Prank or sculpture? Bike bonfire’s a puzzle
By Matt Rilkoff
Taranaki Daily News
September 21, 2009
Taranaki’s Egmont Village has joined the Bermuda Triangle and Stonehenge as centres of mystery and intrigue.
On Wednesday persons or forces of trickery removed the bicycles from the famous bike fence of the Missing Leg Backpackers.
Not content with this desecration of a Taranaki landmark ranked alongside Hawera’s water tower, Eltham’s cheese painted water tank and the glorious Stratford glockenspiel, they then piled the bikes in a eerie fashion behind the accommodation block.
“I went out to Inglewood on Wednesday afternoon and that was when I noticed they were gone,” said bemused owner Michelle McDonald. “It wasn’t until I came out back on Friday that I found them here, piled up like this.”
Ms McDonald did not think the pile of bikes had any special purpose such as devil worship or lunar predictions and has no plans to remove it.
Instead she will start to build the fence again.
“I suppose it gives me a chance to repair the fence behind it but then I will have to get more bikes. Does anyone have any bikes they can give us?” she asked.
Similar calls have had to go out since the bike fence was started by former cyclist and original owner of the backpacker lodge Brian Garrett.
While most bike fences are weather resistant, Taranaki specimens are particularly vulnerable during the heady months of December when the famous Hawera bike pub crawl increases demand for two-wheeled contraptions. But this incident is somewhat different from the normal attacks and paints a picture of either a particularly gormless thief or someone with an odd sense of humour.
Ms McDonald is quite sure she has made no enemies in the town since moving there 18 months ago and is adamant the bike fence will be back.
Though whether it is in time for Hawera’s pub crawl depends on the generosity of the Taranaki people.