Paul Barnard

Took a look at the weather radar this morning and thought maybe I could squeeze in a 30-40 ride before the storms hit. I got 17 miles from home and with the skies darkening to the west. A quick check of the radar told me that the race was on.



10 miles further and I knew I wasn't going to make it. It was just a matter of how bad it was going to be.



3 more miles and it overtook me. Quite the rain and lightning event.





I was just going to ride it out, but the side gusts came close to blowing me off the levee top. I found an awning in the adjacent light industrial area to wait until the worst of it passed.




Good times!

rsbob 

Nothing more exciting than being caught miles from home in a lightening storm with a torrential downpour. It has happened to me a couple of times and while backpacking in the high Sierras. Last time I was able to find and underpass but was already soaked to the bone. Glad you made it safely back.

terrymorse 

Here in Northern California during Spring, we get these "sneaker" rain clouds. They seem to come from out of nowhere.

I got caught in one a few days ago. The weather looked fine, the forecast was for partly cloudy skies, but the sky opened up for 15 minutes or so. Then it was like it never happened. I think the TV weather folks call it "unstable air".

spelger

it all starts out fun then turns to crap. i tried this once too, thought i could make it up the hill to the top and back down before it rained. i got half way up and the sky opened up on me. i learned my lesson.

Paul Barnard

These are the kind of rides that we all remember!

I had looked at the radar before I left. It was just hitting Lafayette LA. I could tell it was moving fast, and I knew it would be close, but I rolled the dice, knowing the consequences of not making it wouldn't be much more than a memorable ride. This ALWAYS happens during Jazz Fest here.

rollagain

If you try to outrun a storm front you just prolong the worst of it. Find shelter and let it pass, or if you're feeling really adventurous, turn around and run straight at it. Storm fronts are almost always broad but narrow (like the red-and-orange one on your weather radar photo), so moving opposite to it will get you through into relatively better conditions more quickly.

Paul Barnard

That's not the way this one worked out or the way that it was forecast to work out. Until a few hours ago, mother nature kept spitting nasty waves at us, as forecast. My plan worked great. I ran until it caught up with me, then I immediately ducked for cover. As soon as the worst of the first band had passed, I rode the remaining 4-5 miles home in a light rain, then 30 minutes or so later, we got hammered again. I have outrun the rain many times before.

skidder

I almost had that happen here in Southern California yesterday morning. A slight chance of spotty rain forecast for Friday after a rainy Thursday. I got up at 5:30AM and saw the ground was dry with just some patchy clouds in the sky. Got dressed, grabbed a bicycle, checked the tires (pinch check), put batteries in the lights, grabbed a water bottle, opened the door, and it started pouring down rain for 10 minutes followed by an on/off drizzle for the next 2 hours. We've been having some really weird weather this season in Southern California.

MoAlpha

True, but heading into it increases the apparent wind velocity because that downdraft is coming right at you.




I have raced a lot of line squalls in sailboats and often lost. At least on a bike you’ve got a fighting chance.

rollagain

Maybe, maybe not, but--I originally got this piece of wisdom in connection with paddling.

I attended a weekend course in wilderness medicine, and one of the lectures was given by a very cheerful young lady. They had one of those big pads of paper on a tripod, and she'd drawn a very crude illustration of a canoeist with a thundercloud approaching. She said, "Here you are out on the lake--in your Grumman canoe [all aluminum]--" at this point she laughed "--and there's a lightning storm coming! Oh no! What do you do?" She then explained that your safest bet is to spend the least time possible in the lightning-prone storm front, since you're riding a lightning-rod (same as with most bikes), and getting behind the storm front as quickly as possible was the way to do that.

I'd still prefer finding shelter if possible; obviously, fighting your way through that wind and downpour has its own risks.

Paul Barnard

It's certainly a tactic worth considering, and one I have used in the past. With the whole of today's circumstances, it wasn't the best option.

I am a paddler and and have had wilderness first responder training as well.

Fredo76

I changed my mind about riding my motorcycle to Jazz Fest, on account of the weather forecast. The day I would have left for home turned out to be the day that train was blown off its tracks. It made the national news.

rsbob 

ah, so there is an advantage to riding carbon after all

retswerb

It starts out fun then turns into Type 2 Fun.

jaxgtr

Yep, live in Florida an have been caught in crap like this. I was on a group ride one Monday night and rain was well to the west of us, but the build up of a new line came up quick, so we turned and were going as fast as we could without leaving slower riders. The rain was very hard and was coming down in the 2" and hour rate, then the lightening started getting really heavy. As we got close to our turn to the east, a bolt hit the steeple of a church and you could hear the bells ringing. It caught the church on fire and and we pull up under an over pass to be in a safer position. We were there for an hour until the lightning stopped. It was quite the show and one I would rather not be in again.

rollagain

Well, maybe not. Carbon is a better electrical conductor than most metals. It may not matter anyway; your soaking-wet skin is probably a good enough lightning-rod regardless of what you're riding.

rsbob 

Damn!

downtube42

Miss me a good midwestern summer afternoon thunderstorm. Super cool, to see off in the distance at night.

The west Texas equivalent was a sandstorm; I only experienced one on the bike in my year living there, and it was horrid.

Here in the PNW, there really isn't any equivalent. Just rain.

Paul Barnard

What is it with Jazz Fest and horrible weather? I live not too far from where the train was blown off the tracks. That was a spectacular sight. Here's a quick vid:



This was Jazz Fest 2013.

ofajen

Sorry, carbon fiber-reinforced resin is a lousy conductor compared to metals like aluminum and steel. By a factor of about 1000.

Not that it would likely matter since rubber tires are also lousy conductors.

Otto

Reynolds 

Some years ago I was in a group of 5 riding what would be called gravel today. On a country road, about 40kms from home, we saw this big menacing dark grey cloud ahead with lightning coming down from it. We knew we'd never be able to outrun it, so we decided to go straight ahead onto it. We had a great time riding on flooded trails (except for one of the guys who was afraid of lightning), the rain was heavy but it was warm, every one of us fell into the mud a couple of times... When I got back home hosed down the bike and myself. To this day when we meet we recall the fun we had that day.

rollagain

I didn't know, but I'll accept that.

Think about it: that lightning bolt traveled at least a thousand feet to reach ground. Do you think an inch or two of rubber is gonna make a difference? Especially with all that water ...

terrymorse 

As is air, but that doesn’t seem to bother lightning, either.

Troul 

worst I can recently remember was being caught in a cold rain about 45 minutes (ride time) out when the old bicycle decided to crank walk. Had to walk it back. Had to be at least two hours of walking & hiding under stuff when it would pour heavier & the winds would gust.

rsbob 

well un-damn. 😊