Jinan – Tai’an (with a temple detour)

Although the distance was shorter than usual today, this was one of the most challenging days I had. The principal reason was that much today’s ride was uphill. Central Shandong is the only part of my route that is mountainous, and so the uphill was a new challenge for me. To make it worse, it was also very hot today. Everything was going reasonably well until I arrived at the turnoff for Lingyan Temple, an isolated temple that I wanted to visit enroute to Tai’an. The entire 5 km or so to the temple was uphill, and to make matters worse, I took the scenic route to the temple rather than the normal route. While the scenic route was indeed more scenic, it was also longer, and I walked much of the way covered in sweat. The temple was a welcome respite from the heat, and I enjoyed it. Especially interesting were the Arhat sculptures from the Ming Dynasty that survived the Cultural Revolution.

After leaving the temple, it took only about five minutes to get back to the highway since it was all downhill. The final leg of the trip to Tai’an was also a challenge, not because it was physically exhausting, but because I was having trouble with my eyes. My right eye continued to tear up and I had to blink constantly until I arrived in Tai’an. I wonder if there are special sunglasses one can get to avoid this problem? Mine don’t seem to work….