While fact-checking (yes, bloggers fact check) a post that will appear next week, I ran across a curious aside noting that “the most fuel-efficient vehicle available — the bicycle” gets “30+ miles per burrito.”
Frankly, that seemed conservative to me. Granted, it was unclear whether the author was burning a basic 350-calorie burrito from the dollar menu or a higher-octane version, say, Moe’s 950-calorie Homewrecker. Still, an assertion was made. So I Googled “energy from a burrito.”
Every Wednesday through Thanksgiving, GetGoingNC.com will feature a hike in North Carolina that just about anyone can do. It won’t be a long hike (though we may throw in a recommendation for going long), it won’t be strenuous hike (there could be a hill-climb option as well). The hikes will be timed to coincide with the changing colors of fall. This week, the 2.6-mile out-and-back trail to the top of Hanging Rock, in its namesake state park.
There’s a curious story on page 1 of today’s News & Observer about long-time marathoners who aren’t happy with the growing number of slower runners in their events. Some of these newbies, say the vets, even have the audacity to walk the 26.2-mile course.
Two weeks ago I took the car in to get a burned-out headlight replaced. In the course of snooping around to see what else might be wrong, the mechanic looked at the odometer and asked, “You have the timing belt replaced yet?”
Of course I hadn’t, the timing belt being one of those crazy expensive procedures that involves taking apart the entire engine. “It goes, you need a new engine,” he was quick to note. Despite the fact the car was running perfectly, I had the timing belt replaced a few days later, giving little thought to the $650 price tag. A little preventive maintenance is worth not having the engine blow 50 miles from the nearest garage.