Say it ain't so, that's impossible, your fibbing, in 40+ years of riding I have never heard of such a thing.
I keep explaining to my students, that once they get comfortable riding their bike, since they are learning on ours, (usually a day or two) they can be two paths to a given location, the direct route that will as an example, take 1-hour and then the indirect route, that goes up and down, and curves all around and takes 4-hours, they will be taking that 4-hour route every time. I have students that I have met up at meets or that come back to the course and indicate that yea, they always take the long way