Jools shares more on her award-winning blog, VéloCityGirl, which focuses on different aspects of cycling, including cycle-style, her own adventures on two wheels, and how to widen participation in cycling. Jools’ blog and social media presence have evolved from being her ‘tiny corner of the internet’ (as she still calls it) to inspiring women and young girls around the world to get on the saddle and ride. Leading publication BikeBiz lists her as one of the most influential women in the UK cycling industry. The well-respected US publication Bicycling Magazine touts her as one of the 107 Cycling Digital Superstars in the world to follow. Instagram named Jools as one of the most influential female storytellers in their #MyStoryUK campaign. Jools now finds herself talking about cycling culture, and what it’s like to be a woman in that domain on platforms as varied as BBC Newsnight, the Design Museum, BBC Radio 4, and Southbank Centre’s WOW Festival. Jools most recent book - Back In The Frame was published in May 2019. About Back In The Frame: Jools Walker re-discovered cycling aged twenty-eight after a ten-year absence from the saddle. When she started blogging about her cycle adventures under the alias Lady Vélo, a whole world was opened up to her. But it’s hard to find space in an industry not traditionally open to women – especially women of colour. Shortly after getting back on two wheels, Jools was diagnosed with depression and then, in her early thirties, hit by a mini-stroke. Yet, through all of these punctures, one constant remained: Jools’ love of cycling. In Back in the Frame Jools talks to the other female trailblazers who are disrupting the cycling narrative as well as telling the story of how she overcame her health problems, learned how to cycle her own path and even found a love of Lycra shorts along the way. New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out. The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
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Show notes
Who is Jools
What her passions and interests are
Her love for cycling
Being inspired by her older sister and brother
Starting with a BMX bike
Her dreams as a little girl and wanting to be a barrister
Taking a break from cycling for 10 years
Not feeling comfortable as a teenager on a bike
Not feeling safe or confident on the roads in London
Re discovering cycling at 28
Feeling that cycling wasn’t a space for her
The lack of diversity in cycling media
Commuting on a bike in London
Wanting to make cycling more diverse and welcoming
Working in the cycling industry
Starting blogging at Velo City Girl
Having a focus on cycling style on the bike
Not knowing what to do after university
Going to Trinidad with her mum
Getting her first bike - through the Cycle to work Scheme
Starting to work in the cycling industry
Trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life in your 20s
Earning an income from her passions - cycling and fashion
Deciding to write a book
Sharing the personal stories from depression to having a mini stroke in her early 30s
Talking about the lows and the highs
Why you are not alone
Sharing stories via VeloMail
Bikes and bike names!
Final words of advice to encourage you to get into cycling
Social Media
Website velocitygirl.co.uk Facebook @LadyVelo Instagram @LadyVelo Twitter @LadyVelo
Back in the Frame (How to get back on your bike, whatever life throws at you), was published by Little Brown UK in May 2019. In Back in the Frame Jools talks to the other female trailblazers who are disrupting the cycling narrative as well as telling the story of how she overcame her health problems, learned how to cycle her own path and even found a love of Lycra shorts along the way.
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