Photo by Ian Wilkes

It’s National Bike to Work Day, which means you’re likely to see more bikes than usual on the road today. But for many, cycling to work is just part of the daily routine. In fact, an estimated 3.2 million people in the U.S. bike to work at least once a week.

Cycling has gone through many highs and lows over the years, so in honor of National Bike to Work Day, we thought we’d take a look at the history of the bike — from its early inception through today. (History buffs take note: though we did our best to verify these dates, early records conflict somewhat.)

Bicycle history

3500 B.C. (or so)
The wheel is invented in Mesopotamia. People line up for days to be one of the first to own one but then feel duped when the sleeker second-generation model comes out a year later. (Or so we suspect.)

1790 (ish)
Comte de Sivrac puts 2 wheels together to form the célérifère, a wooden, bike-like contraption with no pedals or steering ability. To change direction, the rider would have to lift, drag, or jump the front wheel to one side. And fixed-gear riders thought they were hard-core!

1817
Baron von Drais invents the Draisine. Though not the first 2-wheeler on the market, the Draisine — also referred to as the “swiftwalker” or “hobby horse” — includes a handlebar, which gives the operator the ability to steer (brilliant!). However, its lack of pedals means riders have to use their feet to propel themselves Flintstone-style.

Mid 1800s
Pedals are added to the front axle of what is now referred to as the vélocipède (French for “fast feet”). The uncomfortable friction created by the wood and metal wheels rolling over cobblestone streets, however, leads to the not-so-endearing nickname “boneshaker.”  

1868
The vélocipède makes its way to the U.S. where it takes off in a big way — and then quickly loses steam once people realize how cumbersome it is.

Early 1870s
The high-front-wheeled Ordinary bike (also known as the “penny farthing”) makes its debut, as does the word “bicycle.” The large front wheel improves comfort and speed, but, with its awkward center of gravity, does little for safety.

1880s
After one too many “headers” (incidences of people flying over their handlebars of their Ordinaries when they braked), the Safety bike — a bike with same-sized wheels and hollow tubing — is created.

1889
Pneumatic (inflatable) rubber tires are invented and added to the Safety bike. Woohoo! No more bone shaking! Brakes are also improved (since stopping’s kinda cool). Bicycling regains popularity in the U.S and has a surprising effect on women’s liberation. Susan B. Anthony says, “I think [bicycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”

Early 1900s
It was too good to last. Bicycling’s popularity once again wanes as cars bust onto the scene and other forms of recreation carry the day.

1956
The League of American Bicyclists deems May National Bike to Work Month.

1960s
Due to an increasing concern over pollution and thanks to its affordability, the bike once again makes a comeback.

1972
Partially due to astronomical gas prices (sound familiar?) bicycles outsell cars in the United States.

2012  
Mountain bikes, road bikes, fixed-gear bikes, and foldable bikes … we’re a society that’s just gotta ride (the latest U.S. Census reports that 38 million people enjoy riding their bikes). And why not? Whether for recreation or transportation, biking has a lot to offer (like saving on gas and getting exercise).

So for all you 2-wheeled road warriors who biked to work today (or any day), we salute you.

Related links

5.5 steps for participating in Bike to Work Day
Tips for sharing the roads with bikes
Finding the perfect bike rack

reading 1,300 poems

During the month of April — known by word nerds everywhere as National Poetry Month — we held the Esurance Poems of the Road Contest. We expected to get several hundred submissions from die-hards poets and travelers alike. And we expected it to be a whole lot of fun.

What we didn’t expect was the veritable onslaught of vast and varied poems we received over the course of the month. There were sonnets, haikus, free verse poems, prose poems, limericks, and lyrics. There were sad poems, funny poems, beautifully narrative poems, abstract poems, experimental poems, and poems that weren’t really poems at all.

The submissions extolled the many wonders, cruelties, and mysteries of the road and some even lauded the virtues of Esurance (thanks!). All told we received more than 1,300 submissions and were happily impressed by the amount of enthusiasm and spirit that went into each.

