a quarter of a billion dollars

My friend Clare and I caught a taxi from our hotel to dinner. We casually observed to each other something about the lycra clad cyclists tackling the hill. After some discussion with the taxi driver about cyclists being "pests" (Clare's son had been cycle courier in Sydney and she told the taxi driver the disdain was mutual), Clare asked about cycle paths in Brisbane. We were repeatedly, and amusingly, informed that the previous stage premier had spent "two-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollars" on not just bike paths but a failed scheme to provide hireable cycles around the city. Apparently, (say it with me) the "two-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollars - that's quarter-of-a-billion-dollars" resulted in few bikes being used, and mainly down hill, meaning someone had to transport them back up to the top - adding to the cost and failure of the project.

On arriving at dinner, we checked the veracity of the story with our local host. True, he thought.

Here are the bikes.