The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Travelers’ Hartford campus with its Silver Bicycle Friendly Business designation for 2023-27. In a press release, the league noted that Travelers moved up from bronze to silver and that “cycling to work is part of the company’s sustainability and wellness initiatives, and a point of pride.”

The elevated designation is in large part because of the efforts of the Travelers Employee Cycling Network (TECN), with more than 150 members in Hartford, St. Paul and other locations including Massachusetts and Nevada.

“We are a small but passionate group,” says TECN member Shannon Grant. That passion is evident in the many activities that both enable and motivate members to commute to work by bike, including:

• Email blasts and “Lunch and Learns” on topics such as road safety and bicycle maintenance.
• A website where members can log both miles and number of days commuting by bike to add a bit of friendly competition. (Travelers employees have ridden over 17,000 miles on commutes to work this year through August.)
• Team participation in events including the Greater Hartford Bike to Work Day in May.
• An emerging partnership with BiCi Co., a nonprofit that takes in bicycles, fixes them and sells them at low prices to those who need them.

Travelers’ bronze designation expired during COVID, but current TECN chair Dan Carr made it one of his pillars to reapply.

“We are thrilled that the league recognized Travelers’ commitment to environmental stewardship, employee health and different options for commuting to work,” says Dan. Travelers is the only company in Hartford and one of only 20 Connecticut companies to be named a Bicycle Friendly Business.