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  • Book
  • © 2015

Roads Were Not Built for Cars

How Cyclists Were The First To Push For Good Roads & Became The Pioneers Of Motoring

Authors:

  • inviting read that reveals the shared roots of motorists and cyclists, possibly

  • helping to bridge the current gulf between the two

  • A well-known author (especially in the UK) with social and traditional media networks in place

  • A meticulously researched book (over four years) that weaves the facts into engaging stories

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiii
  2. When Two Tribes Were One

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 1-7
  3. Pioneers

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 8-34
  4. Mastodons to Motorways

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 35-53
  5. Who Owns the Roads?

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 54-79
  6. Speed

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 80-95
  7. Width

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 96-109
  8. Hardtop History

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 110-122
  9. Good Roads for America

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 143-158
  10. Pedal Power

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 173-182
  11. Motoring’s Bicycling Beginnings

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 183-189
  12. Without Bicycles Motoring Might Not Exist

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 190-242
  13. From King of the Road to Cycle Chic

    • Carlton Reid
    Pages 243-262
  14. Back Matter

    Pages 263-331

About this book

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.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Benton Bridge Cottage, Newcastle on Tyne, United Kingdom

    Carlton Reid

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Roads Were Not Built for Cars

  • Book Subtitle: How Cyclists Were The First To Push For Good Roads & Became The Pioneers Of Motoring

  • Authors: Carlton Reid

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-688-2

  • Publisher: Island Press Washington, DC

  • eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental Science, Earth and Environmental Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Carlton Reid 2015

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-61091-688-2Published: 17 February 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXIII, 331

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning