In the hat – the first round

A passion for cycling and an interest in football. How to bring these together? I recently read Ruben Clark’s rather enjoyable Winner Stays On: England with the FA Cup as a compass and wondered about a Scottish iteration, or my version of Daniel Gray’s excllent Cup Tied. So here I am.

Adding cycling to the mix adds a little extra – the joy of getting to the far flung corners of the country by train and bike (surely the ultimate travel combo). At the mercy of my own physical limitations – I’m 58 and various bits of me are starting to show signs of wear – and any restrictions imposed by using ScotRail. Despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary, I have tended to find that ScotRail do OK on this – you need to be canny on the longer journeys and on the popular West Highland routes, but most of the time, in most of the country, you can make it work.

So what’s the plan?

Simple – pick the most romantic sounding tie in the first qualifying round of the Scottish Cup and follow the winner of that, and all subsequent ties in that thread – whoever is “in the hat” for the next round, through to the final, which will be at Hampden, the home of football, in May of 2025.

I’m basing this on the men’s Scottish Cup, only because it is the tournament I’m most familiar with and, I have to say, it’s much easier to get information on. The Women’s Scottish Cup will be a future project.

I have cycled to Hampden many times, it’s actually quite easy on the bike, a cycle path takes you from the city centre right up Victoria Road to Queen’s Park – job done. It is BY FAR the most efficient way of getting to the national stadium. Trust me on this.

All I’m waiting on now is the draw! Watch this space!