Originally Posted by
Dave Cutter
I really don't think that is true. That sounds more like that League of American Wheelmen made-up and rewritten history. I think if you research road building... you may find a completely different history.
Although good story telling has rarely depended on accurate information. Since (as I am sure you know) your "Victorian Era clothing".... doesn't fit into what most historians would consider the Industrial Revolution (1760-1850). And barely slips into the broader use of the term (1700-1900).
The Victoria era actually ran from 1837 to 1901, during the time Queen Victoria reigned as queen. As for paved roads, the Romans were paving roads in 500BC, using stone, and you can figure that large streets cities, where there was heavy traffic, used similar technology even long before the first bicycles.