A scientific question
09-11-07, 09:08 AM
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I have to disagree. There were over 40,000 folks killed by cars just last year in the US of A. Using your line of reasoning, one should never drive (nor ride a bike). Average lightning deaths per year for the entire US of A is 44 deaths.
09-11-07, 09:25 AM
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Seriously, a big reason that lightning deaths are so rare is that people generally don't go out and play in lightning storms. Comparing numbers that way is like saying that it must be safe to walk on freeways, because so few pedestrians are killed there.
09-11-07, 10:24 AM
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The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard and the shallow end is much too large
2013 Noah RS
The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard and the shallow end is much too large
2013 Noah RS
Last edited by stonecrd; 09-11-07 at 10:33 AM.
09-11-07, 06:01 PM
#29
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Where there is lightning there is typically rain. I'd rather not get the bike wet - it attracts dirt and water, road salt and steel = rust.
09-11-07, 06:07 PM
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Well we each pick our own risks. I have to drive to get to work so I accept the risk and try to drive safely, I will not give up riding so I accept the risk of cycling on the road and take caution. However, lightening only affects maybe a ride a month for me so I will not take the risk for that one or two days of additional rides a month. May not be rational but it works for me. Interestingly Colorado ranks third for deaths per capita while Florida is of course #1
Colorado 30 2
Sometimes we get so much thunder around here, that one might be confined to the home for extended periods if they stayed inside whenever they heard thunder
Last edited by DnvrFox; 09-11-07 at 06:20 PM.
09-11-07, 06:28 PM
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Here is the statement to which I was originally responding:
"Please do not ride your bike when you can hear thunder even if the sky is clear."
If I followed that rule around here, there would be some days when I would never get out, perhaps even several days in a row. Last week was one of them.
My point being, the danger of lightning is grossly over-exaggerated and hyped, particularly by the local weatherman and newscasters, while the greater dangers of automobiles is totally neglected.
BUt, during ACTIVE lightning storms, I do seek appropriate shelter
Last edited by DnvrFox; 09-11-07 at 06:50 PM.
09-11-07, 07:15 PM
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When I was a kid back in Ohio, a buddy and I camped out under a big BIG old dead tree. Something made us move our tent that night, which was a good thing. Sometime during the night there was a violent thunderstorm and lightning to beat the band. We discovered why you're not supposed to touch the inside of a canvas tent during a rainstorm, btw...
Anyway, next morning we went back by that big old tree. A branch as large as most trees had snapped off, the result of lightning. Landed right over where our tent was. We'd a been dead had we stayed there. So...I opt for fetal position on open ground. YMMV
Anyway, next morning we went back by that big old tree. A branch as large as most trees had snapped off, the result of lightning. Landed right over where our tent was. We'd a been dead had we stayed there. So...I opt for fetal position on open ground. YMMV
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09-11-07, 07:22 PM
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09-11-07, 07:35 PM
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When I think carbon fiber these days, the first thing that comes to mind is nanotubes! Too much time in a semiconductor development lab environment... Depending on structure, the carbon fiber could either be a decent insulator (as it is surrounded by epoxy resin ??), or a reasonable conductor.
09-16-07, 05:14 PM
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09-16-07, 07:47 PM
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VERY TRUE .The lightening just doesn't "care", It'll jump. Many individuals who are struck and live are actually "struck" by PART of the bolt's electricity spreading after the direct hit. Your chances of getting a direct hit are very slim anyway.Tires,carbon .. none of that matters.As far as the indirect hit, nothing you can do about that either. Down here in NC, knowing farmers, not at all unusual to encounter someone who's been struckto one degree or another. It can travel through a phone receiver. Golfers and farmers are at greatest risk. Out in the open,it matters less how high an object is. Seek cover if you want to be protected. If you live in the San Francisco Bay area,you've virtually NO chance of getting hit. Tire and fork selection are not key.
09-23-07, 06:56 AM
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Here is a recent article from our local paper. According to this, there are about 100 days so far this year that I would have to not ride my bicycle or stop a ride because I heard thunder.
https://www.zwire.com/site/tab8.cfm?n...d=559193&rfi=6
(Douglas County, CO) is Bull's Eye for Lightning Strikes
The Front Range, particularly near the Palmer Divide on the south end of the county, is a hotbed for lightning strikes. It is at the top of the list for the highest frequency for lightning strikes in the country, Simmons said.
Last edited by DnvrFox; 09-23-07 at 07:03 AM.
09-23-07, 08:39 AM
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So if you insist on using tornados and such to pad your mileage, then you have to live with the risks.
09-23-07, 09:12 AM
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................................................................................................Plea se do not ride your bike when you can hear thunder even if the sky is clear.................................................................
https://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.p...y=Local%20News
https://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.p...y=Local%20News
I would have to take the risk of staying home, feel depressed, eat, get fat and die early.
09-23-07, 03:09 PM
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If I were to follow your advise I would not be biking and enjoy the outdoors. The weather forecast always errs on the side of caution. If there is the slightest chance of a rain, they predict T. Storms. There is no penalty for false positive for T. Storm so they are predicting it on the slightest evidence.
I would have to take the risk of staying home, feel depressed, eat, get fat and die early.
I would have to take the risk of staying home, feel depressed, eat, get fat and die early.
__________________
The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard and the shallow end is much too large
2013 Noah RS
The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard and the shallow end is much too large
2013 Noah RS
09-24-07, 09:19 AM
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There was a post on road biking section about a guy who got hit with lightning while biking. But he was off the bike and taking a leak when he got struck in the penis with a(one would assume) low level bolt of lightning as he lived to tell of it. What a pickup line "want to see where I got hit by lightning?"
10-02-07, 12:57 AM
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Biker's penis hit by lightning
A Croatian motorbiker's penis was zapped by lightning as he stopped beside the road to take a leak.
Ante Djindjic, 29, from Zagreb, said: "I don't remember what happened. One minute I was taking a leak and the next thing I knew I was in hospital.
"Doctors said the lightning went through my body and because I was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through my penis."
Djindjic, who suffered light burns to his chest and arms, added: "Thankfully, the doctors said that there would be no lasting effects, and my penis will function normally eventually."
A Croatian motorbiker's penis was zapped by lightning as he stopped beside the road to take a leak.
Ante Djindjic, 29, from Zagreb, said: "I don't remember what happened. One minute I was taking a leak and the next thing I knew I was in hospital.
"Doctors said the lightning went through my body and because I was wearing rubber boots it earthed itself through my penis."
Djindjic, who suffered light burns to his chest and arms, added: "Thankfully, the doctors said that there would be no lasting effects, and my penis will function normally eventually."
