Roads Were Not Built for Cars: How Cyclists Were the First to Push for Good Roads & Became the Pioneers of Motoring

In Roads Were Not Built for Cars, Carlton Reid reveals the pivotal—and largely unrecognized—role that bicyclists played in the development of modern roadways. Reid introduces readers to cycling personalities, such as Henry Ford, and the cycling advocacy groups that influenced early road improvements, literally paving the way for the motor car. When the bicycle morphed from the vehicle of rich transport progressives in the 1890s to the “poor man’s transport” in the 1920s, some cyclists became ardent motorists and were all too happy to forget their cycling roots. But, Reid explains, many motor pioneers continued cycling, celebrating the shared links between transport modes that are now seen as worlds apart. In this engaging and meticulously researched book, Carlton Reid encourages us all to celebrate those links once again.

Carlton Reid is the executive editor of trade magazine BikeBiz.com. His travel pieces have appeared in National Geographic Traveller and The Guardian. His previous books include Adventure Mountain Biking (Crowood Press,1990); Complete Book of Cycling (contributor, Hamlyn, 1997); I-Spy Bicycles (Michelin, 1998); Discover Israel (Berlitz, 1993); Lebanon: A Travel Guide (Kindlife, 1995); Classic Mountain Bike Routes of the World (contributor, Quarto Publishing, 2000); Bike to Work Book (Front Page Creations, November 2008) and Family Cycling (Snow Books, 2009).