I’M A RIDER TIMMY MALLETT

The former kids’ TV presenter – Wacaday, WideAwakeClub – has swapped his mallet for a palette and takes to his bike to find inspiration for his watercolour paintings

All I ask from a bike is a good saddle and a gear ratio that does most of the work going

uphill

I’ve loved cycling since I was a kid My dad was keen on cycling and so growing up I did a lot of riding with him and the family, and it became a passion for me. Now I cycle with my own family – my wife Linda and son Billy, who’s 23. But I’ve also become increasingly interested in all the places you can explore by bike. The big thing I like doing is going off on my bike for an adventure. It’s not how far or fast you go, it’s how much fun you have along the way I’ve started doing more long-distance rides. My first was coast-to-coast along Hadrian’s Wall with my pal Steve – Lorraine Kelly’s husband. We pre-booked accommodation along the way and stopped a lot to look at things and just for the experience. I’ve done coast-to-coast across Devon twice and rode along the Antrim coast from Belfast to Londonderry. That was sensational, but Torr Head’s not a hill, it’s a hell! I embrace the British weather The weather is part of what makes Britain what it is, and thank God for it too. We’ve just got to say ‘yep, okay, let’s get on with it and enjoy it’. When we left Belfast it was blowing a hooley and we got soaking wet. But what’s wrong with getting wet? All I wear is a high-vis yellow jacket and leggings. I’d much rather have rain than a headwind. I did Morocco with a holiday company that provided bikes and support There was a real mix of abilities and we went at the pace of the slowest. But that didn’t matter because it gave you the chance to meet interesting people with different things to talk about. We went through one of the locations used in Star Wars, and I thought it would be great to buy the local dress – a jalabiya – and it made me look like a Jedi on a bike! I ended up doing a painting of it (which is for sale at www.mallettspalette.co.uk). I find inspiration for my paintings during my bike rides I carry a ‘happy snappy’ camera with me and take photos along the way. I’m aware that whoever is with me probably doesn’t want to stop and look at stuff, so there’s no point in taking along a sketch book and pens to do it there and then. When I get back to my studio I’ve got loads of photos and there’s always something I can work from. Whether it’s the backlight or the shadows, I know what I’m looking for. My annual cycling tradition is an overnight ride on Midsummer’s night For the last 15 years me and a dozen pals have taken the train from our village near Maidenhead to a different start place, gone to a pub, then started cycling home about 11 or 12 at night, and arrive back at mine for a big breakfast. You don’t see much, but cycling through the night is exciting. One year we were riding past Chequers and the guards came out wanting to know what we were doing there at two in the morning. They demanded to see some ID. Who carries ID on a bike ride? [ We do! Ed] After riding the same one for 20 years I finally got a new bike this year It’s a Cannondale, it cost £700, and it’s only got two cogs [chainrings] at the front. All I ask from a bike is a good saddle and a very good gear ratio that does most of the work going uphill. All you need on top of that is a sense of adventure. I have some unfinished business in Spain I want to go back and cycle the full length of the Camino de Santiago [the pilgrims’ route across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela]. I’ve done 300 km of it, and it’s not a jolly. Day one starts at the bottom of the Pyrenees and you climb 1500 metres. It’s an absolute killer, but it’s really important to me that I go back and finish it.

QUICK FIRE

My art. I paint most days when I’m not cycling, and I have regular exhibitions. My work’s on display in 130 galleries around the UK. If you’ve got a Whitewall Gallery near you, you’ll find my paintings in there.

I certainly am. In fact I was cycling around Windsor Great Park last week looking at the autumnal colours and I ended up at his house having a cup of tea. I do, and I still occasionally tour with it. It’s extraordinary that little Wide Awakers have grown up and are now in their 30s and bringing their own children to the show.