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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Food / Bikes Burgerville Cycle-thru

Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 12:08 PM

Burgerville-drive-thru.jpg

Let me ask you hard-core cyclists out there a couple questions. 1) Is your desire for fast food really strong enough to have forced Burgerville to change their drive-thru policy? 2) Isn’t it difficult to bike with a combo meal?

I ask because I'm not a cyclist (my ride is too slow and uncomfortable), and also because Burgerville has indeed changed their drive-thru policy to accommodate patrons on two wheels—a change they’ll be celebrating this Thursday from 2 pm to 4 pm at their Hawthorne location with free blackberry smoothies (contingent on bikers purchasing a menu item of equal or greater value).

There was a bit of hubbub early last month when bicycling mother Sarah Gilbert was denied service at the Burgerville drive-thru on Powell Blvd. The incident, widely tweeted and aggressively re-tweeted, prompted protests that flooded the offending location with burger-loving bicyclists. In response Burgerville announced that all of its locations would be opened to cyclists, and have even taken to calling the drive-thru a “cycle-thru.” Signs posted at the Hawthorne store, and other popular bikey locations, warn drivers of cyclists in the drive-thru lane.

While this is a nice victory for cyclists, and has reaffirmed my fondness for the local fast-food chain, I will refer back to my two questions.

Maybe I’m being naïve (no, actually I’m certain I’m being naïve) but I always thought cyclists were on the whole a health-conscious bunch. While I’m sure Burgerville’s goodies are healthier than the crap being shoveled into bags at the clown’s place, I still wonder how many cyclists will be taking advantage of the new policy. I’ll admit cyclists probably burn more calories than I normally do sitting on my ass all day. I suppose it’s better for cyclists to eat a Tillamook bacon cheeseburger than it is for me to eat one.

But that brings me to my second question. If you don’t have a basket, how will you be carrying away your Burgerville bounty, and will attempts to juggle seasonal shake, combo meal, and proper hand signals lead to certain safety issues? Obviously a basket is the best course of action here—shoulder bags will only crush your meal, and trying to hold your bag and steer seems like a dubious practice (especially as the grease begins to soak through the paper). I wonder if the bike-thru will lead to certain bicycle accessory innovation or prompt Burgerville to create branded products for cyclists? I can see it now… Bags with hooks to hang off your frame (Will Radik’s idea)… Burgerville shake holders, designed to keep a large shake upright… Burgerville messenger bags with a reinforced combo-meal pocket area to keep your burger from being squished.

Until that day comes, Blogtownies, I’d like to know if you plan to avail yourself of the “new” Burgerville cycle-thrus, and how you plan on carrying all that delicious fast-food.

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