Poems of the Road finalists

Narrowing the field to 3 was no easy task, but after much reading, discussing, scoring, debating, and tallying, we have our finalists. And here they are (in no particular order):

“Favorite Roads” by Khristian Kay
“Western Equinox” by Lara Wilber
“The Road Home” by Joe Carvalko

These 3 poems are now with Tom and Ray Magliozzi of NPR’s Car Talk. Click and Clack, as they’re more commonly known, will rank them in order of first, second, and third, and winners will be announced next week. Stay tuned!

Honorable mention

Though his poem didn’t make our final selection, honorable mention goes to Rich Follett for “Rhythm of the Road,” which garnered an impressive 1,825 votes. Many poems received a significant number of votes, but “Rhythm of the Road” led the way and more than earned its unofficial place as People’s Choice winner. (Thanks, Rich!)

We also want to thank everyone who voted for their favorite poems and give a very special shout out to all the poets who shared a poem (you guys rock!). We enjoyed reading so many astonishing poems and traveling down so many different roads.

So thanks again, poets, travelers, wordsmiths, and wanderers. And wherever the road takes you next, remember Baudelaire’s advice to “always be a poet, even in prose.”

At Esurance, we believe in doing our part for the environment. And we love trees. From the thousands and thousands of trees we save by conducting much of our business online to the 100,000+ trees we’ve helped plant, we’re constantly working to make the world a little greener.

But like Kermit famously said, “It’s not that easy being green.” Read on to find out how several TV producers learned this the hard way while filming the latest Esurance commercial.

The dilemma

Picture this: you’re halfway through filming Sounds, Esurance’s latest TV commercial (voiced by John Krasinski from The Office, btw). A tight deadline looms. The script calls for a tree to crash down on a car. Your extensive search for a fallen-down tree in L.A. has proven fruitless. As a producer, you’re presented with 2 options.

Option 1: take the easy road and chop down a tree.

Option 2: take the not-so-easy road and scour the West Coast for a tree that’s fallen naturally (and looks really cool).

The decision is complicated by the fact that you’re in danger of falling behind schedule (and going over budget). Yet you know the right tree could make or break the commercial. Sounds like a tough decision, right?

Nah, not for Esurance. After years and years of tree-loving initiatives, we couldn’t, in good conscience, chop down a perfectly good tree just to sell a few car insurance policies. Obviously, we’d have to find another solution.

The challenge

When the TV production team’s L.A. search for that elusive tree failed, Timothy Thomas, prop master for the shoot, looked homeward to Oakhurst, California (near the entrance to Yosemite National Park). And as it just so happened … a big storm had recently blown through and left the perfect fallen tree in its wake.  

Forced down by nature with no hope of salvation, it was an ideal fit for the set — a suburban L.A. street. Better yet, the tree’s destiny suddenly shifted from “firewood” to “Hollywood.” 

After some artful persuasion and logistical wrangling, a local crane operator loaded the tree onto a truck for the 6-hour journey to Los Angeles, where filming began right on time (with seconds to spare)! Once there, the tree was ready to help make the magic happen in its supporting role in the Esurance Sounds commercial. You can see it in scene 2, as it comes to rest atop an unfortunate customer’s car.

After the shoot, the tree was donated to a greenery prop house in Los Angeles, so its legacy (and Hollywood story) can live on. We think it’s pretty awesome that our production crew could find a way to save a tree. And we’re pretty sure the tree thinks so too.

Share your stories with us

Have any good tree-saving stories? Share them with us on Facebook.

Related links

Planting trees in Rocklin, California
Planting trees in Springfield, Ohio
The tree-huggers guide to auto insurance

Watch our other commercials

Savings commercial
Trust commercial
Dollar Karma commercial
Allstate Relationship commercial
What If commercial
Savings Whiplash commercial