European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amps file 3 Rhine ride continued from Page 5 i called it quits at 6 30 p.m., just after reaching Bacharach. My original plan was to Camp on the c diffs of St. Goar but Bacharach looked nicer and i was growing More fatigued with each turn of the pedal. After crossing the Rhine on a ferry i wearily peddled to a Riverside Campground on the outskirts of town. After paying 10 Marks for my campsite and setting up my Lent i headed downtown for a meal. There i spotted a pension offering bed breakfast and a hot Shower for 18 Marks. I winced but consoled myself with thoughts of falling asleep under tie stars with the sounds of the River flowing past my tent. After a robust dinner inside the ancient walled City i staggered Back to my tent and crawled inside my sleeping bag but the sounds of the Rhine were overwhelmed by the noise of passing cars and trains and a ringing still remained in my ears from the sounds of Mick Jagger and company. I rolled onto my Side and realized that even though i had pitched my tent on a Sandy stretch of land i had managed to line up my Hipbone with the hardest spot in the area. I Lay awake for a while wondering How hard the mattresses at the pension were. At least i had managed to grab a hot Shower before bedtime but even that had seemed doubtful for a while. With the grime of a hard Day s ride on my body i entered the Shower stall and came face to face with a frightening sight a Only one Shower Knob with a big Blue Dot staring me in the face. I tracked Down the manager who explained that hot water was available Only in the last two stalls and that i had to turn the Knob farther to the left to make the water warmer. Then noting my mechanical prowess he added that i had to turn the Knob the opposite Way to turn the water off. 1 was too tired to be resentful. 1 simply nodded. 1 woke to the sounds of Birds trains and automobiles the next morning and went inside the Campground cafeteria for breakfast. When the Shower expert said the lab was 11 Marks some Quick calculating told me that i had spent three Marks More than the folks in the pension. Still after Par King my gear and peddling my Way Home i resolved that i would be returning to the Rhine a and that i would be taking my tent along. Top a family with its camping gear loaded on bicycles pauses to Check its route. Also a Eidesheim s narrow Drossel Gasse and the Niederwald Monument outside of town. A Rayy h \ go by v a. A v a a r of or Jit it it it it it it , by. Quot a  v-.-"�?T-?. Err a a it it Quot european camping 6 stripes Magazine june21,1990