• Good luck getting your car around a fallen tree. A bicycle is far better in this situation. In what situation would you risk serious damage to a car by driving into a tree?!
• Bicycles used for transport (as opposed to sport/exercise) have a rack over the rear wheel, which can support two or three pannier bags. On a flat journey, it's easy to carry 20kg+ of goods this way.
I get the impression half the comments on here are from people who've never actually used a bicycle.
The children seen here on mum's bike weigh more than some straw and pots: https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/28/...
So does this woman sitting on the rear rack: https://arnejj.org/wp-content/uploads/Foto_Bruntlett_Buildin...
This girl carried her dad for 1,200km, and my guess is the Indian roads aren't as smooth as I'm used to: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/cycli...
But maybe you meant baskets like this: https://previews.123rf.com/images/cataplines/cataplines1204/...
Or like this: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CIXaZeJWcAEcxrF?format=jpg&name=...
Carrying weight in pannier bags on the rear rack is much preferable to wearing it on a backpack.
Couple reasons by my guess: * Bikes aren't cool. Cars are cool, horses are cool. Bikes, trikes, scooters, etc., aren't cool, and don't provide much besides efficiency. * Terrain - as you say, roads are an issue and require maintenance. Trees drop some branches on the road? A car could push it (maybe), horse could walk over it, while a bike has to be carried. Not much fun, and probably makes up for the efficiency you get from riding it. * Carrying stuff. Hauling things in a car? Easy. Horse? Easy. Bike? Hope you have a backpack, and you're probably still capped at ~40 pounds. And the more weight you have, the worse a time you'll have on rough terrain or falling.