It's a beautiful evening in Aberdeen. The sun is still high in the sky and I am drawn by the invitation to go out and and enjoy it. But my eyelids are drooping, and Rich has already succumbed to jet lag and the long hours of travel.

So far we haven't seen much more than the environs of our hotel. But it has been a productive day. Upon our arrival we were greatly relieved when we spotted our bike boxes in the airport. Only a bit battered from the rigors of baggage handling and bearing the evidence of an inspection by Homeland Security. Two trips in the hotel van were necessary to transport the large boxes and ourselves to our lodgings. Rich did well to select a hotel so close to the airport.

The afternoon was spend reassembling the bikes. Admittedly that is Rich's forte, I am just his humble assistant. But we were both very invested in the task. This was a crucial point. Any issues we encountered could derail our plans. It was when we were in the final phase that we hit a serious stumbling block. My bike was successfully completed, but reinstating Rich's handlebars was not going well. We tried the pieces in all possible combinations and still it wasn't right. It began to look like we had a broken or missing part. Without speaking, I know we were both concerned, and I'd even done a quick search on bike shops. Checking the box one final time and giving it a good shake, I dislodged the errant part. Whew! That's all it took. The bike was ready for action.

We took a short shake-down ride in the parking lot, and ventured briefly onto a side street. The busy area was not all that inviting, so at just over a mile we completed our ride for the day, our mission accomplished. Our transport was ready.

Once we transferred our great to the panniers, and were assured everything would fit, we rewarded ourselves with a tall glass of cider and dinner in the hotel restaurant. I found it gratifying that my salmon filet was the same price as Rich's hamburger.

Tomorrow we will finally cycle away into the countryside. It's time to see the real Scotland, up close, mile by mile.