Originally Posted by
Newspaperguy
This was a classic derailleur system. What happened was the freewheel mechanism broke down. Pedalling forward and pedalling backward had the same effect, namely nothing happened to turn the wheel.
I would have ordered a new freewheel from the nearest bicycle shop and paid for it with VISA. Have them ship it by Greyhound Bus to you at the gas station/hotel. Dead time, two days, 3 days max. I've received stuff overnight when the stars were aligned in my favor. But meeting the germans and getting a ride from them was a cool option too.
You can't order parts on the phone if there is a language barrier.