Scared Sh@tless - Riding a MTB + Ligthning

Hi PRC,

Dismounting from a metal object is definitely the correct decision. Grounded lightning conductors work in two ways:

1. They are normally high and so provide a relatively short path to ground.

2. The electrical charge in a storm induces an opposite charge (although obviously not as large) in the conductor and thus 'attracts' lightning.

Best Regards,
Mark Dunn

Thanks...
I was always told not to hide under trees during lightning, but I also thought it best to stay put. One of the things that still has me wondering is if the rubber from the tyres would serve as some sort of protection from getting hit?
BTW I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end...

I think the advice is that it is safer in the forest, what you do not want is to be under a single tree in the middle of a field, or indeed out in a big space on your own.

I've had a nasty expereince on a Via Ferrata, basically a 100m wire rope running up a mountain, connected to the climber via a harness. The lightning was brewing and I swear the wire was tingling. Thankfully we were at the top and away before the storm broke but we were terrified.

I was never so scared myself. Lightning crossing the sky and hitting ground not too far away + the rummbling...urghh
Was just a freakish storm, as we really don't get thunder or rain storms in june here...

hi paulo,
yes lightning is an awesome show of nature and can be very scarey.
i can tell you that one of the safest places to be is inside a car during a storm. the most unsafest places to be is under a tree.
as for a m-cycle it depends on a few circumstances......what clothing you are wearing matters quite a lot. for example if you are wearing a windsheeter jacket that lets some dampness through then if you are struck by lightning it should deflect off your body and wouldnt do too much damage. if you are wearing leathers on the other hand then although would protect better in an accident wouldnt deflect a lightning strike very well.
all in all you COULD get struck by lightning on your motorcycle but its very remote.
especially in the modern day with carbon fibre crash helmets and frames.
you did the right thing by getting off the bike if for no other reason than you were not fully concentrating on the road for worrying about the lightning after all it would be ironic if you crashed by not observing another vehicle oncoming during a storm!
take care
regards, scotty

I was climbing in the Alps last weeknd near Zermatt and can confirm that metalic objects do start to buzz in a lightning storm - not in the least bit pleasant or amusing!

quote:

Originally posted by prc:
Thanks...
One of the things that still has me wondering is if the rubber from the tyres would serve as some sort of protection from getting hit?

Most "rubber" tyres have very little nautral rubber at all. Most a small % of natural rubber; 50% synthetic rubber, and 50% carbon black which is produced from burning diesel in controlled conditions.

Tyres provide a good earth, which is why car electrics work. In a car lightning is not a problem even direct strikes will go via the body and tyres to ground.

Lightning usually strikes a point source, and often the highest avaiable. So if on a golf course, or a bike in open country the best bet is to make yourself as low as possible e.g. lie down. In a forest you are probably safe to ride on.

quote:

Tyres provide a good earth, which is why car electrics work.

So that's why my lights dim when I go over a hump back bridge too fast.

quote:

was climbing in the Alps last weeknd near Zermatt and can confirm that metalic objects do start to buzz in a lightning storm - not in the least bit pleasant or amusing!

No more body piercings for you then Dobbin?!

C

Lightning is indeed humbling when experienced close up . . .

About 10 years ago I was walking the dog across an open field when I was caught in a freak storm. Initially I was amused to be completely soaked to the skin but when the lightning and thunder began to happen simultaneously I realised I was right in the centre of the storm and began to wonder if I should get down . . .

Without warning I then heard the loudest bang of my life and was thrown to the ground . . . a bolt of lightning had struck the ground about thirty feet from where I was standing! Suffice to say I kept my head down and lay with my heart pounding for about ten minutes till the storm moved on . .

A brown trouser moment indeed!

Douglas

I saw this and thought to myself, "How on earth do you ride a Motor Torpedo Boat?"

Never mind, it is me who is the mad one, as this story will show.

I used to live in a beautiful old Victorian house near Worcester some years ago, and it had a large flat roof and small tower with another flat area on top, lead lined. Attached to this tower was a tall alluminium flagstaff, which was earthed as a lightning conductor. One could see the storms brewing over Malvern and scudding across to Worcester, so in a fit of complete madness I went up onto the roof and stood on the tower, while the storm went straight over! The strikes were all round, but I just enjoyed the five minutes or so it lasted. I would not do it again with hindsight! I got absolutely drenched as well.

All the best from Fredrik

Steve Dempster & I got caught on the rain while out on our bikes yesterday. Shelter was found in a convenient pub. We lived

We certainly did, Martin. Pity those poor badgers that had to be sacrificed. Hic!

well I learned my lesson and won't be going out too far when there's a chanse for thunder/lightning. Quite strange weather we're having here for june. We usually don't even get rain, let alone thunder during June.