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Thunderstorms: riding in them – Don’t

Good article from CTS. Bad news – the back country choices are:

  • Huddle down & get cold
  • Keep riding & descend

Neither are great. Sheltering under a tree is not great (the amperage in the ground can hurt you if the tree gets struck). Rubber tires aren’t a realistic insulator.

Huddling down makes you less of a target (less tall, basically), but staying warm after fighting uphill in the rain would be really hard.

Their better advice is: hitch a ride in a car or get in a building. Their best advice is: don’t ride in thunderstorms. That’s my plan right now – don’t  go over the highest pass on the whole route with a 70% chance of thunderstorms  (around 1pm) if you don’t have to. And I don’t have to.

Holy Cow – the 50% chance of thunderstorms just showed up with 1000% intensity. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a storm this big. WOW. Very glad to be inside.

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Dave R (Admin)

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3 responses to “Thunderstorms: riding in them – Don’t”

  1. Jim Walseth Avatar
    Jim Walseth

    I sat out a thunderstorm in a porta potty today. Plastic = insulator. Also waterproof. There may have been someone waiting to use it but too bad. Safety first.

    Reply
    1. Dave R (Admin) Avatar
      Dave R (Admin)

      Good call! Where were you?

      Reply
  2. Aaron Martin Avatar
    Aaron Martin

    When I was in college (in Boulder) used to go fishing up in the mountains along the divide. Many of the lakes were right at or just above tree line. Storms always showed up in the early afternoon and always without warning. Couldn’t see them coming over the mountains. One time went from blue skies to dark with bolts hitting the tops of the peaks in about 5mins. I ran towards tree line as fast as I could with lightning striking all around me (and I was stupidly carrying a fly rod with wet line) never been so scared in my life. Stay safe!

    Reply

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