I have used the drive thru on my bike at KFC
(I just knock on the window) instead using the speaker
I have aslo used the drive at Sunny Grill (sort of a local
hamburger stand (once or twice I have aslo used the speaker here) but most of the time I just ride to the window and knock on the window

Aviod mega chain fast food plain and simple support your LBS!

In most case it is insurance reasons they do not allow bicyclkles or pedesrians in drive trough windows so try not to take it ourt on managers.

I don't know about any of you, but I avoid fast-food chains simply because of the quality of the 'food' on offer in these places.

You need to get about 50-100 bikers together and ride out to that Carls Jr. and have 1 person go to the drive thru and ask for the manager. When he says no then say that you and your freinds will eat at the next nearest place. Then mention how much business they lost on regular basis. THEN have every biker ride passed the window (and wave)
Of course if he says yes, your all stuck eating there. It would be worth it though if you had someone with a hidden camera across from the window taping it all.

Well, the company "policy" notwithstanding, I'd probably do the same as a manager/owner of a place with a drive through. It's called LIABILITY. If you got hit by some moron in the drive-thru lane you'd sue the deepest pockets and that would be the business. Sure, you'll get something out of the drivers insurance, but the business, you can be fairly certain, will have LOTS of insurance.

Your lawyer would craft an argument about lack of safeguards for providing for the protection of bicyclists in the auto drive through lane. And you know what? The jury would award you millions. Not that it would do you any good - you'd still be broken, but that's what the company policy is for, most likely.

Insurance, liability - it's pretty much what makes the rules these days.

I find it hard to believe that they would turn away business, especially if it wasn't busy (the original poster didn't say). One time a group of friends and I tried to visit a McD's after they closed the inside. There was no one in the drive through so we walked up to it. If I remember, we tripped the microphone by jumping on the weight sensor, and they got mad at us. No big mac that night, but we let it slide on the basis of it being McDonalds, so competant management should not be expected.

Just as an interesting side note, a couple minutes later a stretch Lincoln Navigator (as in, twice as long as normal) pulled through. I don't know how they turned the corner.

BTW, I keep seeing people quote a user named Ba-Dg-Er in this thread, but I don't see any posts made by him. Does anyone have a clue why that is???

Yep in fact those of you complaining if you actually talked to the management that is exactly what they will tell you. It's all about insurance, personally I lock my bike to something and go inside. Of course I can't remember the last time I did any fast food.

This is an old thread. At some point in 2002 Ba-Dg-Er removed all of his existing posts from the forum.

you can remove your posts from the forums?, how?

Click on "Edit" at the bottom of any one of your posts, you should see an option allowing you to delete that particular post if you so desire.

There's almost always a local alternative; around here it's Burgerville (regional chain) in southern WA, Dick's in the big city, and the joint near the high school in Hoquiam! I'd consider a chain burger a very last resort.

Deluxe, chocolate shake, and fries Hmmmm We have one near work I get my weekly dose of cholesterol from there.

Great preventive food for hangovers too! :D

Where I work, I am a store manager at a grocery store; they can leave their bike inside the door as long as they are not blocking any product. They also can't walk or ride it around the store. We sometimes get kids trying to ride it in the store and have to kick them out. I figure as long as they respect my place of business then we'll let them keep it inside.

I can see both sides; on one hand we have no right to tell someone how to run their business. On the other hand your not going to be in business very long if you turn customers away.

As far as the whole "it's not a motorized vehicle" thing, in Utah, if I remember right, the operator of the bike is considered the motor. That is why we can ride in the road along side of cars, get speeding tickets and run stop signs.

I dont want to sit on my bike,exhaust all around me. IMO,dumb to ride a bike in a drive thru. Another reason for non-riders to think we are a$$holes.

Absolutely.

If it is a franchise write or email the owner and the franchising corporation, make sure you include the managers name and the date of the interaction. If it's a corporate store do the same to the corporate headquarters.

Well my, aren't we getting precious!

You too!

I think fast food places ae afraid of the liability if some yahoo in a car does not see you and slams into you in the drive through. That said it is still discriminatory.

One wonders why the same "liability concern" doesn't appear to be present when addressing the quality of their food.

LOL. :roflmao:

If it is so dangerous for us to be in a drive-thru then how can we possibley be safe on the road? The point is we are given the right to be on the road and make that decision ourselves. But on private porperty the owner is king (mostly) and gets to make the rules. It is obvious if the owners of said restaurants ruled all the world they would make it illegal for bikes to be on the road too. And it seems most drivers agree with that. The drive-thu is just the first legal chance the manager, lackey, etc. has ever had to legally take it out on a cyclist. I mean come on - if you run into a bike while driving 2 mph...

Walgreen's serves me at the drive up window on a bike with no problems.

I HATE Carls Jr's. They bought a really good chain, Hardee's, in the Southeast, and has ruined it. Same goes for CVS buying Revco.