Gee whizz that was a pretty scary ride tonight. Decided to go home over the downs and just as I got along a nice ridge, the lightening started. No shelter for miles. I kept wondering what it would be like to be struck, and how long it would be before anyone found me… Needless to say I pedaled like a mad thing, descended a steep rutted descent which is usually tricky in the dry much quicker than normal and with my eyes squinting cos of the rain.

I wonder how likely it is to get struck, out on an exposed hill. Would I have been ok anyway with the insulation from the tyres?

Anyone else have a hairy ride home tonight?

Hope you strava’d it 😉

I’ve been caught out in the hills in a thunderstorm. The trick is to avoid overhangs (trees, caves etc), get rid of anything metallic and sit on your rucksack (if you have such a thing).

Carbon fibre ftw 😆

Yep, C456, the perfect target 😯

Rubber tyres would prevent any strike as long as you didn’t crash

Anyone know what tyres for a lightning strike? I’d imagine 29ers would be best here

5″ Bud and Lou!

Ha! Insulating tyres. The arc has just travelled over a mile. Nice to think some wet tyres would be enough to stop it going the last inch to ground.

marvincooper – Member

Yep, C456, the perfect target

Pre-melted!

Ha! Insulating tyres. The arc has just travelled over a mile. Nice to think some wet tyres would be enough to stop it going the last inch to ground.

Charge starts at the ground and goes UP which is why rubber insulates you

It’s quite exhilarating though!!

Yeah, it does give one pause for thought pedaling along on a metal lightening rod affixed to 2 wheels with only thin rubber between yourself and ground. I know when I’ve been caught in a lightning storm, I set new personal best times getting back to the parking lot.

Send your storm over here would love some nice rain preferably over night so it soaks into the garden.

Great tutorial on lightning:

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/faq/

Charge starts at the ground and goes UP which is why rubber insulates you

me and the Mrs just said the same thing before reading this. So +2 from here. 🙂

Rubber tyres would prevent any strike

Hah.

Feeders come from the clouds to the ground, lots of them – first one to touch the ground gets the mega return strike. Plus I think tyre rubber conducts anyway, it’s full of carbon particles. And even if you were inches off the ground, the path through you (esp if wet) is of lower resistance than the path through the air near you.

However I agree with the OP. Years ago when we had more summers, we’d often turn around and descend like hell at the first peal of thunder. Ride over. We once team TTed home to my mate’s house (it was closer) being chased by an absolutely massive thunder cloud (describing it as black seemed woefully inadequate, it was profoundly intimidatingly apolalyptic). Minutes after we made it, in near darkness, the rain started and a house was hit about 100 yards away…

PS OP where are you? On stormwatch here, nothing yet though.

To be fair I’d not want to test it out but you’d have to be on carbon fibre tyres for them to conduct electricity

Anyway – I was more concerned about the correct tyre choice and wheel size

Try this..

http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=lightning;sess=

Actually, everything conducts electricity. The question is how many volts it takes to make it happen. There’s a fair few in a lightening strike, whether it’s up, down, positive, negative or meeting in the middle.

Last time I got caught out in a storm, it was out in the hills (near 2k feet above sea level), and the thick clouds were rapidly swallowing up the hill tops. Thunder clouds! With lightening in!!!!!!!

I had a wee bit of a panic. Being under them is one thing, but being inside them…..no thanks.

Luckily there was a cafe stop near by.

Scotroutes – sitting on your pack would still mean being hit in the head. Apparently standing up, bent over holding your ankles with your arse in the air is the technique…hits you in the arse and then feeds through to the earth by way of your legs…bypassing your head and brain…amazing the crap you read in the GP surgey 😀

PS OP where are you? On stormwatch here, nothing yet though.

I’m in Swindon, the thunderstorm was over Barbury Castle on the Ridgeway, and the bugger followed me north into town. Certainly was exhilarating, don’t fancy another one any time soon though

It’s the path of least resistance so as most of your bike is metal or carbon and a good conductor it could easily negate the 1″ of wet rubber as the alternative of just air probably has a much greater resistance than your tyres + your bike + you.

But what tyres are best??

A few years ago i nearly took a university course titled “optical atmospheric phenomena” I really wish I’d taken it now. Then I’d be able to tell you a thing or two.

Shat myself on Red Barn hill as it was all going off around me

🙂 got the heart rate up didn’t it. Was totally dry when I arrived home.

Total deaths from lighting strikes in the UK in 2011 was a truly terrifying 0. Yes nought nil nothing zero. Stay safe out there. 🙂

Obviously 26″ wheels are perfectly good at stopping cyclist deaths by lightning

It’ll be interesting to see the figures as 29″ wheels become more popular

I remember running in Hyde Park a few years ago when a storm kicked off – a massive thunderclap right on top of me & my hair stands on end! I swear I felt the heat of the strike it was that fekin close!

Quickest lap home ever…..

If it was me I would hold a Sheep aloft, above my head. You can’t lose.
If you don’t get hit, good. You live to fight another day etc.
If you do, your having freshly roasted leg of lamb. And not just one leg either.
Bonus all round. (Provided you drop the sheep the instant its struck).

http://app.strava.com/activities/69059515

Lovely day here, followed by sudden heavy rain shower out of the blue. Thunder and lightning followed. Not in a hugely exposed area though, didn’t even ponder that I could get struck to be honest.

I thought the first few flashes were street lamps blinking.

Got caught it in too, I’m in Salisbury so probably hit me on its way to you…though surprised it had any rain left once it had ditched it on my head.

I was very brave and manly and hid under a bush…was a little nervous when it was right overhead.

On big tyres and carbon so probably would have just melted the bike..!

He he…this was about 5 miles away and 30 minutes after my bush hiding..

‘In Wiltshire firefighters tackled a blaze in the roof of a house on Stonehenge Road in Durrington at about 18:30 on Monday.’ (from BBC)

Gulp…

Set off in bright sunshine but once on the Ridgeway the thunder and lightening started. Quite an ‘exhilarating’ ride! Slightly handicapped riding SS(or more so than usual!). Really wanted a bigger gear to get home quicker.

My bike’s a bit heavier than I would like – must see if I can get it struck by some of this lightening stuff.