Press Release

4/13/2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Monday, April 20, 7 to 8:30 PM
Marin Museum of Bicycling
1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
Fairfax, CA 94930
www.mmbhof.org
Admission: $10 per person

 

Marin Museum of Bicycling presents 
An Evening with Carlton Reid, author of Roads Were Not Built For Cars

Marin Museum of Bicycling presents an evening with British author Carlton Reid, author of Roads Were Not Built for Cars. The museum, which will open in June, will host Reid’s Fairfax stop on his North American book tour.

Reid’s book reveals the pivotal and largely unrecognized role that bicyclists played in the development of modern roadways, essentially paving the way for cars. The League of American Wheelmen “Good Roads” campaign beginning in the 1880s led to the eventual foundation of the Federal Highways Administration. In this “golden age,” bicycling’s rapid rise put this vehicle at the cutting edge of technology.

By the dawn of the 20th century the bicycle brain trust shifted largely to automotive pursuits and the bicycle star fell rapidly. In America, automotive historians of the 1920s wrote the lowly bicycle right out of history.

Many automobile pioneers, including Henry Ford and the co-founders of Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, not only were bicyclists before they became drivers, Reid explains, but drew on their experience with bicycles to develop innovations for cars.

In his engaging and meticulously researched book, Reid encourages us all to once again celebrate the links between these two vehicles.

Tickets, $10 per person, can be purchased in advance at Marin Museum of Bicycling, or at the door the evening of the event. Advance purchase is recommended. All proceeds will benefit the Marin Museum of Bicycling. Bring your curiosity and your questions, and join us for this special night.

About Carlton Reid:
Mr. Reid has been a journalist for 28 years. His work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, The Guardian and many other publications. He is the executive editor of BikeBiz.com, a monthly UK trade magazine, which he founded and later sold to Intent Media.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, please contact:
Marin Museum of Bicycling
415-450-8000 x103