[299] `extendRoutes` not working in a very confusing way

I am using extendRoutes in nuxt.config.js like so:

router: {
  extendRoutes(routes) {
    routes.push({
      name: 'external',
      path: '/external',
      component: 'C:\\\\Users\\\\ME\\\\PROJECT\\\\external\\\\basic\\\\external-basic.vue'
    });
  }
}

The build runs and it generates a router.js file that looks correct:

{
  path: "/external",
  component: _90d601e2,
  name: "external"
}

But, when I load http://localhost:3000/external in my browser, I get a 404 not found error.

When I try to start on the home page and follow a link:

<nuxt-link to="/external">External Basic</nuxt-link>

This results in a network request to http://localhost:3000/api/users/external.

I'm not sure what is going on here. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong or can provide guidance on how to debug this further?

\\\\ is in the path due to the windows issue mentioned in #275

Thank you.