[wiz1974]

So, I was talking to a co-worker who had been on mc vacation with her husband and were traveling back from Paducha, Ky. She said there had been rain and t-storms in the area and they decided to wait the worst of it out. It was still raining some as they headed out and had been traveling a little while when she said her husband suddenly leaned back into her, no hands on the bars, he was screaming he couldn't see... she said she had briefly felt something odd 'around' her just before he leaned back, but didn't know what it was. She said somehow they managed to ride the bike off in a ditch, which luckily was filled with water and was muddy and that cushioned their stop. A car behind them stopped to assist, and her husband said he thought he hit a large bird... driver of the car said, 'No, you were hit by lighting'. Luckily, neither were hurt seriously, with the husband getting the worse end as he had a very nasty gash on his arm. The paramedics said that was where the lighting exited.

I have never heard of anything like this happening before. Anyone in the Paduca (I know I'm not spelling the correctly) read or hear anything about this?

 

[ACDNate]

Yikes that would suck royally.

I googled and found a story of a rider getting struck last year in Colorado.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/23910356/detail.html

 

[FormerArmy]

had a guy get struck and killed by lightning here in Kansas last year....so yes, it does happen.

 

[JR&JR]

Lighting and motorcycles are a basicly are NO,NO's. For some reason lighting can find a motorcycle going down the interstate at 75 mph and hit it without any trouble at all.

 

[6FT8IN]

I saw a news story reciently that showed a car that was hit. It burnt a hole right thru the fender.

 

[Old Fred]

A guy an a BMW got killed on Hwy 58 in Courtland VA several years ago. Gas station owner said he questioned him as he paid for gas about leaving in a thunder storm, but he left any way. A fellow who stopped as the rain cleared said the wiring harness melted together.

 

[itsapitty]

My wife took this pic from the pillion seat a couple of years ago. We were just south of Taos NM. Needless to say we found a motel very quickly and beat the storm by about five minutes.

 

[FormerArmy]

that would be scary

 

[jbosey]

A couple of weeks ago we were traveling on our last day in Colorado and were at the gate to Pikes Peak. It was not raining but there were some really dark clouds around the mountain. The ranger would not let us up the mountain because of the chance of lightning, cars okay, not bikes. He said on a bike in a lightning storm is the worst place to be. We stayed until the next morning and made the trip up Pikes Peak in the sunshine..a much better ride.

 

[murf]

My wife took this pic from the pillion seat a couple of years ago. We were just south of Taos NM. Needless to say we found a motel very quickly and beat the storm by about five minutes.

That is an awesome pic! Bolt must have struck just as she snapped the shutter. :doorag:

 

[jasnmar]

Cars creates Faraday cages. Bikes create a lightening rods.

Faraday cage (if you are on the inside = good).
Lightening rod (as long as you are touching it = bad).

Go back and tell the ranger thank-you.

 

[Farmguy]

My wife took this pic from the pillion seat a couple of years ago. We were just south of Taos NM. Needless to say we found a motel very quickly and beat the storm by about five minutes.

Time to find a coin op car wash or coffee shop or shopping centre to hide in til the storm passes.....

 

[keninsenm]

That's correct, Farm Guy. Trouble is, here in the land of Enchantment, sometimes it's a lot of miles to find one of those places. Here on the east side of the state where I live and ride, there are few places to get shelter, and they are far between. And a vehicle of any sort is often the tallest thing on the high desert prairie for miles around. Getting caught in one of these storms is a very scary proposition. But it goes with the territory here. No doubt, we are overexposed much of the time since there is just no where to go for shelter!!

 

[Jeffrey]

Some 50 years ago I was pushing a J3 Cub by the horizonal stabilizer and the top of the rudder, about 4 feet from my face, was hit by a bolt of lightining. In them daze aircraft had a chain dangling from the airframe to the ground cause aircraft tires did not have sufficient carbon to ground the aircraft. A milisecond before the hit I felt a buzz, then it struck. I was thrown back about 10 feet, the grounding chain melted to become a steel rod.

And now you know why some of my posts are what they are.

 

[bullyboy]

I had a bolt hit so close to me on the interstate last month that the flash and sound were simultaneous. I darn near soiled myself. The storm itself was at least 5-10 miles away. That was proof positive that it can hit as far away as 20 miles from the storm.

 

[R64Charlie]

A subject that we as riders should certainly be aware of..... lightning can and often does strike miles out of the storm it is associated with.

 

[Justa_Poser]

We ride in the rain. At the first sign of lightning - we get off the road.

 

[cgent]

I'd bet if lightening hit your 'Wing you'd loose your radio presets, melt you crush washer, dis-orient your GPS, pop your speakers, and make you mess your shorts at the very least.

Lightening can do whatever it wants to do ... :22yikes:

 

[Daylight]

Option #2... ride like the wind and get the h__ out of the way of the storm.

Ran into a thunder-boomer on the BBG attempt earlier this month, out in SW Wyoming. Just twisted the throttle and got the h__ out of Dodge (or, Green River... as the case may be).

I didn't have my flux capacitor hooked-up to the bike, so the 1.21 gigawatts wouldn't have been able to activate the time circuits... just would have fried me.

Can't outrun lightning, but can try to get away from the storm area.

 

[LeftTenant]

We've had at least 3 documented lightning MC deaths in CO.

Yikes that would suck royally.

I googled and found a story of a rider getting struck last year in Colorado.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/23910356/detail.html