Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ridin’ with the Roadrunner

Bike commuters can become a bit evangelical about the advantages of getting around town without a car, and with good reason. The advantages are nearly endless. One advantage that is often overlooked: Better lunch hours.

Some people bag quick trail rides or road rides during lunch. Many of us just spin down to a local lake or park and brown-bag it on the grass, or pedal to a nearby restaurant for a bite. I’m lucky enough to work two blocks from a paved bike trail, and 15 minutes from Arctic Roadrunner, a 45-year-old hamburger institution on the northern bank of Campbell Creek.

Each summer, the owner—Dick Sanchis—is nice enough to drag a couple of old, roughed-up bike racks into high-visibility parking spaces right next to one of his dining areas. A few years ago, he saw a co-worker and I locking up our bikes, and he walked over to ask if we liked the racks. “You know, people spend a lot of money on some of these bikes,” Sanchis said. “They need a good place to lock ’em up.”

To this day, he’s the only local business owner I know of who devotes prominent parking space to customers’ bicycles. I make a point of thanking him for it every summer.

A juicy burger and an outdoor table beside the creek are good enough reasons to pedal over for lunch a few times every year. The fact that Sanchis takes an interest in his two-wheeled customers almost makes eating at Arctic Roadrunner obligatory for Anchorage bicyclists. I highly recommend stopping in for a cheeseburger and/or some onion rings.

Ask for Dick, and tell him his bike racks sent you.

5 comments:

EscortRacer said...

Did you say Onion Rings!!! I love me some good ARR!
Click for Onion Rings!!!

Tim said...

WTF? Everybody takes pictures of their Roadrunner burgers?!

Those onion bits do look tasty.

EscortRacer said...

That was from around this time last year. Oh So Good!

Unknown said...

Had a halibut burger and salmon burger there last summer. They were fantastic. When Dick found out we hadn't tried the hamburger, he brought one out and gave it to us on the house. I wish I could ride there from my house or work. It is about 3,555 miles too far too ride.

corinne said...

Another good thing about bike commuting .. you'll expend enough calories to justify a cheeseburger for lunch! I heard that Roadrunner serves up a healthy helping of Anchorage lore and life advice, too, with lunch.