Jools Walker facts for kids

Jools Walker is an English cyclist, TV presenter, and author. Her first book, Back in the Frame, was published in May 2019. She is known for her work promoting cycling and diversity.

Early Life and First Bikes

Jools Walker grew up in Canning Town, which is in east London. Her very first bike was a cool "metallic green trike." Later, she rode a BMX bike that her older brother fixed up for her. He even taught her how to ride it.

However, when she rode her bike to school, she sometimes heard mean comments. This made her want to cycle less and less. Eventually, she stopped riding bikes completely when she was a teenager.

Jools Walker's Career

Starting the Velo-City Girl Blog

In 2010, Jools Walker bought a bike she had always dreamed of owning. It was a Pashley Princess, which she got through a special "Cycle to Work" program. This program was offered by her employer, the University of East London. After getting her new bike, she decided to start a blog called Velo-City Girl.

Working in Cycling and TV

In 2012, Jools joined a company that makes cycling clothes, called Vulpine. She worked there as the operations manager. Around the same time, she also started presenting on a TV show called The Cycle Show on ITV4. On the show, Jools often led features, like covering the yearly vintage cycling festival, l'Eroica.

She also appeared on the BBC's Newsnight to talk about cycling culture. The cycling magazine La Fuga featured her in an "Industry Portrait" online. In 2015, Bike Biz magazine named her one of their "100 Women of the Year." This showed how important she was becoming in the cycling world.

Promoting Diversity in Cycling

In 2018, Jools started working with the London Bike Kitchen. They began regular cycling meet-ups especially for Women of Colour. Jools realized that one reason she had stopped cycling before was not seeing other people who looked like her enjoying the sport.

Now, Jools often talks about the need for more diversity in cycling. She wants to see people from all backgrounds involved at every level. She also speaks about the things that make it harder for Women of Colour to get into cycling.

Cycling and Health Journey

In 2016, Jools Walker had a stroke. Her book, Back in the Frame, shares her experiences with depression and how cycling has helped her. In an interview with The Guardian, she explained her message. She said, "I’m not trying to be the poster child for what cycling can do for you, but in my book I try to use the experiences that I’ve had on and off a bike, and turn it all into a positive.”

In May 2019, a part of her book Back in the Frame was published in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.