I had known this Amalio fellow for but a few months when he asked if I wanted to travel with him to Costa Rica and bring bikes. Costa Rica? Bikes? It seemed highly improbable to me at the time, as it still does today, and as it most certainly did while we in the midst of it. It was our many moments of spontaneous success, in spite of the improbability of this venture, that would reshape my understanding of the size of the world. A traditional Spanish mixture of pain and pleasure, this experience set the stage for much of what was to come thereafter. It was a roadtrip equivalent of losing ones virginity.