Motorcycle racer struck by lightning during event, finishes anyway
Motorcycle racer Ivan Jakes isn’t faster than lighting, but he’s tough as nails.
The Slovakian rider was competing in the grueling Dakar rally in Argentina on Wednesday when he was struck by a bolt of lightning as he sped through the Salar Centenario region....and he just kept going.
Jakes was barely past the midway point of the 485-mile-long stage when he got jolted, but managed to finish the third day of the 12-day-long endurance event in 15th place with just a pain in his arm, according to Motorsport.com.
Upon arrival at base camp, Jakes was checked out by medical professionals, and his team credited the insulating effect of the motorcycle’s rubber tires for limiting injuries, saying that if he’d had his feet on the ground at the time of the hit it would’ve been a much different story.
What are the odds...
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JFL Live
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What are the odds...
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You will ride eternal, shiny and chrome...
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You will ride eternal, shiny and chrome...
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Suzuki Johnny
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Re: What are the odds...
Yikes.......I've heard of instances like that in the past.....Trying to remember when a bicyclist was struck by lightning somewhere in Alabama many years ago.....that fellow wasn't so lucky..
I've seen first hand the awful destruction a bolt of lightning can create .....in the late 80's at at local golf course we were on the tee box of a short 125 yard par 3 when a huge oak tree was directly hit on the side of that green... the tree was a bit closer to us than 125 yards..I 'd say around 75 yards..... there was a slight warning right before it was about to strike as everyone in our group felt the electricity in the air the very moment before the tree was hit ..talk about karma and the luck of the draw
We were all ducking for cover so's not to get hit by the flying bark from that oak tree.
The tree was a good 4 foot in diameter at the base and it split right in two from the top to the ground ... Earlier we could hear distant rumbles in the west but it was partly cloudy where we were and no hint of rain
..After hightailing it back to the club house a local tv channel was issuing a severe thunder storm alert with dangerous cloud to ground lightning......Yea bud! [emoji2]
Since then I've grown to respect the ill effects of lightning in any form.... the thought of holding a lightning rod in one hand out in the open during a severe storm alert isn't what I now call feasible [emoji106]
In our weekly game at the course we have the option to drag up and head for the clubhouse at the first sound of thunder........It's a good rule of thumb
And another time in the middle of a huge private marsh south of us a good friend and fishing buddy of mine were caught out in a July afternoon thunder boomer....we started up and made an attempt to head back to the landing but were caught in a torrential downpour, what we didn't notice was we were stranded underneath some very tall power lines.....the wooden kind.....lightning did hit that pole and for several minutes afterwards we couldn't touch anything in the boat because of the static electricity.... I lost a good ball cap ( we never found it and I was sure I was wearing it at the time)
hair sticking straight up on both our heads and our rod and reels were thrown all about in the boat....My 14 foot alum boat had at least three inches of water when all was said and done......again Lady luck and good karma [emoji106]
I've seen first hand the awful destruction a bolt of lightning can create .....in the late 80's at at local golf course we were on the tee box of a short 125 yard par 3 when a huge oak tree was directly hit on the side of that green... the tree was a bit closer to us than 125 yards..I 'd say around 75 yards..... there was a slight warning right before it was about to strike as everyone in our group felt the electricity in the air the very moment before the tree was hit ..talk about karma and the luck of the draw
We were all ducking for cover so's not to get hit by the flying bark from that oak tree.
The tree was a good 4 foot in diameter at the base and it split right in two from the top to the ground ... Earlier we could hear distant rumbles in the west but it was partly cloudy where we were and no hint of rain
..After hightailing it back to the club house a local tv channel was issuing a severe thunder storm alert with dangerous cloud to ground lightning......Yea bud! [emoji2]
Since then I've grown to respect the ill effects of lightning in any form.... the thought of holding a lightning rod in one hand out in the open during a severe storm alert isn't what I now call feasible [emoji106]
In our weekly game at the course we have the option to drag up and head for the clubhouse at the first sound of thunder........It's a good rule of thumb
And another time in the middle of a huge private marsh south of us a good friend and fishing buddy of mine were caught out in a July afternoon thunder boomer....we started up and made an attempt to head back to the landing but were caught in a torrential downpour, what we didn't notice was we were stranded underneath some very tall power lines.....the wooden kind.....lightning did hit that pole and for several minutes afterwards we couldn't touch anything in the boat because of the static electricity.... I lost a good ball cap ( we never found it and I was sure I was wearing it at the time)
hair sticking straight up on both our heads and our rod and reels were thrown all about in the boat....My 14 foot alum boat had at least three inches of water when all was said and done......again Lady luck and good karma [emoji106]
duc, sequere, aut de via decede
"frapper fort, frapper vite, frappée souvent-- Adm William "Bull" Halsey
“We’re not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we’re going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks.”--Gen George Patton
"Our Liberty is insured by four "Boxes", the Ballot box, the Jury box, the Soap box and the Cartridge box"
"frapper fort, frapper vite, frappée souvent-- Adm William "Bull" Halsey
“We’re not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we’re going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks.”--Gen George Patton
"Our Liberty is insured by four "Boxes", the Ballot box, the Jury box, the Soap box and the Cartridge box"
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BlacktopTravelr
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Re: What are the odds...
I used to work as a rodman on a survey crew. I was the guy that got to hold the 15 ft tall aluminum pole. Of course at the first sign of lightning it was laid on the ground. The instrument guy wasn't too happy with me for doing that until one day he leaned it up against his truck during a storm and it got hit by a bolt of lightning. 
After that he never complained about me laying it down at the first hint of thunder and/or lightning.
After that he never complained about me laying it down at the first hint of thunder and/or lightning.
(putt putt putt)90 to 95% of my replies are for my own entertainment
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Cuban
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Re: What are the odds...
[emoji2] A few of us were over in New England when we found a nice little camping park by a lake somewhere in Maine. We had to ride around a little to find the guy who would show us where to set up our tents. Finally found him, and while he was talking to us, my buddy Andy asked him if he was OK, 'cause he seemed kinda out of it. Like, confused. Fucked up. He said he'd been feeling pretty strange ever since he got hit by lightning when he was up a light pole the previous evening... 