Commuting and coping with thunderstorms

[JeffC]

Since I don’t commute by bike every day, it is easy enough for me to just go on the days in the spring/summer when t-storm chances are minimal. It is also important to be mindful of the forecast. There is a significant, yet subtle difference between the two most typical t-storm forecasts for our area, isolated and scattered. Isolated is only a 20-30% chance whereas scattered is a higher chance, 40-60%.

http://kocoweatherblog.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/isolated-vs-scattered/

If it is a day when I would otherwise commute, I normally go when it is only an isolated t-storm forecast.

I have to put in a plug for my weather resources.

The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang blog gives excellent forecasts and detailed radar maps as well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang

As to other weather/radar maps, I have found that the ones on the Fox 5 DC webpage work best for me although there is a lot similarity of course between the different offerings.

[consularrider]

I’m just past bike commute day 900 in the DC area since September 2007. Both my short route on the Custis and my preferred extended route are almost all MUP so I’ll ride in just about anything, but half of the extended route is under the powerlines on the W&OD/4MRT combination. Then for the rest I’m mostly out in the open on the MVT. Of all those commutes I can remember only one or two where there was a lot of lightning. One also had an extended period of heavy rain. There were several cyclists sheltering under the several bridges at the east end of the MVT and others under the 14th St Bridge group. Being the idiot I am, I just kept going. That said, before my evening commutes, I check a couple of weather sites (NWS, Weather Underground, Capital Weather Gang, and MSN) for radar and forecast before I leave work in the evening. If I am expecting anything during my morning rides, I will check then too, but am less likely to log into the computer otherwise.

[Terpfan]

Usually along the MVT, when the trail of planes landing or taking off stops abruptly in the evening hours then I’m clued something is up. There are plances along my ride home though that I can stop at (bathrooms by Washington Monument), underneath 14th St bridges, underneath National Airport overpasses, etc. The only dicey part is between the airport to marina and then again from marina to where I live where there is basically no cover and some open streches.

About two years ago I was tubing with some friends at Harper’s Ferry and horrible storms came. That’s when I couldn’t decide the best choice because the river was wide at that point and we were in the middle in between tons of rocks. At first we tried getting to the shore, but we realized it would take a good 10 minutes so we ended up crawling up on a rock out of the water and then lying down with our tubes on top of us to stop the hail from hitting us. That was not much fun and only after the storm did some police come out to check on us and other folks on the river as if it were any help at that point.

[jabberwocky]

I just ride. The lightning/thunder doesn’t concern me that much, but the reduced visibility in the rain and high winds can definitely be an annoyance. If theres a chance of a storm, I throw my taillight in the bag so I can use it if the rain starts. My commute these days is only 7 miles/25 minutes, so I can usually time it to miss most of the bad storm if necessary.

My old evening commute was west on the W&OD from Vienna to Reston. Storms almost always blow in from the west. My fastest commutes were days when I could see the storm approaching. Nothing like a distant black sky with lightning flashing inside heading your way to motivate extra speed!

[PrintError]

In heavy, heavy thunderstorms, I get very, very wet. I do nothing at all when it rains, I just ride on as if nothing happened. In the flood-rain we had last summer, I rode home barefoot because of the deep standing water and having to carry the bike across a few river crossings, but otherwise it’s just business as usual.

If it’s lightning, I’ll hide under cover until it passes, but otherwise I don’t care. I’m waterproof, and my clothes will dry.

[PrintError]

@CCrew 16720 wrote:

Every time I think about riding in a storm I think about the day I hit Reston to see cars bobbing in the Park & Ride like ducks in a pond….

That said though, with lightning I usually duck for cover. Especially since most of my commute is on the W&OD right under all the electrical towers. I’m not sure if they’d ultimately protect or increase the chances of a strike, but I’ll opt not to press my luck.

I actually backtracked a mile from my office that evening to witness the floating parking lot in person. Absolutely incredible!!!

But I’m with you on the lightning. I’m surprised I’ve never run into you out there… or I have, and just not noticed!

[pfunkallstar]

@CCrew 16720 wrote:

Every time I think about riding in a storm I think about the day I hit Reston to see cars bobbing in the Park & Ride like ducks in a pond….
That said though, with lightning I usually duck for cover. Especially since most of my commute is on the W&OD right under all the electrical towers. I’m not sure if they’d ultimately protect or increase the chances of a strike, but I’ll opt not to press my luck.

I also spend a little too much time under those power lines on the W&OD and, while my understanding of E&M has faded in recent years, I would imagine that they receive a fair number of lightning strikes on a regular basis. Despite bike tires being somewhat insulated, the total resistance of a wet bicyclist on any given frame is pretty low when we are talking about thousands of volts at several kiloamps. Also, those power lines are constantly ionizing the air in the immediate vicinity, which probably doesn’t help things.

[MCL1981]

Lightning will hit the towers and go straight to ground through the tower. They’re designed with this in mind. Without going into difficult to type detail of electricity, if you are standing/walking near the tower, the voltage difference between your feet can kill you. This is what kills people when lightning strikes near them. On a bike, that can still happen since you have a two points of contact with the earth (wheels) and you have two points of contact with the frame (ass and hands). 10 million volts at 30,000 amps does is not going to be stopped by a bike…

Nobody, whether a bike or ped, has any business being on the trails during a thunderstorm. As I said before, the wind and downpours will have you peaking the unreasonable danger scale long before the lightning.

[MCL1981]

Speaking of… This presented me with a great reason to stay in bed for an extra hour this morning

[OneEighth]

Well, kids, for what it’s worth, it was absolutely beautiful riding up the MVT and around Hains Point while lighting flashes lit up the cherry trees this morning.

[CCrew]

@OneEighth 16799 wrote:

Well, kids, for what it’s worth, it was absolutely beautiful riding up the MVT and around Hains Point while lighting flashes lit up the cherry trees this morning.

I personally liked the ride in at 2am on the W&OD. Must have been 500 frogs on the trail between Hunter Mill and Vienna…it was like an obstacle course!

[americancyclo]

+1 for beautiful lightning displays from mother nature this morning on the W&OD.

[baiskeli]

The dangers of lightning are underestimated. I once rode 100 miles through 5 inches of rain, but if I see lightning or hear thunder I’m taking cover.

[DaveK]

@baiskeli 16819 wrote:

The dangers of lightning are underestimated. I once rode 100 miles through 5 inches of rain, but if I see lightning or hear thunder I’m taking cover.

+1

I’m from Florida – we don’t mess around with lightning. Several of my friends were struck over the years, I’ve been driving next to a car that was struck, also my wife was in the house when lightning hit it and blew out all the wiring. Lightning terrifies me.

[mrkenny83]

Aren’t cars the safest place one can be during a thunderstorm? Because they’re “grounded” or something? Wouldn’t the same hold true for bikes? Aren’t we “grounded” because we have tires on the floor?

…Or this one of those tales that old wives used to tell?

[Author]

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