Explore returns with the Tour d'Écosse, a multi-part series telling the story of the beautiful game on two wheels. It was an idea dreamed up by Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill during lockdown, inspired by their childhood passions of cycling and football. The plan was to ride from Gretna to Dingwall visiting all 42 of the Scottish Football League grounds on the way.

There are so many questions to answer... Will Lionel and Simon make it to Forfar without falling out? Why are Cowdenbeath called The Blue Brazil? What actually is Irn Bru? And do Lionel's ancestors really hail from Birnie?

This episode is a prologue, of sorts. Lionel and Simon headed to Gretna in June 2021 ready to set off on their adventure but, as you'll hear, it turned out to be something of a false start...

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Supersapiens and Science in Sport.

Supersapiens
Supersapiens is a continuous glucose monitoring system that helps you make the right fuelling choices. Stay in your performance zone with Supersapiens. Find out more at supersapiens.com

Science in Sport
Lionel and Simon were fuelled by Science In Sport. Everything you need before, during and after your ride. For 25% off all your SiS products, go to scienceinsport.com and enter the code SISCP25 at the checkout.

MAAP
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Hammerhead
The Tour d'Écosse routes were created using the Hammerhead dashboard and Lionel and Simon followed the yellow line and the Karoo 2's turn-by-turn directions from Gretna to Dingwall. For a limited time, listeners to The Cycling Podcast can get a free heart-rate monitor with the purchase of a Hammerhead Karoo 2. Visit hammerhead.io and use promo code CYCLE at checkout when you've added both items to your cart.

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The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

S10 Ep140: Explore | Tour d'Écosse prologue: Gretna 2021