We Are One - Opening Inaugural Ceremony

With the inaugural opening ceremony today, I knew the national mall area would be packed. I had considered biking into DC in the weeks leading up to the inauguration. I've biked into DC many times for the exercise, exploring, and taking photos. I could have watched the ceremony on TV, but I felt like biking into DC to be there for such a historic day in history. It was exciting to know that so many people were converging in DC, and how fitting that the theme of the ceremony today was We Are One.

I spent some of Saturday evening to prepare for my bike ride. I charged all my camera batteries and formatted my memory cards. I looked on inauguration websites to see what I had to do to get into DC. Backpacks were not allowed so I took my Think Tank Speedbelt System to carry in my 24-70mm lens, 12-24mm lens, and 50mm lens, while I kept my 18-200mm on my camera. I brought my external flash along and some snacks and a bottle of water. I knew that I needed to keep my batteries warm so I put them in the pocket of my vest. Knowing that it was going to be a cold day of biking and being outside for a few hours, I dressed in many layers. I wore seven layers on my upper body, three layers of pants/shorts, two pairs of socks and gloves, and had my bike helmet, two face masks and shades on. All the layers helped.

It was still a bit chilly in biking, but I was alright. I parked near the Pentagon and biked across Key Bridge, through Georgetown, past the Kennedy Center, down Constitution Ave and to an entrance off Constitution. After the security check, I was free to roam around where I had room to move. There were so many people there and it was hard to move at times with people packed like sardines in certain places. I was able to make my way around well enough and take lots of photos, yet could not get very close and my zoom lens only had enough range to just get the Lincoln Memorial to fill the frame. I almost bought a 1.4x teleconverter for my 70-200mm to extend the zoom range, but I'll have to wait on that purchase. It was good to be there and experience the landmark event.