Lightning strikes

[Danny]

On my ride this afternoon I got caught up in a pretty major thunderstorm with lightening strikes landing all around me - OK they were probably striking a mile or two away but still too close for comfort!

This got me thinking about whether my dogged adherence to steel frames was so wise after all.

Is there any chance that a steel frame could actually attract lightening, and would be you be any safer on a carbon bike?

 

[Night Train]

I think you would be safer in a recumbent trike without the flag on the back as it is closer to the ground.

I don't think the lightning would worry much about frame material, if you are the highest point you stand a good chance of getting struck.

 

[Keith Oates]

Agree with that, NT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cathryn]

That was a stonking storm, Dannyg!! One of the loudest I've ever heard!!

I was safely tucked up in my flat thinking how glad I was not to be out on my bike, but it scrambled our digibox signal just as the live coverage of the tour started...I only got to see the last 30k!!

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Relax.......if you hear the thunder, you are ok. If you see the lightning, you are ok. If you get hit the chances are you won't know owt about it anyway.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Just keep riding, you're insultated fom the ground by the rubber tyres..... I think....are there any electricians out there that can advise us on this?

 

[Night Train]

Just keep riding, you're insultated fom the ground by the rubber tyres..... I think....are there any electricians out there that can advise us on this?

The lighting has just managed to jump 20,000 feet through the air, I don't think an inch or so if rubber is really going to make a difference.

 

[ColinJ]

That was a stonking storm, Dannyg!! One of the loudest I've ever heard!!

I was safely tucked up in my flat thinking how glad I was not to be out on my bike, but it scrambled our digibox signal just as the live coverage of the tour started...I only got to see the last 30k!!

See what you think of this beauty which hit Hebden Bridge a couple of years ago !

I got caught out in one of those storms a few years back. I was in Oxenhope near Haworth and on my way back to have a meal with someone in Hebden Bridge. The hill between Oxenhope and Hebden Bridge is about 1,100 ft higher than Hebden Bridge itself so you can imagine what it was like up there in those conditions. I took one look at the lightning bolts continuously blasting the hills above me, thought better of it and took refuge in Oxenhope railway station (you may remember it from The Railway Children)!

Once the storm had receded I rode over the hill as fast as I could and was quite shocked at what had happened to the road in the hour or so since I'd passed the other way. Great rivers of water were cascading down the middle of the road and in places underground streams had burst through the road surface sending jets of water several feet into the air. Tons of gravel had been washed off the hillsides onto the road (you can see examples of that in the video I linked to). The awesome power of nature, eh! PS IMHO that is the kind of thing that the word awesome should be reserved for, not what you thought of a Big Mac or a birthday card .

As for being protected by rubber tyres - ho ho, that's a laugh! Would you volunteer to stand on a hillside in a storm like that if someone offered you a piece of rubber to stand on?

 

[Night Train]

I remember those storms in Hebden Bridge and the recent floods too. I could almost have been on that video as I was in the area at the time and know which building it was filmed from.

 

[longers]

Lightning has just temporarily knocked out my interweb connection.

Is it wise to disconnect my laptop from the mains during a thunderstorm? Power surges?

We used to get good storms in Thirsk I remember , late 70's, but my most memorable is being in a tent quite high up in Austria somewhere. We felt very close to the action up there

 

[Mr Phoebus]

Was once walking across the carpark with a friend after work when lightning struck the carpark fairly close to us.
The static gave us a free Duran Duran hairdo.

 

[buggi]

The lighting has just managed to jump 20,000 feet through the air, I don't think an inch or so if rubber is really going to make a difference.

The lightning can jump off you straight to the ground bypassing the tyres.

your best bet is to get soaking wet, that way the lightning current passes down the outside of your body through your wet clothes, rather than through your body, leaving your skin burnt but at least you live (saw it on the news, they interviewed the guy on his hospital bed)

or i did hear of a girl also who got saved by her belly ring, the lightning bounced off it.

 

[Night Train]

The advice about kneeling down and balling up with your bottom in the air is a good one. If you are struck the lightning hits your bum and goes down the easiest route through your thighs and misses your heart and your head. The fat in your bum and legs are more conductive I think.

This is rubbish really. It just means that your face is recognisable when they find your body so they can tell who you are.

 

[Night Train]

Lightning has just temporarily knocked out my interweb connection.

Is it wise to disconnect my laptop from the mains during a thunderstorm? Power surges?

Should have a surge protector on your PC, your phone and your TV in case lightning strikes the phone lines and tv aerial otherwise it might be worth unplugging if the risk is high.

 

[ComedyPilot]

What about eating lots of bananas? That should do the trick. Maybe take a big dog for a walk on a chain lead - something the size of a Pyrenean mountain dog? Or even surround yourself with little old ladies who are wearing cheap jewellry? Perhaps not going out might be an option too?