning. I rode home from work without a seconds' hesistation. Then I got up and rode again to another appointment that I had, again, with no hesistation. I'm still waiting for someone to satisfactorily explain to me just what all the fuss is about.

__________________
I am clinically insane. I am proud of it.

That is all.

07-24-05 | 09:50 PM

#41

mac

They see me rollin'

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 784

Likes: 1

From: Los Angeles

Bikes: 2005 Cannondale T2000

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris L

I think it has to do with your location. Say you are out touring and you are in the plains out in the middle of nowhere. You are now the highest object around. But if you are in the city or suburbs, there are telephone poles, buildings, etc. that are higher than you.

BTW - what kind of bike did you ride?

EDIT - did the conversion, 84 mph winds?!?!

07-25-05 | 03:04 AM

#42

Chris L

Every lane is a bike lane

Joined: Apr 2000

Posts: 9,666

Likes: 16

From: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia - passionfruit capital of the universe!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac

I was on my MTB at the time, but yes, I was in the city/suburbs. Having said that, a section of the ride was right next to the Pacific ocean.

As far as the wind goes, that was an "official" figure, as advised by the weather bureau. Read into that what you will.

__________________
I am clinically insane. I am proud of it.

That is all.

07-26-05 | 06:44 AM

#43

cicadashell

heliocentrist

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 582

Likes: 0

From: ann arbor mi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris L

sounds like a wild ride. you seem to be rephrasing the topic as one of general courageousness or bravery, however; we were talking specifically about the risk of lightning strikes. i would imagine that heavy rain and/or strong winds may play a role in redistributing excess surface charge, and actually reduce occurrence of cloud-to-ground lightning. but i will leave that for a meteorologist to confirm or contradict.

07-26-05 | 08:55 AM

#44

halfbiked

dangerous with tools

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 4,502

Likes: 0

From: minneapolis

Bikes: fat, long, single & fast

Sounds like Chris L was riding in a hurricane (typhoon?). Those were the conditions last time I was in Cairns.

Anyhow, around here some major-league thunderstorms rolled through town mid-day on Saturday. By major league, I mean wind gusts up above 60mph (90kph), which certainly aren't hurricane-force, but are getting up there. A lot of trees went down, people lost power and.... drumroll please... several deaths from lightning. Its a real risk folks. I don't believe any were biking, but in my book, that don't mean much.

07-26-05 | 09:07 AM

#45

Wind 'N Snow

What icy wind?

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 665

Likes: 0

From: Flat, windy and (dry) cold, Saskatchewan.

Bikes: Cervélo Dual, old Pinarello Montello & older Miyata Alumicross

[QUOTE=Marylandnewbie]Lightning striking humans is very rare and when it does happen people are usually in very exposed areas with virtually nothing around them or standing under trees.
QUOTE]

Your advice is good, but your intro...? Have you ever cycled on the bald praire, or in farm country? The bike rider is usually the tallest object on an elevated road.

07-26-05 | 09:26 AM

#46

Wind 'N Snow

What icy wind?

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 665

Likes: 0

From: Flat, windy and (dry) cold, Saskatchewan.

Bikes: Cervélo Dual, old Pinarello Montello & older Miyata Alumicross

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

It is funny to read American’s really worry about getting hit by lightening, when I bet you have a much higher chance of getting hit by a stray bullet in the good old U.S. of A., never mind the three to four ton SUVs. Why is there a thread on lighting strikes but not on cycling with bullet wounds, or though a drug related shoot-out? It might actually be more useful to people in war torn developing nations and those living outside of gated communities in the U.S.

I am annoyed by your silly stereotypes. Yes there are guns and morons and SUV driving idiots, but there are also very responsible, gun-owning,large vehicle driving people that I consider friends who live the U.S. I myself don't care for guns and think all handguns should be illegal - but what do I know, I spend most of my days in the cold.

Leave your stereotypes out of your replies please, and don't speak of things you don't know anything about.

07-26-05 | 08:03 PM

#47

John Ridley

Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2004

Posts: 268

Likes: 0

Quote:

Originally Posted by atbman

Don't worry. A work colleague, back in about '70 was struck while riding home, spent the night in hospital and went home in the morning

He was almost certainly not directly struck. He caught some induction from a nearby strike, or a side-branch of the main trunk of lightning. Direct lightning hits on humans are not common, because ionized air conducts at least as well as flesh. But if you did take a direct hit, you'd be smoked; when lightning hits trees directly, they typically explode because the sap inside them is instantly boiled. I don't think people would fare better.

07-26-05 | 11:38 PM

#48

Trek7000ZX

5200 Miles From Home

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 20

Likes: 0

Bikes: Trek 7000 ZX, Specialized Hardrock Sport

Quote:

Originally Posted by k71021

Unintentional has nothing at all do with random. The can occur when a wife pulls a gun on a husband during a heated argument with no intent of killing, but simply getting him to leave, a struggle insues and the gun goes off. This was an unintentional gun death, but anything but random. Also unintentional was the gun death example you gave of a gun mistakenly going off, be it by a child or some idiot cleaning a loaded weapon, and killing a neighbor upstairs. Neither of these have any relevance to biking and thus any stats on unintentional gun deaths have no relevance to this topic. Unless of course you can dig up a stat on how many people biking home from work have been killed by stray bullets.