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Today Puzzle #585

Puzzle No. 585– Wednesday 9 October

A data-focused cyclist enjoys eating 697 calories from a bakery in Whaley Bridge, and aims to burn them them off by ascending an appropriate selection of the town's climbs. Knowing that Eccles Pike will burn 112 calories, Whaley Lane will burn 116, Wind Gather will burn 194, Whitehall will burn 163 and Long Hill will burn 198 calories, which ascents must the cyclist do so as to be calorie-neutral?

Today’s #PuzzleForToday has been set by Dr Geoff Evatt, School of Mathematics, University of Manchester

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2x Eccles Pike, 1x Whitehall, 1x Windgather, 1x Whaley Lane. Or: 3x Eccles Pike, 1x Long Hill, 1x Whitehall. Finding the solution(s) is eased by noting that there is an odd number of calories in the cakes, and only one ascent (Whitehall) burns an odd number of calories. And so one can work out that they must do one ascent of it (further odd numbers of ascent of it can be quickly ruled out).

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