For about 14 years I used a bicycle to travel to and from work, 7 miles away. My backup for really bad weather (ice, snow) was Metro, but that took longer. Since my commute was at rush hour, I could do it in 25 or 30 minutes, as good a time as by car.
In the 18th c. a gentleman could travel about as fast on horseback, and to be fair, I could not travel across meadows. But for any distance in excess of three miles, I believe that a bicycle on a road can do as well as a horse, or better. You cannot ride a horse 50 miles if you wish to keep it in good condition. I have ridden a bicycle 100 miles in one day, against the wind, in the rain, with camping gear.
The crucial point is, that to do this requires far less biofuel than a horse does!
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