Lightning only has to strike once!

[lonelobo]

Just heard a news report of a motorcyclist killed by a lightning bolt while riding. Bummer.

[iRene]

I heard this on the radio this morning. Very sad.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517985,00.html

[Fritzc]

Just heard a news report of a motorcyclist killed by a lightning bolt while riding. Bummer.
Many years ago I rode from Sarnia, Ontario to Buffalo, NY in a very nasty thunderstorm thinking I was safe because I was insulated from the road by my rubber tires.
Serious mistake and I was very lucky! Condolences to the family of the deceased motorcyclist!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wp3CTtE9kc4/SFmEmzuA0VI/AAAAAAAABAo/51nPI4hbZY0/s400/sadness.jpg

[jamesdunn]

The rubber tires do not insulate you. It is the metal skin on a car that keeps you safe from the lightning. A motorcycle affords no protection.

[stkmkt1]

I just had a conversation this last weekend in Litchfield Illinois with a guy who told me he never worried about lightening because he rides on two rubber tires. I had just stated that when I see lightening, I head for cover. Motorcyclists are pretty much ground rods when out in the open. I'm thinking of getting a lightening detector for my new GSA. First he laughed, but then remembered the "cage" idea of an automobile protecting you not the tires. He had second thoughts and decided he would not be so stupid again.

I've had the unfortunate situation of being out in the wide open with lightening flashing all around out in New Mexico. I don't know why, but their lightening is a lot "wider" than what we typically have in Illinois. I'm not afraid to say I was scared. That was nasty stuff, and I could not find any nearby overpass to hide under. It came up real quick too.

[JK]

I just had a conversation this last weekend in Litchfield Illinois with a guy who told me he never worried about lightening because he rides on two rubber tires. I had just stated that when I see lightening, I head for cover. Motorcyclists are pretty much ground rods when out in the open. I'm thinking of getting a lightening detector for my new GSA. First he laughed, but then remembered the "cage" idea of an automobile protecting you not the tires. He had second thoughts and decided he would not be so stupid again.

I've had the unfortunate situation of being out in the wide open with lightening flashing all around out in New Mexico. I don't know why, but their lightening is a lot "wider" than what we typically have in Illinois. I'm not afraid to say I was scared. That was nasty stuff, and I could not find any nearby overpass to hide under. It came up real quick too.

Been blasted by lightening numerous time, while in the cockpit, and it isn't any fun. Sometimes you get St. Elmo's Fire (static electricity) dancing around your windows and glareshield, and sometimes you don't, prior to a strike. Have had a hole punched through my radome on down wind, with the nearest thunderstorm cloud over five miles away, without warning. One lightening strike, over the Azores, caused "balled lightening" to "roll and bounce" down the cabin to the passengers' shock and chagrin. Have even felt electricity pulse through the ground when a sign by an overpass got hit.

Finally, a friend got fried and killed while walking across a field, with a bag of change from his donut shop, going to the bank a block away.

Whether on the golf course, hiking in the mountains, or riding your motorcycle, it's best not to test and tease Thor. :blush

J.K. :wow

[ragtoplvr]

I knew someone killed by a lighting strike that actually hit over a mile a way and followed fences before jumping into them as they sat under a tree drinking a beer. Killed a bunch of cows too.

I had my hair rise one time while hunting, needless to say I got rid of the gun and made myself small. Never want that feeling again.

I have seen a air flash overhead make the chain link fence around the back yard rattle from the current flowing in the ground as the opposing change was drug under the lighting. Went back in real quick, satellite dish was out, crispy critter from that same charge so you do not necessarily need to be hit. Without the chain link to divert the charge my bare feet in the wet grass might have been a mistake.

Last, a friend has a 40 X 60 steel shop, took a lighting hit so hard it overheated all the air inside, melted a turbo corvair convert, jet ski, kubota dash, lawnmower seat, fenders on jet ski trailer, etc, so don't be counting on that Faraday Cage effect to be 100%! According to the insurance adjuster that has killed people. I was stunned. WE are talking puddles of melted plastic on the floor, paint peeled, steel warped. Even some concrete damage from melted rebar!

Lighting is nothing to mess with.

Rod

[jamesdunn]

I just had a conversation this last weekend in Litchfield Illinois with a guy who told me he never worried about lightening because he rides on two rubber tires. I had just stated that when I see lightening, I head for cover. Motorcyclists are pretty much ground rods when out in the open. I'm thinking of getting a lightening detector for my new GSA. First he laughed, but then remembered the "cage" idea of an automobile protecting you not the tires. He had second thoughts and decided he would not be so stupid again.

I've had the unfortunate situation of being out in the wide open with lightening flashing all around out in New Mexico. I don't know why, but their lightening is a lot "wider" than what we typically have in Illinois. I'm not afraid to say I was scared. That was nasty stuff, and I could not find any nearby overpass to hide under. It came up real quick too.

I am a westerner ,though now living in Iowa. New Mexico was my home for seventeen years. I agree the bolts are much more intimidating out west. Big ol' thick ones! Western lightning has been known to electrocute entire cattle herds.

[hlothery]

Some amazing stories on this thread! Guess I've just been lucky.......all those years sailing, with a 30 mast above my head. I do leave the golf course when thunder begins, however.........I don't have a one iron. :bolt

[Greenwald]

If caught out in the open during lightning (which includes even nearby thunderstorm activity!), and you cannot find a building to enter, get into a ditch absent of nearby trees and seperate yourself from the motorcycle. Then lay low on the ground until the storm is well passed.

If no ditch (or low-lying area) is available, seeking shelter under an array of overhead power lines (preferably even a tower-type structure) can offer some protection, as a lightning strike to an electrical grid is channeled into ground wires specifically engineered for such an occurrance.

But the best protection is prevention. Keep an eye on the sky, and at the first sign of trouble (up to 3 miles away!), go get a cup of Joe and sit out the severe weather. The touring time you lose is nothing compared to what you risk.

Ride Safe THis Summer!