Tai’an – Qufu (75 km)

This was definitely the easiest day yet, and I arrived in Qufu at 11 am. On my way to Qufu, I met a hardcore cyclist who was going very fast. We chatted for a bit, and he told me he was going 170 km in one day, and that he expected it would take him six hours! Inspired by this distance, I’ve decided to challenge myself and rather than stopping in Zaozhuang for one night (and making a 20 km detour), that I will go directly to Xuzhou from Qufu. It is 165 km away, but I think it will be worth it in the end, because I will actually be riding less on the whole, and I will gain another day by skipping Zaozhuang.