My first trip to Chicago was spent on a couch on the near north side. I was up for a race and, being from Florida, I was freezing. Everyone else was running in shorts, I was dressed like a sherpa going for a jog. Since I was actually staying with a local I met a ton of people I would never have met otherwise.

Once, on an ill-advised shortcut, I decided to take a mountain pass in Colorado at sunset. It was a dirt road and everyone on it was driving massive four wheel drive trucks, I was in a rented Chrysler Minivan. The view was spectacular and the guys at the top of the mountain took one look at my ride and said "I didn't think that was possible".