Scotland fans who cycled 500 miles to Euro 2024 not keen on peddling 500 more

Ryan Carroll
·2-min read
Scotland fans who cycled 500 miles to Euro 2024 not keen on peddling 500 more

A group of Scotland fans who have cycled 500 miles to Germany to follow the national team at the Euros say they're not too keen on peddling 500 more. Charity champion Callum Mill, 37, organised the gruelling trip from Edinburgh to Cologne after Scotland powered towards qualification for the competition last year.

Settling off from Hearts FC's Tynecastle Stadium on Wednesday, June, 12, the group of pals biked through Haddington, through to Northumberland then on to Newcastle. They then boarded a ferry to Amsterdam, headed through Utrecht into Germany, before arriving in Cologne in torrential rain on Tuesday afternoon.

Callum, from Edinburgh, joked: "The whole trip was about 500 miles - why walk 500 miles when you can cycle? We were watching the qualifier against Cyprus in the sun when we decided we were going to cycle across.

"We were feeling really good about Scotland and my mate said, if we qualify we should cycle there. My instant thought was that this was a terrible idea, but for some reason I still agreed to it.

"It has been really, really tough at times - but it has been really fun as well."

Callum Mill, 39, from Edinburgh, who works for the Big Hearts Community and bikes for refugees, organised the trip.
Callum Mill, 39, from Edinburgh, who works for the Big Hearts Community and bikes for refugees, organised the trip. -Credit:Daily Record

Callum works for the Big Hearts Community Trust, which is linked to the club and supports children and families in the capital. He also works for Bikes for Refugees and the group have been raising cash and awareness for the charities on the way.

After arriving in Cologne, Callum, Michael Kemp, Angel Lopez (aka Archie), David Moir and Craig McBride even played in a charity Scotland over 35s V Koln over 35s football match.

Callum added: "The body was feeling pretty tight and sore especially after the friendly against the FC Koln fans team. The body is tired and broken, it's really stiff today.

"I like to cycle but I haven't been cycling a lot lately. I've not been doing enough training to really cope with it well so I've had some injuries and struggled at times. The first day we cycled 100 kilometres which is the longest cycle I've ever done, so that was a massive challenge.

"It's hard as it is, but with another 10kilograms of baggage on your bike it is unbelievable. We were cycling up to 10 hours a day."

Michael Kemp, Callum Mill, Angel Lopez (aka "Archie") David Moir and Craig McBride.
Michael Kemp, Callum Mill, Angel Lopez (aka "Archie") David Moir and Craig McBride. -Credit:Daily Record

He added: "It feels amazing now we are here, though. It was really hard to focus on the football when we were on the bikes but now we are here, there is Scotland fans everywhere. It just feels amazing."

The group have raised nearly £1,500 for the charities but are hoping to get to £2,000.

To support the lads by donating to the charity, click here.

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