How They Roll

One Portland woman knows that you should never underestimate the power of social networking sites. In fact, she proves that one little Twitter post can inspire change that affects countless city residents.

Like a good little greenie, Portland resident Sarah Gilbert gave up her car to do her part to reduce the world's carbon emissions. Now, she bikes everywhere -- including to restaurants to pick up dinner for her family. So it's easy to see why she was so angry when a local fast food joint, Burgerville, denied her service at the drive-thru, saying that the restaurant did not serve bicyclists.

That kind of bike discrimination may fly in other cities, but not in Portland: According to an article in the LA Times, a whopping eight percent of the city's residents bike to work, and the city has the most comprehensive network of bicycle lanes in the nation.

Gilbert, a freelance blogger, quickly expressed her dismay at the situationon her Twitter page. Portland's bike advocates soon joined Gilbert on her rampage and posted their own stories of getting dissed by fast food places. The twittering soon became a rumble and then a collective roar, with bicyclists threatening to boycott Burgerville and earning coverage by local news outlets.

Eventually, Burgerville caved. The restaurant now allows bikers to pedal up to the pick-up window in Oregon and Washington (bicycles don't trigger the sensors at start of the drive-thru), and managers even plan to post signs alerting drivers to be careful of the bicyclers.

For more inspiring stories of how social networking sites can cause big changes, check here and here.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.