On Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:47:19 +0700, John B. wrote:

Do you really believe that cyclists were the determining factor in the
building of better roads?

Yes, but we just needed tracks and not a whole road.

"You wouldn’t know it now but in the 1890s Australia had the largest
bicycle path network in the world. As the long distance cycling centre of
the world for many years, Australia provides many of the most fascinating
stories from cycling’s early days. Wheeling Matilda: The Story of
Australian Cycling by Jim Fitzpatrick documents many of these stories,
with an account of almost 150 years of bicycling in Australia."

https://treadlie.com.au/wheeling-matilda/

And I've got a copy of the third edition of touring guide for motorists
produced in the early 1900's which was researched on a bicycle. The guy
was actuaslly producing them to selling as part of his business to sell
attire to eary motorists. Name escapes me atm.