There are many places in the world today where there are no paved roads, but people ride bicycles OK. Lived in one such place as a child, rode my bicycle through the mud to the grocery store every day.
That’s only really true for bicycle with modern rubber wheels. Attempting to ride through the mud or on rough surfaces with wooden wheels would have been much more challenging (not to mention uncomfortable).
There's also a lot of paved road where you will absolutely not see a bicycle.