Uneasy Riders

Cyclists say motorists who injure or kill cyclists need more than a slap on the wrist. Last year, for example, when Susan Brewer was killed commuting to work on a bike in Liberty, the motorist faced only a $200 fine for minor traffic violations.

After the Gaunts were killed, cyclists pushed Jackson County officials to send a message by prosecuting Johnson. On September 29, he was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter; The Pitch was unable to reach Johnson for comment.

While bike advocates follow Johnson's trial, there's little justice for the hundreds of cyclists who are knocked around on city streets. Over the past few weeks, The Pitch has spoken with dozens of riders. These 10 disturbing stories aren't that unusual.

set on fire

Jason Milford

Age: 30

Stats: Milford took up cycling after he graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute and moved to New York City in 1998. Back in Kansas City for the past five years, he commutes by bike from his home in the Valentine neighborhood to his furniture-making business in the Crossroads.

Incident: Early this past summer, on a brisk Saturday morning, Milford was cycling up Broadway to his workshop. Near the intersection of Broadway and Westport Road, two people in a white hatchback started driving alongside him, taunting Milford as he rode. He couldn't tell what they were shouting. He also didn't know that the driver and passenger had flicked cigarettes at him. About a block after the car pulled away, Milford felt his neck burning and realized his shirt was on fire. "As I was trying to swat it out, I turned into the curb and went head over handlebars," he says. One of the cigarettes had landed in his black hoodie. The stop-drop-and-roll method extinguished the fire, but Milford's outrage flared. "I got up on my bike and took off as fast I could in the direction I saw them going," he says of the hatchback. "I was going to put my lock through their window. I was that angry." Milford didn't catch up with the car.

Legal action: None. If there is no physical contact with the vehicle and the cyclist has no license-plate number to report, he has little recourse.

Assaulted

Michelle Davis

Age: 30

Stats: A cyclist since college, Davis dislikes driving and commutes by bike from her home in the Northeast neighborhood to work at City Hall in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Assault: Davis had already taken some tough knocks on the night of June 27, 2006. Trying her moxie at mountain biking on the Blue River Parkway Trails, she'd tumbled a few times and was eager to head home. About two blocks from her house, she spotted a group of kids congregated around a pile of debris on the curb. As she wheeled by, they took aim. "One happened to have a computer keyboard in his hands and clubbed me upside the head with it," she says. The blow was hard enough to dent her helmet, but Davis kept riding. That is, until another assailant tackled her. At that point, she figured they were intending to mug what they assumed was a helpless cyclist. "I jumped up, infuriated, and cussed them all out," she says. "They were so surprised their intended target was fighting back, they scattered. I grabbed the keyboard and waved it around at them a bit, until they thoroughly dispersed."

Injuries: A roughed-up elbow and a minced knee.

Legal action: None. Davis called the Kansas City Police Department, and officers took a report at the scene, but Davis says they weren't able to track down her assailants. She did keep the key piece of evidence, though — the keyboard. She says she's planning to pry off the letters B-O-L-G-N-A for an art project.

Injured

Lorne Carroll

Age: 31

Stats: Carroll competes in a couple of mountain-bike races every year, but for the most part, he's a bike commuter. For the past three years, he has ridden from his home near West 39th Street to his job at the Kansas City Health Department at 24th Street and Troost.

Crash: Carroll was returning to work after riding home for his lunch break on July 17. Just before one o'clock, he was pedaling down Linwood in the left lane, preparing to turn north onto Harrison. With no oncoming traffic, he stuck out his left arm, signaling his intent to turn. He heard brakes squealing behind him. A second later, the front bumper of a maroon Mercury Grand Marquis collided with his rear wheel, flinging him into the air. "The bike swung out in front of me, and I landed on my feet, running," he says. Traffic at the intersection stopped as Carroll retrieved his damaged Schwinn Le-Tour and the driver, Robert Allee, rushed up to him. "His first response was, 'Man, are you OK?' And his second sentence was, 'You shouldn't have been riding in that lane,'" Carroll says. "I didn't respond to that at all. I just asked him for a pen to start writing down his information." After a friendly stranger offered him a spare tire, Carroll was able to ride the rest of the way to work.