July 18: I flew from Brussels (where I'd finished a meeting with Vanguard) to Valencia, Spain (where I was slated to give a lecture at the new science center on July 24). With a few days to kill, I biked about 220 miles up the coast to Barcelona. I hugged the coast for the most part, riding on deserted service roads and cutting through orange groves. There was no rush, so I puttered up from Valencia to Moncofo to Vinaros to "Miami Platya" to Vila Nova to Barcelona. The weather was hot and sunny (mid 30's and not a drop of rain), but there was usually a nice breeze off the Mediterranean and it never seemed to be a headwind.

I then went to Paris the weekend of July 27-28 at the invitation of my friend, Sheila Griffin. Sheila is the patron saint of the US cycling team (she sponsored it while at Motorola, and now it's the world's best team, led by Lance Armstrong). So we had terrific seats...

The unedited pictures are archived below.

Mike Hawley


Spain, 020718: Valencia to Moncofo (stayed at the only Hostal in town) — pdf (4 images, 0.3Mb)
Spain, 020719: Moncofo to Vinaros (stayed at Hotel Miramar) — pdf (18 images, 0.8Mb)
Spain, 020720: Vinaros to Miami Beach (stayed at Hostal International) — pdf (26 images, 1.1Mb)
Spain, 020721: Miami to Vila Nova (stayed at hotel Ceferino) — pdf (26 images, 1.1Mb)
Spain, 020722: Barcelona — pdf (26 images, 1.1Mb)
Spain, 020723: Barcelona — pdf (51 images, 2.4Mb)
Paris, Saturday 02-07-27: random. — pdf (8 images, 0.4Mb)
Paris, Sunday 02-07-28: Tour de France finale — pdf (212 images, 9.2Mb)