I had planned an epic 30+ mile mountain bike ride on Monday. But I had the opportunity to experience something that few people do. President Barack Obama was speaking a short ride down the road from me. So, I decided to shorten up my mountain bike ride to 16 miles and take a quick road ride to Hudson Valley Community College and hang out with a couple of hundred other people waiting for the Presidential motorcade. While I work for Southwest Airlines, the President’s arrival into Albany was limited to press only. The chance to see the President as he drives by is something that I couldn’t pass up, especially when he is only about 10 miles away.

The motorcade arrived, most everyone cheered and then we see the President waving to the crowds. Over in about 15 seconds. Was it worth giving up half of my mountain bike ride? Yes!