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 The Cycling Podcast x MAAP collection is available now. Go to maap.cc to see the full MAAP range. 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. Friends of the Podcast Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to more than 60 exclusive episodes. The Cycling Podcast is on Strava The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.