The Bike Path to Hell

This one really doesn't fit in the crap bike lanes category. I fact, it doesn't fit anywhere. When in the Mallee to research the Audax Mallee Routes rides, I came across a bike path. Not just any bike path, this one was special. It goes from Birchip to... nowhere. The important thing to note here is that the bike path really does finish in the middle of nowhere. It heads off on the road to Wycheproof and just stops about halfway there. This isn't remote. It is nowhere. The area through which the path runs has a population of around 3.

The other thing to note about this particular bike path is that it is virtually impassable on most road bikes. The bitumen surface is potholed, broken and covered in weeds. The fact that the road it follows is one of the quietest and least travelled in Victoria leads me to ponder what led someone to want to create this in the first place.

Having built the path, "they" obviously didn't come. Otherwise someone would have thought to give the path a little maintenance now and then. No doubt there's someone in government somewhere who's patting themselves on the back for this massive and lasting contribution to the fitness of Australians and their contribution to the environment. The Hollow Men have no vision compared to this genius.

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