Bike-riding mom denied at drive-through turns to Twitter

— -- Sarah Gilbert stepped off her bicycle long enough to send one angry tweet via Twitter— and it's changed the way one fast-growing burger chain treats bike riders.

The 35-year-old blogger, freelance writer and mother of three doesn't own a car. She gets around usually bike-friendly Portland, Ore., on a custom-made stretch bike that fits all three of her boys, ages 2, 4 and 7. A bumper sticker boasts: "One less minivan."

But after biking last week into the drive-through of the local Burgerville— an eco-conscious burger chain that even recycles its used cooking oil into biodiesel — she tried to order four cheeseburgers.

No go. She was refused service at the drive-through for, of all things, ordering from a bike. Never mind that the environmentally friendly restaurant chain spent $185,000 on wind energy credits in 2008 to compensate for the electricity used in its 39 stores and at its corporate headquarters.

When Gilbert got home, she sent out a huffy tweet followed by a pointed letter to the chain, which she posted on her blog, cafemama.com. By the next day, the company apologized. In short order, the Vancouver, Wash.-based chain, with locations in Oregon and Washington, revamped its policy and will announce a new bicycle-friendly drive-through program on Sept. 8.

"Bicyclists aren't dangerous," says Gilbert, who has accepted the chain's apology. "They're people who've chosen not to drive a car."

Particularly in Portland — 4.2% of workers commute to work via bike, vs. 0.47% nationally, says the Census Bureau.

What frustrated Gilbert most is that she'd been served at the same drive-through — on her bike — a few weeks earlier.

McDonald's and Burger King both ban bikes from drive-throughs, citing concern for the safety of their customers.

Being shunned from drive-throughs is a frustration for bicyclists, says Elizabeth Kiker, vice president at the advocacy group League of American Bicyclists. "It's so arbitrary."