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In 2003, I retired from the County of Santa Barbara Dept. of Public Health after 23 years of service. For over 10 years I have traveled to Europe on bicycle tours. When Experience Plus! offered tours following the Tour de France in the Alps and Pyrenees, it seemed like a perfect way to start retirement. I usually like a tour that lasts 2 weeks. Since each tour lasted 8 days, I decided to do both. These 2 tours were the most difficult of any tour that I had been on, and I was not physically ready for them. However I am happy to have done them and continue to revel in the experiences that I had. The 2 mountain ranges are quite different. The Alps are more dramatic and spectacular. The Pyrenees are not as big but are much greener. The cycling experience was equally demanding.
The following pages will include photos from both tours. I shot mostly 35 mm slides, but did experiment with digital. I hope that you will enjoy these photos. Click on the thumbnails to get a larger image. Then right click on your mouse and select "Back" to return to the thumbnail. I struggled in sizing my photos. I sacrificed some sharpness in order to make it easier for you to download. This has been a real learning experience for a neophyte to digital photography like myself.
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