Road Rage

Feature: “Buried Truth,” November 15

Thanks to Nadia Pflaum for enlightening me on a part of our local history I was not aware of. I trust the right thing will happen and the people buried there will receive the proper burial they deserve.

Dave Wernecke, Overland Park

Feature: “Uneasy Riders,” November 8

I could relate all too well to Carolyn Szczepanski’s story about biking in KC. And I had a recent incident that shows how strongly some people hate cyclists in this area. I got married recently, and we hired a caterer for our wedding. The first time we met the caterer, I decided to bike to the caterer’s place because I was in training for an event and needed to get the ride in. When I showed up in my bike clothes and introduced myself, the first thing out of her mouth was, “Oh, you’re one of those bikers I’m always seeing on these roads and just want to run over.” I was rendered speechless for several moments. Here I was, coming in to offer this woman a lot of money for her services, and she tells me that she wants to run people like me over. I guess hatred of bikers is even stronger than love of money for some people around here.

Devin Martin, Kansas City, Missouri

How many of us have sat in traffic, bemoaning the sheer number of automobiles on our roads today? How ironic is it, then, that when citizens ditch their cars for bikes (or even their own two feet), they’re met with so much hostility from Kansas City’s peanut gallery? I can attribute this phenomenon only to there being a whole lot of morons in this town who can be entertained only if they’re fucking up someone else’s good day. I shouldn’t let myself get so angry over this; it’s just too bad that so many of our city’s populace can’t progress beyond such an asinine mentality. I’d hoped KC was more progressive than that.

Ryan Bell, Kansas City, Kansas

Reading your story made me angry. I was angry about all the people whose lives were disrupted by these overgrown children who don’t know enough not to play in traffic. I live in Kansas, but I commute through midtown every day. I often have to deal with bicyclists pedaling their little toys in the middle of the street, obstructing traffic and endangering the lives and property of real people. But at least one good thing came out of this story. I had no idea there’s actually a state law protecting these imbeciles. So I looked up the statute, Section 307.188. One might expect it to be some dusty relic of a more primitive time, like the state’s sodomy laws. In fact, it was enacted a mere 30 years ago! Carolyn Szczepanski believes this ridiculous statute justifies the actions of the bicyclists, who actually think they have some right to endanger my life and property. Perhaps someone should remind Szczepanski that there were once laws in this country legitimizing slavery, racism and misogyny. I guess those things would be all right with her, as long as they were protected by some illegitimate statute. I can only hope that the people of Missouri will lobby their state representatives to get this outrageous law revoked, so they can get that arrogant trash off their streets.

Erik Snow, Merriam

I read your interesting article “Uneasy Riders.” I’m an insurance lawyer, so I was especially interested in the “legal action” sections of your story. I was surprised at how many of the cyclists had apparently been advised (or simply believed) that they had no means of obtaining compensation for their injuries. Several of the cyclists might have uninsured-motorist claims against their own insurers. They could also be entitled to no-fault or personal-injury protection or medical-expense benefits.

There are probably many out there who are unaware of the benefits to which they are entitled in situations like these. Your article made that evident. The subjects of your story might want to contact their legal counsels to ensure that they have exhausted all avenues for compensation. Of course, time is of the essence because the statute of limitations can be as short as two years, and most insurance policies have notice requirements.

In any event, I’d like to congratulate Szczepanski on her fine article. I almost always find pertinent, topical information in The Pitch, and this story was no exception.

Mike Wharton, Overland Park

I was reading up on Stroud’s this afternoon, trying to get the Chiefs’ loss out of my system. Charles Ferruzza ended his review of Stroud’s two years ago by saying that he ate three cold cinnamon rolls in the middle of the night and later dreamed that Stroud’s moved in next door to his house. Funny, that’s about what actually happened to us. We are excited about the new location, which is only a few blocks away.

Bob McGeary, Roeland Park