European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 29, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On the Liberty Trail v. Ill not ill in  for mid ii Cefi Al no no surf Vijil v. I ii 1 if i v us beaut Lully to Ali Jud world Vair. Tili re talk r it pm winning by club composed to in Olom Pooi. Al the american military cemeteries in Moira Rifle. And me dub members will accompany us dry Rcd m Tiuch Chc uniforms irom ii period one Young Frenchman. Dressed As a paratrooper of die 82nd airborne div. Even has  of Chester Fields Sluck inside   . We re tinally Oft. Along la twitch. Icon Inland Lowa a sle Mere Gliso. Nifte local Point of the Bill Hool the airborne forces or a foothold in Normandy it s a big fast moving ugh group we re Riding in and no fax irom the Start come the  ils we begin in Ronchen late  Ono Urb Ervi dlr a. Nyrl in anticipating  inc group vol do no two and a half hours later after o a i i. Lull ride we sweep into Llic Mam Square Al silo silo is a cily that remembers it a Hurc inn the american tonics finally broke . La Shinro their Way the touch inc Cir non Fie lances Wilh Iho i idol a Irpel Lio Tjing there a mourn pal next Loik . It to inc civilian Yin lims of l sunday june 8 it is still of Jack when vvchavebw.ikla5l, Iwicki m no Leo Ling Well at All the Ndoc snarls Early it s to be Over 200 kilo milers Loray and As we. Climb irom Hill to Hill. I can Lee my is run Rulh lading the stoop climb to our break Pool m a ranches leaves me exhausted and by lunch at St Malo. On the a Nanny coast. F am beat i sit in the Sun with my Wool leg warm org on. And feel a Bone deep a fill a of my Energy reserves scorn to be gone. The afternoon ride is a killer for to i throw the Chain Oil my big wheel pull Olf it Road and discover Hal Skinny bicycle tires Don l Brake Well an grass i end up in a ditch. I hear an american say bad move1" As i pick myself up i catch up with the group and on another downhill. Again throw the Chain. I get if Back on iry to Adji so the Bike s derail Levy. And get Back on the Road bul Njg time i Don t catch up. I resolve to slog to out alone to Rennes our final destination it s hard going by now and one of the support vehicles slops by me As i climb a Hill want a ndc1" i s the same character who d made the crack As i went into the ditch he s pooped out and decided to ride the vehicle in i Relue the offer a irate later. I Sec Anol Ter american aboard another vehicle the bus Hal follows our bicycle Lour stops Lor me i refuse again the people in Iho villages have been coming out to Greel us As we Rode by As i Gand by alone the Oon /our.1 changes to ban coinage by now i m ready to Call it enough the Hills in my exhausted slate seem interminable and i barely keep going a lower and lower gears. As i Roll into yet another Village full of expectant townspeople the last support Van comes by. The boy in Trio Nghil hand Seal makes me a sign do i want a Rida i shake my head and in that moment a entire Street of townspeople Breaks into App Tasso How can i Lei hese people Down i plod on arriving in the Brittany capital of Rennes a half hour after the main Bodycot bikers. Another hour is spent trying to figure out where the night s stay Bijj be made in the company of a Trio of French cyclists who stayed behind in town to to out a local cafe and have no More idea of where everyone is than i do we finally locale them at the local sports Complex. The Day had been hard on others too. And a pair of americans decide to quit. One of them will ride the next Day while the other goes Back by Irain to gel his car. Some . Contingent take a break in Ella s main Square Slier the first Day s ride. Tired cyclists Settle Down in the gymnasium of the sports Center in Henries pie. Randy Manuel of Stuttgart made the ride on his Mountain Billie. I get the distinct Leehong that i have Hitler Olf More than i can comfortably Chew. Monday june 9 a Good night s sleep and in fever was wrong with me is Over i feel great and the ride today is a i relatively Short one of 126 Kilometres about 78miles the Day is sunny and the first part of the route blessedly Flat. After a break in chateaubriand for lunch we. Proceed on to angers tolling up by its Groat Castle in an impressive column of while jerseys ital seems to go on Lor a mile. F make a bad Pun Aboul being slow of angers r am warned never to do it agon tuesday june 10 it s another Long Clay Tii Llod As 199 5 Kitome lers. But one rider s computer puts i a 212 about 131 Miles. But the Pace is a Goorji one the Breaks Wall Laid out and she warmth holds for most of the Day until after our lunch at be mans near the world famous race rack. Somehow during lunch i lose a Glove. Not fatal but annoying la Cecily i have a spare set stashed away. By evening when we pull into Chartres s Cobblestone City Center it has gotten Gray and cold and we re relieved when the ceremonies end and we can go to our lodgings we arrive and set up at another sports Complex and when some of us go to pick up our Luggage which follows us by truck we discover that some of us will have to spend the night elsewhere a a focal army Barracks. We get to bed very late bul there is a compensator for me i Luck out Inlo a private room and sleep like a log. Wednesday june 11 the alarm drags me out of Blissful slumber at Page 14 the stars and stripes