European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 29, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Of him by Paul Voight i ii in for the hikers was the Monument to world War h s american Force on the Hill overlooking Trie City of Bastogne. 5. Nol a Good sign most mornings i awoke by myself at isl tight this must moan i m gel Ting tired. We go Back 1o the sports censer Lor break Asl then climb into buses for a ride to Provins. Skirling Paris 10 the South As we do so we dismount on the oui Skiris collect ouf bikes and ride Mlo town. There ars signs up announcing the City s medieval festival but Litiere s no Lime or sightseeing. After lunch we in scheduled for 141 Kilometres 871/ mites of straight Riding for six hours without a break. Luckily about hallway. There s a Surprise break ust Belore me Long climb Al Cha Pillon. Ii there is a longer or Mere dramatic Hill climb along our Roule. I Don t remember h the Road switches Brick and Forth up the Mountain irom the Valley floor and there s no running it we climb up slowly some of the older and heavier riders gelling an assist from teammates lungs bursting i glance Back Down the Mountain at the Long Chain of while jerseys snaking is Way up. And can t help feeling a thrill Al the sheer spectacle of in All the Hill finally blessedly ends and we Speed on in the cold rain through Rheims. Again there s no time for sightseeing in a cily in whose Cathedral French Kings were crowned and where German representatives signed a surrender document to end world War ii in Europe. We sweep on picking up Speed Down a Long Hal Road that runs straight As an Arrow toward Mou Melon be grand where Well be spending he night. H s Colwel and More and More cyclists keep pulling Over Wilh Flat tires. Thursday june 12 it s the next to the last Day. And spiff is Are High but people Are getting tired. More and More need to be helped up Hills and More accidents Are happening. Our ride today is 170 Kilometres 105 Mil Sand it goes through some of the great battlefields of world War i including the argon no Forest. We enter Verdun along the Voie Sacree the shared Way. Inn Supply Road thai kept the French defences of that fortress alive through almost Lour solid years of pitiless. Grinding Battle. Germany and France slaughtered Welt Over a million of each other s sons lighting Over this Palch of ground Afler lunch we took a turn through Iho town of Verdun then headed toward Metz in to rame biking in a Pelton As such formations of riders Are called in French lakes extra concentration and it s virtually impossible to build up momentum for Hill climbs. As the head of the column Hils the Hill i slows Down and those behind still descending or on the Flat find themselves hitting their brakes As they snarl logo up Iho Hill accidents become More frequent As riders gel More tired in Metz a rider decides to jump into the Middle of my formation despite our cries at him to Stop he culs in the Lisl Lew riders avoid him. Ihen someone swerves Tco much and the pile up happens about a dozen bikes Down i save myself ust in Lime the author of this event rides on obliviously when con roofed with it that evening he does t seem to understand Friday june 13 it s the last Day. And what could go wrong the weather is gorgeous sunny yet Cool perfect for Riding. I then notice my rear tire is Flat. Some frenzied fumbling and i barely make the Start Riding Swilly on a patched lube. As we Fly on upward into Luxembourg i eel the lire getting softer. I finally pull Over pump in up again hoping it holds until Luxembourg cily then scramble to catch up. A support Van passes me the boy on the right pointing Al the Side of the vehicle. It lakes me a while to catch on until i notice the wooden handle on the Side i grab on an the Van speeds Forward blowing its Horn and weaving through the iral fic pulling me with it it s not exactly Sale but it sure is fun. And i gel pulled Back up to the Lor Malion in no time As 1 rep the Troi in i sea another american off to the Side at lunch in Luxembourg we learn the Delate. Mark Stacy was clipped by another cyclist and crashed Iho Bike borrowed is damaged and so 15 Mark a Mere three hours Riding irom the end he s forced to pull out of the Lour it s hard to Tell whether the Chagrin or the pain is worse after lunch to Lake Oil. Aver the belgian Border and higher and higher into the mountainous ardennes u was Here thai Hitler s last Gap alack surprised the allies in december 19414, while the Only available . Eler nuns of the 101 is airborne div wore trucked Inlo Iho vital Crossroads town of Bastogne to hold it. Ration s army Giitl .1 remarkable left hand Lurn Cul Ling across another army s rear and wheeled straight Lor has Juno s Relief the climbs in the ardennes ate As rugged in Many in the Apps. And i really feel it As i make Sorn of the Hills a lol of riders arc being pushed up by friends now. So i m not the Only one feeling it i keep standing up in the pedals partly to Clieve Rny discomfort and partly to peer ahead for the town our objective which just has to be there finally incredibly we re Here we Roll through Bastogne wreathed in smiles with people on the streets saluting our accomplishment. One of our group gets a Flat bul he s so charged up. He keeps rolling on the rims for two Kilometres unwilling to ride the bus for that last Short stretch. We ride through the town Ihen up the Hill to the Monument. Later we would go Down again do some celebrating in town consume a Case of Beer in our Tell and More but As far As i was concerned this was it. We had made in. I asked a rider what his Cycle computer read one thousand sixty seven  was the answer. We had made it. Juan r. Melendez s  of -p.lu/. &  Ihu u-5  wind pm m Vav i Luig. Timmany ie29, 1966 the stars and stripes Page 15